The 5 Most Common Items on a Repair Estimate

Need an estimate from your local body shop? Here are some things to you should know about your estimate…

Most body shops will use a computerized estimating software to write your estimate. If the shop you have chosen does not use a computer to write your estimate, this may be cause for concern. This is not to discredit the long-time owners and technicians still using traditional methods.  It is more for accountability. In the auto body industry today, computerized software is now standard and ensures a more uniform, unbiased and accurate appraisal for how long things take to repair. Consumers and insurance companies are billed by the hours on an estimate and the old days of falsely inflating hours are no more. When it comes to auto body repair the vast majority of line items on an estimate will be one of 5 things:

1. Remove and Install (R & I). This means to take something off your car and then to re-install it later. Parts that are not damaged may need to be temporarily removed to access another part that was damaged or more often so the panel it is taken off of can painted properly. For instance, say your electric motor for your window stops working. The interior trim panel will need to be temporarily removed to gain access to the motor to see if it can be repaired (not likely!) or replaced. Or perhaps a molding needs to be removed from your door before it is painted only to be put back on later when the paint dries. Don’t be surprised if for instance a headlight needs to be removed to properly paint a fender. You should actually be more concerned if its not.
2. Replace (Repl). Replacing parts is not a discretionary item on an estimate and is governed by industry standards.  If the book/software says it takes 3.5 hours to replace that bumper then that is what the insurance company will pay. No more and no less. It is fairly well standardized with only slight variations depending on which software is used and then it only differs by very little.
3. Repair (Rpr). Repair is the most discretionary item on an estimate and typically the amount of time it takes to repair something will be underlined or asterisk-ed (*) to indicate this.  There’s no hard and fast rule here and this needs to be negotiated between insurance adjusters, shop estimators and possibly even the technicians doing the job. The reason these times are so important is that insurance companies are paying shops based on the number of hours on the estimate.
4. Sublet (Subl). Sometimes there are things that an auto body shop will send to someone else (typically a mechanic who takes care of more under the hood items) to perform and this is categorized as sublet. Popular things for shops to sublet out are air conditioner recharging and 4 wheel alignments when the suspension is damaged. The reason this is sent out typically is that the equipment and space required for these operations are not cost effective for a body shop. And, when it comes to deeper engine repair, oil and paint don’t mix! Oil and grease can quickly ruin a paint job.
5. Miscellaneous. You will see small charges like “hazardous waste removal.”  Body shops pay someone to pick up and dispose of hazardous waste in the safest way possible.  Also, when you see “car cover for overspray” which pays for paper, tape and plastic to cover the vehicle during the painting process so paint over spray doesn’t go all over the windows or adjacent panels.

Have questions about an estimate you received?  Or, need an estimate?  Visit a Pearl Auto Body shop near you to answer all of your questions, http://www.pearlautobody.com.

TIPS AT THE PUMP

1. FILL UP IN THE A.M. – when the ground temp is still cold. Remember that all service stations have their storage tanks buried below ground. The colder the ground, the more dense the gasoline.  When it gets warmer, gasoline expands.  When filling up in the afternoon or in the evening, a gallon may not be exactly a gallon. In the petroleum business, the specific gravity and the temperature of the gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, ethanol and other petroleum products plays an important role.  A 1-degree rise in temperature is a big deal for this business. But the service stations do not have temperature compensation at the pumps.
2. SLOW IT DOWN – when you’re filling up, do not squeeze the trigger of the nozzle on the  fast mode. If you look you will see that the trigger has three (3) stages: low, middle, and high.  Try to pump on the low mode.  This minimizes the vapors that are created while you are pumping.  All hoses at the pump have a vapor return.  If you are pumping on the fast rate, some of the liquid that goes to your tank becomes vapor. Those vapors are being sucked up and back into the underground storage tank – so you’re getting less for your money’s worth.
3. THE TANK IS HALF FULL – fill up your tank when it is at the half way mark. The more gas you have in your tank, the less air you have occupying the empty space.  Gasoline evaporates faster than you can imagine. Gasoline storage tanks have an internal floating roof. This roof has a zero clearance between the gas and the atmosphere, so it minimizes the evaporation. Unlike service stations, every truck that is loaded is temperature compensated so that every gallon is actually the exact amount.
4. DON’T FILL UP WITH THE TRUCK – if there is a gasoline truck pumping into the storage tanks, move to another gas station. The gasoline might be stirred up as the gas is being delivered, and you might pick up some of the dirt that normally settles on the bottom.