Greedy electricians - gotta pay them or keep looking?

[user212_nr]

Considering making a 6-20 or 14-30 outdoor outlet. Less than 25' in unfinished basement, replace existing 120v outlet on outside of the house.

I've only gotten 2 quotes so far - they're all in the same ballpark, but very expensive. Its an expensive area in CT, definitely a lot of Tesla Model S around. Problem is, these are the only 2 guys who replied so-far, and they do seem busy, but they also seem like they have no set prices and just want as much money as possible. They're not considering the job in question - they're considering how much you can afford to pay to give in.

First quote is $500 parts and labor, $350 permits and inspections. Went down to $500 labor $150 parts, but he's not too happy (not quitting but doesn't sound like he'd actually honor the deal).

Second quote is $825 and says "well the town would say you need permits for everything, but this is just a simple job" Wants extra $95 for inspections. Not even doing GFCI breaker.

Other quotes from these guys:
"oh.... its for an electric vehhhiccccleeeee chargerrrrrrrrrr ahhhhhhhh I seeeee" (not exaggeration)
"we need to run a new line because 240 volts needs a new wire"
[already has a hole in the wall] "we're going to need to drill through the wall"
Is 30A more expensive than 20A "yeah, its going to be wayyyyy more"
"So I just realized that I priced out the GFCI breaker incorrectly... let me check with the inspector if it needs a GFCI breaker in your town"
So the price can be more or less than your estimate? What is your hourly rate? "we bill by half day or full day, $125 /hr. hope that answers your question"

 

[thor_2019]

Just tell them you need a 6-50 plug in the garage for a welder. That should get you a better rate and fast charging. There already is a GFCI built into the mobile connector.

 

[eevee-fan]

On Amazon, when you select a EVSE that uses NEMA 14-50, you can add $550 for installation - meaning the electrician will install a NEMA 14-50 installed. For me, I got the permit myself for a DIY install, paid a retired electrician to do the install (and I helped), scheduled city inspection. Permit $50, parts $50, labor $100. Total $200. The run was 5 ft behind the wall, so just used a ROMEX 6/3 wiring and no need for conduit.

 

[Black306]

Did you use the word “Tesla” when talking to the electricians? That automatically doubles the price! LOL

But seriously...not sure what CT prices are like or what exactly is needed for your install, but 650-825 for a 25’ run sounds pretty good. I was getting those kind of quotes for a very simple 14-50 install right above my panel; <1’ away without any Sheetrock work.

 

[DionG]

On Amazon, when you select a EVSE that uses NEMA 14-50, you can add $550 for installation - meaning the electrician will install a NEMA 14-50 installed. For me, I got the permit myself for a DIY install, paid a retired electrician to do the install (and I helped), scheduled city inspection. Permit $50, parts $50, labor $100. Total $200. The run was 5 ft behind the wall, so just used a ROMEX 6/3 wiring and no need for conduit.

View attachment 499243

I had this on my wishlist on amazon waiting for 24th to order it. So it’s installed probably around feb 18th a week or two before my Tesla comes in

 

[StealthP3D]

Did you use the word “Tesla” when talking to the electricians? That automatically doubles the price! LOL

Independent electricians are running their own business. If they have more work than they can handle, some will jack up the price if they think you're loaded, some won't - everybody is their own person and makes their own decisions.

The money they collect (after subtracting the cost of their tools, truck, gas, supplies, advertising, licensing, education, etc.) is the money they use to put a roof over their heads, put food on the table for their family, clothes, etc.. They also have to pay income tax and full Social Security out of that. The time involved on the job is not all the time it takes them. They have to do the permitting, ordering of materials, picking up materials, make the bid (if not working by the hour), etc.

My point is, they might be good at what they do, work hard at it, deal with unreasonable people, and not make all that much money at the end of the year when all is said and done. They HAVE to charge (what might seem like) a lot of money to make it all pencil out for the year. I'm more likely to be mad at a corporation for overcharging than an independent businessperson trying to make a decent living.

That said, some electricians will and do overcharge. Anyone who finds themselves in this situation needs to deal with it by finding one that doesn't. But if they can't, chances are they just have unrealistic expectations. Or, they could learn how to do it themself (properly) instead of bitching about how nobody wants to do it for the amount they think they should get paid to work for them.

