How to assess a classic car before quoting a restoration

A restoration project starts with an honest assessment. Before quoting, find out what the owner wants — a driver, a show car, an original survivor — then inspect the structure for rust and past repairs, check how original the car is, note the mechanical state, and research parts availability. Photograph everything. Then propose the work in stages with a budget range for each, explain what can only be known once panels come off, and agree how decisions and extra costs will be handled.

The same car can lead to three very different projects. Agreeing the goal first avoids misunderstandings about what "restored" means.

Rust and old repairs decide the size of the job. Check sills, floors, wheel arches, chassis rails or subframes, door bottoms and around screens, with the car on a lift if possible. Look for filler, overlapping patches and uneven gaps that suggest earlier accident damage. Tell the owner clearly that more may be found once paint and panels come off, and how you'll handle it.

Check that the identification numbers, engine and gearbox match the car's documents, and note any non-original parts. For a valuable car, originality changes its value and the right approach to the restoration. Ask the owner for the history file: invoices, photos, old registration documents.

Note whether the engine runs, its compression and leaks, the gearbox and axle, brakes, steering, suspension and wiring. A car that has stood for years may need a full mechanical overhaul even if it looks good, and seized parts can take time to free without damage.

Some owners want better brakes, an electronic ignition or seat belts on a car that never had them. Discuss what improves safety and reliability, what changes the car's character or value, and what the rules where you work allow. Record the choices so there is no surprise at handover.

Research which parts are available new, remanufactured or second-hand, and which must be made. Some work — chrome plating, upholstery, engine machining — may go to specialists with their own lead times. Include those delays in the timeline you give the owner.

Photograph the car from every side, underneath, the engine bay, the interior and every area of rust or damage, with dates. Keep the photos with your notes and share them with the owner. They support the quote, show the starting point when the project is finished, and add to the car's history file.

A restoration can keep a car in your workshop for months. Agree where it's stored, who insures it while it's with you, and what happens to removed parts. Labelled boxes and an inventory avoid lost pieces at reassembly.

Give a range for each stage and agree how extra work found along the way is approved. Owners can then fund the project stage by stage and decide with full information.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a "Restoration assessment" service with slots long enough for a thorough inspection at your workshop, and an "Assessment at the owner's premises" service for cars that don't run. Owners book with their name, email and phone and can describe the car, its history and their goal in the optional note, which you read in your new-booking email. In the description, ask them to bring the history file and any photos of the car's past.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. If you need to move an assessment, reschedule it from your bookings list and tell the owner yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.