Our existing asphalt driveway is 21 years old and looks it. We were going to replace it with concrete, but with quotes coming in at around $5K to $6K, when I stopped crying I realized resurfacing the asphalt is the wise choice.
The driveway is 25' long by 17' wide. It does have a puddling problem at the bottom, so that when it rains there is a 2 to 3 inch puddle.
Otherwise, we are looking at a fairly straightforward resurface. But what I find perplexing is that the quotes are all over the place. So far I have been quoted between $800 and $2,000! How can there be such a discrepancy for the same job? What should I look for?

Beware, and look at the details:

"Resurfacing" can mean a lot of different things. To one guy it might mean sealcoating it (the gooey black stuff you spread with a squeegee), and to me it means a new 1.5 inch layer of new asphalt. The guy quoting $800 is certinly not doing that.

Also, the preparation is important. Look at what they are quoting as the prep work. Will they be doing any repairs? You've mentioned one area that might need repair, and that is where there's a 3" dip. If the drive is too crumbly or has a lot of cracks then if they don't prep well, you'll be very unhappy.

Hope that gives you a little to go on.

100 percent agree with Rick.

You have to ask them what they are doing in their bid, not merely resurface. You can go to walmart or home depo and buy 5 gallon of material to spread on the drive, it sort of fills in cracks and makes it nice and black but does not do much for other problems.

A real good re-surface is a actual new surface where they put another layer of black top.

I am going to do the liquid coating this summer on mine

I understand the difference between a coat of asphalt sealer, and a resurface. Everyone I have spoken to, (four different individuals), have all said they will lay down 1.5 to 2 inches of new asphalt on top of the old. And that's why I am perplexed over the price discrepancies.

Then look at the prep - and the current condition of the drive. If it's all alligatored with cracks, then a resurfacing will just be a band-aid.

I'd make sure that 2 of your bids are from big companies that know what they're doing and be sure to ask: "Is the condition of my drive such that no repairs are needed prior to the resurfacing?"

Rick, thank you for the assistance. I like the idea of getting two big companies out to look. I know their quotes will be on the high end, but at the same time I'll get a good idea of how they will handle the job.