Sabra Johnson, like most major builders, charges time and materials versus a fixed final-price bid — which for many clients is a huge unknown. So Sabra created ROM (rough-order-of-magnitude) charts to help you form possible ranges based on your desired level of finish and style of build.
Time & materials (T&M) construction billing offers several advantages, primarily flexibility and transparency. T&M agreements allow for easy adjustments to project scope and provide a detailed breakdown of costs, fostering trust between both parties. T&M also minimizes the risk of underestimation and enables a quicker project start by eliminating the need for lengthy bidding processes. Restorations By Sabra receives projects sight-unseen from all around the world because we are a T&M business model — it's the only win-win solution for the builder-client relationship.
Clients benefit from paying for the actual work done and materials used, while the shop is compensated fairly for its time and expenses. There are dozens of key decisions through a full restoration, but Sabra has identified four that undoubtedly chart the vision of the build, making every decision after them easier. As part of our transparency culture, we've built proprietary charts to help you refine your scope in context of ROM.
See the Four Critical ChoicesThe main difference between fixed price (FP) billing and time and materials (T&M) billing is the payment structure.
The contractor quotes a fixed price for the entire project, and the client pays that price once the project is delivered — regardless of what's discovered along the way.
The contractor charges the client for the actual cost of materials used and a fixed hourly rate for labor — Sabra's model, and the one used for every build.
While most consumers are familiar with fixed pricing on modern vehicles — where dealerships, collision centers, and local shops give firm quotes based on predictable costs — that model works well for standardized service but breaks down for restoration, where the unknown variables are simply too large to price sight-unseen.
Every billable method has a pro and a con, so various are used throughout the aftermarket — but T&M is the dominant model in the restoration segment. There are four critical choices that determine the role every later decision plays in your build.
Every build has a visionary direction. Once a vision is chosen, that direction serves as a filter for every step that follows. Most clients find it easy to pick a price point, yet the end result is the unknown — some choose an entry-level price while expecting the highest level of end result. It's best to think of restoration in terms of good, better, and best: the price gap between good and better is significant, while the contrast between better and best is often just 3–5% at an equally large price gap.
The second most important choice involves chassis & performance. The things you can't see cost just as much, if not more, than the things you can. The chassis is what determines your drivability, and the powertrain measures the thrill. Do you want stock, modern, performance, or custom? Is this a museum car or a weekend cruiser? Parts are fairly fixed cost factors — don't forget to budget labor for fabrication and installation. The details are what separate the good from the great.
The third most important choice involves the paint & body process. On the higher end of paint, metal can consume 1,000+ hours, body can consume 1,000+ hours, paint 500+ hours, post-paint 500+ hours, and assembly 500+ hours. On the flip side, a basic scuff-and-shoot may consume less than 150 hours for the full process. Professional paint and body labor time is the biggest factor in quality — the best builds exceed 2,500 total hours, better consumes 750+ skilled hours, and good is anything less than 500 billable hours. These charts are designed to align your expectations with your investment.
The final important choice involves the right path for your interior. Upholstery choices begin with leather vs. synthetic leather, then proceed to levels of comfort and amounts of technology. Sometimes a stock interior is the only acceptable choice; other times custom is the best avenue. Again, think in terms of good, better, and best — the more complex the design, the more time invested, and more time equates to more cost. Align your interior cost with your expectations from the start.
Every Sabra ROM range is a starting point — the exact number comes once our team scopes your specific vehicle, parts, and vision.
See Build Tiers & Pricing