I installed my own 48 amp charging solution at my ski cabin for a total cost of $440. But I got the HPWC free through the referral program and most of the lumber I used was already in my discarded lumber pile. I didn't even have a garage so I needed to run it through about 30' of conduit and trench out to the driveway. It rains a lot here (and can snow heavily sometimes) so I built a roof to keep the weather off it.

 

[jjrandorin]

My first thought reading the OP post is, if 2 different electricians priced around the same price, then thats probably close to the going rate. OP may think the going rate is gouging, but then will need to find someone more desperate, or do it himself.

 

[SSedan]

It isn't just about time on site.
What if they have no other half day jobs they can schedule with.

What does your employer bill per hour for your services? Betting workers comp insurance and liability insurance are not cheap for electricians either.

Big part of the bill is just the time and effort it takes to do a quote and show up, and they have to cover the labor for the quotes they do but don't get.

 

[Sophias_dad]

If its gonna be 6-20, see if you already have AWG 12 going to that outlet. If you do, it's a swap of the outlet and a swap/addition(most likely a move, to get the two phases) of the breaker. If that takes more than an hour for a professional, he's watching Netflix on his phone while you aren't watching him.

 

[doghousePVD]

Permits are often a major income for some towns.

 

[qdeathstar]

Giving you an outrages price doesn’t **** you, it ****s them. You’ll just go with a lower price. That’s why the price they give you isn’t outrageous.

 

[linuxguyInMD]

I live in a metro area and paid $700 for a 90' run of #6 to my Tesla wall charger. The electrician also charged me $200 for the permit that cost him $55. That was my cheapest quote, the first electrician was referred by the local Tesla store wanted $2400.

 

[qdeathstar]

I would never break down the permit/labor/material for a residential customer... so, you guys are getting lucky they are willing to do that for you. What about the hour of labor involved in getting the permit @linuxguyInMD

 

[SoManyM3s]

This doesn’t even sound that high.

 

[SSedan]

If its gonna be 6-20, see if you already have AWG 12 going to that outlet. If you do, it's a swap of the outlet and a swap/addition(most likely a move, to get the two phases) of the breaker. If that takes more than an hour for a professional, he's watching Netflix on his phone while you aren't watching him.

Now add in travel time, permit time, hole in the day since they can't schedule 8 separate 1 hour trips, time to come out for the quote first.
Lot more to doing business than just the time spent pulling wire.

 

[nativewolf]

Seems a good price to me and as someone that works for a living I find the thread title offensive. I mean what do you do for a living? Who are you to say they are greedy? Why nickel and dime an independent contractor? If you don't like it just do the work yourself if it is so easy.

 

[Zcd1]

Those prices seem decent to me.

 

[camalaio]

Price seems decent for a dedicated 25ft run, which is likely a bit more in reality if that was your measurement (just due to how cable gets routed). Yes, price can change considerably between 20A and 30A because they need different gauge wire. It's not that it's 120V vs. 240V, it's the amperage. Wire is expensive, thicker wire more so. They also need to remove the old outlet and wiring or put it somewhere else (it's probably part of a larger circuit?).

On Amazon, when you select a EVSE that uses NEMA 14-50, you can add $550 for installation - meaning the electrician will install a NEMA 14-50 installed. For me, I got the permit myself for a DIY install, paid a retired electrician to do the install (and I helped), scheduled city inspection. Permit $50, parts $50, labor $100. Total $200. The run was 5 ft behind the wall, so just used a ROMEX 6/3 wiring and no need for conduit.

View attachment 499243

Note that Amazon says that's for a very short 5ft run. OP needs at least a 25ft run and additional labour to remove an old circuit/outlet.

Makes the quote seem actually very good!

 

[shinytop]

I paid 450 for a 14-50 outdoor lockable outlet. I also had to pay 900 for a new panel since my old panel was full. The 900 for the panel was the price without contractor discount from Home Depot So I paid total of 1350 when I was not sure I could install at all. Has worked perfectly for 5 months.

 

[turns2stone]

I paid 450 for a 14-50 outdoor lockable outlet. I also had to pay 900 for a new panel since my old panel was full. The 900 for the panel was the price without contractor discount from Home Depot So I paid total of 1350 when I was not sure I could install at all. Has worked perfectly for 5 months.

That's a good price. I needed a new panel as well. Total cost of wall charger installation, new panel, two 8' grounding rods, and permits was a bit over $4K. The electrician worked on it for >8 hours, plus time to come back out with the city inspector.

You should have seen the "before" picture!