Free money? A list of things not charged for on most estimates.

I wrote this list out to try to help all of us out with a little free money, or found lost money, whichever view you prefer. The following list is one I compiled in about 10 or 15 minutes of things that I like to supplement for at the very end of a job, some are quite obvious and wide spread such as Flex Additive, others are way off the deep end where some shops may be too shy or scared to "nickle and dime" the insurance companies. The way I see it, is if they wanna shave .1 and .2 off me, I may as well try to do the same to them (I know two wrongs don't make a right, but they may make you more money).

My only request is this: If you find something missing that you charge for no matter how mundane or strange it may be, please post it as a response! Thanks for your interest!

Estimate / Supplement Check List:

Written By: Alex Hahn

I work at a flat rate/commission shop, when your employees are getting paid for every action they do they tend to remind you when you’ve missed something, and in some cases I remind them when they’ve missed something. These are some of the best ideas I’ve heard from technicians or come
up with myself. Some of these are pretty normal and widespread and others may
seem borderline crazy to you, at the end of the day getting 10 extra .1’s or
.2’s really adds up in the long run, do not be afraid to ask for these, I have
been paid by large insurance companies and small to complete all of these actions, and
again the worst thing they can say is no.

Corrosion Protection - Anytime doing filler work or fixing scratches. (Do not add to blend panels.) Typically about $10 and .2 per panel.

Flex Additive - Anytime a bumper is painted.

Chip Guard Material - Found on Toyota’s and many other cars, add when replacing fender or performing a rocker/quarter panel repair in the area of the undercoating.

Adhesive Removal from Refinish Panel – Whenever removing an emblem or molding, this is for the adhesive from the tape left behind; we usually get at least .2 per emblem and more for cladding/spoilers.

Clean & Re-Tape – Whenever re-using emblems, charge .1 to .2 depending upon size and ease of taping, additionally charge $2.50 for the tape material, make sure to check your numbers and see that it is cost effective.

Spare Tire R&I – Whenever sending out a rim for reconditioning services, request time to R&I the spare tire to keep the car mobile in the shop, so it can be moved or even sent off to the paint shop, I recently had a State Farm adjuster tell
me he’s never had anyone ask for it before, but there is no way for him to deny
it because its so logical.

Blend Door Handles – Anytime you do a door skin or repair in the vicinity of the door handle always get blend time, additionally if the adjacent panel has a door handle within 6 inches or so of what your skinning, blend that handle too! A Liberty
Mutual appraiser told me she had never had anyone request it before in the last
15 years that she had been writing. Gas doors too!

Adhesive Kit – When doing bedsides where you use panel bond on the upper rail make sure to charge for the material, the application is included in the repair time, but not the Panel Bond itself, we charge $45 per bedside, the 3M Automix is around
$50 a tube and its easy to justify using more than half a tube, not to mention
the tips costing roughly $1. Also applicable when doing glass work

Seam Sealer - Again, when doing bedsides or quarter panels add seam sealer material costs in separately. The operation/application of applying it is included in the labor time, but not the material itself, we usually get around $25 per panel.

Remove Decal/Pinstripe – When painting a panel with a pinstripe don’t just charge for the pinstripe, charge for the time to remove it as well, this can also be done when painting a bedside that has a “4X4” decal on it. The replace time is
strictly that REPLACE not to remove decal and or residue.

Partial R&I of Door Weather Strips – Anytime you paint a quarter panel and carry the clear all the way to the windshield pillar, get partial R&I time of the door weather strips that touch in the area of the roof line, typically .2 per door.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Jeff Silver on March 5, 2010 at 9:06am

I checked out "StopSteering.com" and could not find the picture you are referring to. Can you point me in the right direction?

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Permalink Reply by Bill Fowler on March 9, 2010 at 1:57pm

Jeff,
Look under the "OEM Position Statements" section and scroll all the way to the bottom to the Toyota Color Sand and Polish section. You will see "Dude" polishing a car in the plant.

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Permalink Reply by Kristen R. Felder on March 10, 2010 at 8:33am

Bill do you know who runs Stop Steering.com?
I looked at the site lots of information and links, but does not say who is responsible. Just curious..... :-)

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Permalink Reply by Bill Fowler on March 10, 2010 at 4:13pm

Yes, I do and some of them are members here. They will have to reveal themselves to you if they choose to.

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Permalink Reply by Jordan Dale on March 10, 2010 at 6:40pm

I could tell ya, but then I'd half ta kill ya ; )

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Permalink Reply by Kristen R. Felder on March 10, 2010 at 8:30pm

Funny.... Jordan.....

No worries I know the trouble that can come from carrying the flag :-)

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Permalink Reply by Paul Williams on March 7, 2010 at 11:02am

You can probably have your paint company supply you with an invoice for the kit and something showing that they require it in order to maintain the paint warranty.

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Permalink Reply by John Shoemaker on August 16, 2010 at 12:33pm

Have the paint manufacturer provide you with the SOP for preparing an unprimed bumper for paint. The SOP is your proof of the steps you take to ensure proper paint adhesion for the paint line you use and supports the paint warranty the insurance company expects.

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Permalink Reply by santiago lozano on January 29, 2010 at 10:28pm

How do you blend handel & fuel door's?
Because the part is so small you can't blend it properly , you should be able to get full refinish time.

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Permalink Reply by John Shoemaker on August 16, 2010 at 12:35pm

The rule of thumb I present to my customers is if you are blending a panel you blend the handles and fuel door, if you are refinishing the panel you would take full refinish time for those items.

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Permalink Reply by Steven Siessman on February 1, 2010 at 12:05am

If you want I hosted a free estimate scrubber that checks Pathways, UltraMate, Audatex, Shoplink and PenPro for missing P-Page items. No shop information is collected during the scrubbing process, http://www.EstimateScrubber.com. Feel free to use it all you want, for free, shops only please.

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Permalink Reply by Christian M. Bogden on August 13, 2010 at 5:18pm

Will it work for CCC one? Nevermind it will work with any pdf file. YES! what a great tool. The more we ask as a collective the less that they can say no.