Laravel's Model::create() function isn't setting a custom field value - php

Question

Laravel newbie here, sorry if this is painfully obvious but I've been stuck on it for ages!
Objective: To mass-assign a Quote::create() database insertion with the full values from the form, plus set the User ID to the currently logged in user.
Problem: The user_id column is never written to the database. Every other column is, but user_id remains as 0.
I have of course tried adding user_id to the $fillable array, but I don't want it to be user-fillable - I want it to be set by Laravel's Auth::id() function.
Any ideas why this won't get stored? Is it because the $quote->create() function doesn't factor in previously set data and just takes its parameter as everything to be saved? If so how do I do this?
Here's my controller's store() function:
/**
* Stores a created quote in the database
*
* #param QuoteRequest $request
*
*/
public function store(QuoteRequest $request)
{
// This method will only get fired if QuoteRequest passes
$quote = new Quote;
$quote->user_id = Auth::id();
$quote->create($request->all());
echo 'Job done';
}
Here's my Quote model:
<?php namespace App;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Auth;
class Quote extends Model {
/**
* The database table used by the model.
*
* #var string
*/
protected $table = 'quotes';
/**
* The attributes that are mass assignable.
*
* #var array
*/
protected $fillable = [
'quote_person',
'quote_value',
'quote_date'
];
/**
* The attributes excluded from the model's JSON form.
*
* #var array
*/
protected $hidden = [ ];
/*
* Request/User many-to-one relationship
*/
public function user()
{
return $this->belongsTo('App\User');
}
/*
* Belongs to current User scope
*/
public function scopeMine($query)
{
return $query->where('user_id', Auth::id());
}
}

Answer 1

Try this and see if it works.
public function store(QuoteRequest $request)
{
// This method will only get fired if QuoteRequest passes
$quote = new Quote;
$quote->fill($request->all());
$quote->user_id = Auth::id();
$quote->save();
echo 'Job done';
}

Answer 2

The create function is considered mass assignment and is thusly affected by $fillable / $guarded. It's also a static function, so $quote->create() is making an entirely new Eloquent instance - that's why your manually assigned user_id is lost.
You can use Model::unguard() to temporarily turn off the protection.