Collision Repair Estimator

Repair estimates require physical inspection translated into industry-standard documentation — measuring damage, identifying which parts need replacement versus repair, calculating labor hours per repair-time guides, applying paint and refinish formulas, and producing the line-item estimate in CCC ONE, Mitchell, or Audatex. The estimator works between the shop's production team, the insurer (for insurance work), and the customer through the estimate-and-supplement cycle. Estimate quality, gross-margin contribution, and supplement-success outcomes are the operating measures.

Variance is wide: at high-volume body shops the work runs heavy on production-pressure rhythms; at dealership body shops it integrates with the dealer's service operation; at carrier-side estimating positions the work serves volume across many shops. The OEM-procedure dimension has grown substantially as modern vehicles require manufacturer-prescribed repair steps that traditional methods sometimes overlooked.

This role fits people who are mechanically grounded, comfortable with estimating-software depth, and steady through the production-and-dispute work shop estimating involves. I-CAR Platinum, ASE Collision, and ongoing OEM-procedure CE anchor advancement. The trade-off is the supplement-and-rework cycle work the role typically generates and the customer-and-shop frustration the role sometimes absorbs at the friction points.