Windshield Repair Forum

I am wondering what is the going rate for the above item I have just got billed $ 178.95 from a local Dental Supplier

The dental suppliers over here would charge more than that, which is why I buy mine from Delta, there again I would if they were more expensive as the cost per job for consumables in our trade is not worth mentioning.

Have you worked out how much per job a bur costs? I did once for a customer and it was tiny.

When it comes to business I want to make a comfortable profit, as I expect we all do. I also expect my suppliers to do the same, that way they will be in business to supply me next year.

why would a repair technician need that many bits anyway? That's enough to last 20 years!

After 5 years, I've used less than 10 total. I meet people that drill almost every repair. I don't understand why its needed that often.

I use the drill on most repairs, not to go deep but too clean the pit area. Just a gentle touch from a side angle, personally I find it more accurate than the scribe.

That said I only use about 15 per year.

We charge $154 for packs of 100 so the price you paid is not all that bad if the quality is good. The 1170 is far from my favorite from a performance standpoint but to each his own. It should be noted that there is a big difference in bur quality from mfg to mfg so you get what you pay for in most cases. You can certainly pay less but if they don't last as long or break significantly easier it will cost you more in the long run.

I also have to agree with the rest of these guys though, a pack of 100 would last me at least 10 years as the percentage of long cracks we do is quite low and that is just about the only time I find a need to drill. However the type of equipment used, training, experience and personal preference are all considerations for determining how often to drill.

I just saw the same FG 1170 bur for sale on Ebay for $119 per 100
That bur FG 1170 has a head diameter of 1mm or 0.039 inch.
I like the FG 329 which has a head diameter of 0.6mm or 0.024 inch.
When you consider you are getting $50 to $60 per repair, the cost per drill is around than 2% of the total price of the repair.

0.2% if you use 1 bur every 10 windshields. 20 cents or even less. Lets face it with consumable costs per job being so low we are in a very lucky position, you lot over there with free repairs even more so than some other countries. This has got to be one of the easiest trade to make a good living out of being self employed.

I must be doing something wrong! or using bad bits- I get maybe 3 repairs out of 1 bit- Im using Trihawk 331 on a dremel.

NFL305 wrote:I must be doing something wrong! or using bad bits- I get maybe 3 repairs out of 1 bit- Im using Trihawk 331 on a dremel.

I would say that you are.