Accurate vehicle repair estimates are crucial for both repair shop owners and car owners. Inaccurate estimates can result in significant issues like lost revenue and disappointed customers.
For instance, customers can feel cheated if your repair estimates overcharge, and you may lose money if you underestimate the expense. These auto repair estimate mistakes can damage a shop’s reputation and make it harder to keep customers coming back.
No worries!
In this article, we’ll talk about the most common mistakes auto repair mechanics make when creating estimates and how to avoid them.
Let’s dive in and make those estimates error-free!
Common Auto Repair Estimate Mistakes
Steve Feltovich, who works with car shops to help them estimate repair costs, once visited a shop and found $1,740 worth of extra work being done on just three cars that weren’t on the original estimate.
He believes this happens often in many shops and leads to big problems like delays in repairs, more paperwork, and unhappy customers. These common auto repair estimate mistakes can severely affect a shop’s profits. It’s important for shops to carefully track all work to avoid these costly errors.
Let’s explore the common auto repair estimate mistakes!
Mistake #1: Inaccurate Labor Times
One of the biggest auto repair estimating errors shops make is guessing how long a repair will take instead of using auto repair labor guides. When mechanics guess labor times, they might underestimate or overestimate. This situation leads to unhappy customers.
But the solution is here to fix this mistake!
Instead of guessing, auto repair mechanics can use standardized labor guides, like Epicor, which provide accurate times for every repair job. Even better, shop owners can integrate these guides directly into their auto repair estimating software. This way, every estimate is based on real data, not guesswork.
Click here to learn more about “Using Automotive Labor Time Guide to Speed Up Estimates in Your Shop.”
Mistake #2: Overlooking Parts Pricing & Availability
Another one of the common auto repair estimate issues is not keeping track of the latest parts prices or whether the parts are even available. Many auto repair shop mechanics still seek components manually using outdated techniques, which might result in costly mistakes.
For example, a shop quotes a price based on outdated information and charges the wrong cost. They also find the part is out of stock after starting the job. This can cause delays, unhappy customers, and even lost revenue.
Therefore, integrations with parts suppliers, Nexpart or PartsTech provide you with real-time inventory updates. These tools are integrated with the auto repair shop software, providing up-to-date pricing and availability instantly.
No more guessing or wasting time on manual lookups. It’s a simple fix that makes a huge difference!
Mistake #3: Poor Communication with Customers
The inability of mechanics to effectively describe the estimate to clients is one of the possible problems. Customers can feel overpriced or duped if estimates are unclear or exclude important information.
For example, if a customer sees a big total cost but doesn’t understand what they’re paying for, they’re likely to say no or take their car somewhere else.
The fix is simple: make estimates clear and easy to understand!
Auto repair mechanics should itemize every cost, including parts, labor, and fees, so customers know exactly what they’re paying for like in the pic below:
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Even better, using digital approval can help. This lets customers review and approve estimates on their phone or computer, making the process fast and transparent.
By improving communication, shop owners can avoid auto repair estimate mistakes, build trust, and keep customers coming back.
Clear estimates mean happy customers and more approved jobs!
Mistake #4: Skipping Inspections (Relying on Guesswork)
Relying on guessing instead of comprehensive inspections can give rise to problems for auto repair shop owners. When mechanics don’t take the time to thoroughly assess a problem, they can underestimate the repairs required or miss hidden concerns.
For instance, a basic brake job might become a lot more involved in repair if additional issues aren’t identified quickly.
Using digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) is the key to preventing auto repair estimate issues. This practice makes it easier for mechanics to identify problems and share them with customers by recording every aspect of an automobile’s condition using notes and images.
By using DVIs, auto repair mechanics can create accurate estimates from the start, avoid surprises, and keep customers happy.
Mistake #5: Inconsistent Pricing and Labor Rates
Use of varying labor rates or charges for equivalent operations is a prevalent issue in vehicle repair businesses. Customers may become confused and believe they are being treated unjustly when rates fluctuate.
For example, one customer might pay 100 for a service, while another pays 150 for the same job. This inconsistency can lead to unhappy customers.
The solution is to use auto repair software which is integrated with Epicor. This integration provides labor guides. This helps mechanics set consistent rates for every job, so customers always know what to expect.
This not only builds trust with customers but also helps the shop run more smoothly. Consistency is key to keeping your customers happy!
How to Avoid These Mistakes with Auto Repair Estimating Software (Torque360)
Using auto repair estimating software like Torque360 helps avoid common mistakes when creating repair estimates. Here’s how it works and how it prevents errors:
Accurate Vehicle Information
Entering the wrong vehicle details can lead to incorrect parts or services. With auto repair estimating software, you can easily find a vehicle by entering its VIN or license plate number. The software is integrated with CARFAX which automatically fetches vehicle details like the make, model, and year, so you don’t have to worry about mistakes when typing it yourself.
Choosing the Right Jobs
Selecting the wrong repair jobs is another mistake that can delay work or cause confusion. Torque360 offers different ways to add jobs to the estimate, such as using a Labor Guide or searching for Quick/Smart Jobs. With this software solution, you can quickly find and add the right services based on job descriptions or codes, reducing the chance of picking the wrong ones.
Ordering the Right Parts
Ordering the wrong parts can be costly and time-consuming. Torque360 integrates with parts suppliers like Nexpart and PartsTech, making it easy to find and compare parts. You can search for parts, add them to your cart, and place an order directly from the software, ensuring the right parts are ordered every time.
Getting Customer Approval
Mistakes often happen when getting customer approval. Auto repair estimating software makes this step easy with Digital Authorization. You can send estimates to customers via email or SMS and get quick approval. This eliminates the chance of misunderstandings or missed approvals.
Best Practices for Accurate Estimates
Train Your Team
To make good estimates, it’s important to train your mechanics properly.
It’s a good idea to spend some time teaching them about the latest technology and trends in the car repair business.
Anyone who is working on a car in your shop should understand how the system works. This will help them make more accurate estimates.
It’s also a good idea to have one person who is only responsible for creating estimates, and this person should be properly trained in how to do it.
Estimators should know about things like UHSS or HSS (which are special types of steel used in car repairs), and they should understand the details of how repairs are done.
Get a Good Auto Repair Estimate Software
In today’s world of car repairs, things are changing quickly. If you want your shop to do well, you need to keep up with these changes.
One big way to help is by using auto repair estimating software.
Why Should You Use Auto Repair Estimating Software?
- It saves a lot of time.
- It makes sure there are no mistakes in your estimates.
- It helps you manage your money better.
- It makes your customers happy.
Wrapping Up!
Accurate repair estimates are essential for keeping your customers happy. By avoiding common auto repair estimate mistakes like inaccurate labor times, poor communication, and ordering the wrong parts, you can prevent costly issues and delays. Using auto repair estimating software is an excellent way to simplify the process, reduce errors, and save time.
Ready to eliminate estimating errors? See how Torque360 can simplify your estimating process and boost your accuracy.
