Getting a driveway paved is not cheap!Widening it usually means adding stone, which isn't that expensive but it can be labor intensive depending on the drive.
EVERYTHING is going up. so 3 K more doesn't surprise me. Will it go down, who knows.

A guy who gives you a card is going to give you a low-ball bid. If you think he's trustworthy, ask him to submit another bid and some references.

Petroleum is going to drive up asphalt costs. However, summer is also paving season, so that probably makes it more expensive. Ask them if they can do it for less in the Fall.

I would be very leery of the guy(s) who stop by with a card... not necessarily for every type of work, but definitely for paving (or just black-topping, which is what they usually do). Unfortunately they have a pretty notorious reputation and I would definitely go with a reputable company that I called on myself.

Hmmm. Would you consider not paving your driveway, or not using blacktop?
kathy

Thank you guys/gals about the business card info...I was kind of thinking the same thing (if it sounds to good to be true it usually is). My wife likes it when people stop by offering services and frankly I do too because we kind of get the impression that due to the economy and market right now people need work so you might be able to get something done at a cheaper price than normal...but it looks like that's never the case....I guess people still want to take advantage of you even in low economy times...anyway...we may postpone this until the fall...I had a funny feeling the warm weather (spring/summer) is the "paving" season...so maybe that is driving up the price just a little...maybe we can save 1 or 2k if we wait until the fall...contractors trying to make the last few deals before winter sets in...don't know worth a shot.

Concretenprimroses - I'm a little confused about your question? "Would I consider not paving my driveway..." We definitely want to pave the driveway and most likely with asphalt/blacktop....for a variety of reasons...but most of all because it's the cheapest...can't afford concrete....LOL

Consider looking into concrete.

Asphalt uses a LOT of oil. Road repair budgets in municipalities all over the nation are under serious strain right now.

kframe19-

I would assume concrete would be more than double the price of asphalt/blacktop....that is just not feasible. But thanks for the suggestion:)

"I would assume concrete would be more than double the price of asphalt/blacktop...."

Huh?

Why make that assumption?

Especially when the main ingredient in asphalt has gone up in price by 600% over the last couple of years.

We're having a driveway built from scratch next week (our 107yo house never had off-street parking). Luckily we have a comparatively small project so we can be an "infill job" between larger ones, although we tried to get on the roster early before folks were booked up we've still been waiting about six weeks. Asphalt prices are skyrocketing and our contractor is not expecting prices to drop anytime soon so we just wanted to get it done and over with; he quoted us based on a certain price per ton or cubic yard or however the heck they measure asphalt, but we'll undoubtedly have to pay more if the receipts show a higher price for the asphalt. The price of fuel for the excavators, the truck to bring the gravel, the gravel itself, it's all going up and up and up.

We looked into concrete and even with the oil situation the cost was a good bit higher than asphalt, it was closer to the cost of pavers than asphalt! Concrete driveways don't last all that well in my cold, snowy, icy climate, which was also a major consideration for us given its much greater expense; in a hotter climate where it holds up better than asphalt, the higher cost may be justified. There's a lot of research that goes into figuring this sort of thing out!

Asking to widen and change slope involves equipment, more people, maybe some dirt, grading, maybe some gravel - yea 3K.

As for people showing up in your driveway - maybe its a regional thing or maybe its a rural thing. I hadn't experienced it before moving to a rural setting in Nebraska. Got a good deal on a big box of steak and meat from some kids selling for an Omaha Steaks competitor, got a bunch of pine trees from an old native with an old tree farm and his son. Sometimes it works.

As for not paving or asphalting - I had the same decision to make, I had gravel which was fine 3 seasons of the year. Problem is you can't snowblow gravel. And the guy with the plow kept scraping my gravel to the end of the driveway so in spring I'd have to hire someone with a bobcat to spread it back. Otherwise gravel would have been ok.