When a claim is made through an insurance company, wether yours or someone else’s, they assign a number that is used by the everyone involved to reference the claim and repair.
Initial price quote provided before repairs, should include breakdown of labor time and parts.
Additional charges that are needed after the original estimate, can be things such as additional parts or labor.
On insurance repairs, a betterment charge is applied when a wearable part has to be replaced and is worn from normal use. These included batteries, tires, exhaust, etc. For example, The left tire needs to be replaced on your 2001 Honda. The estimator determines the tire has been worn 50%. The new tire cost is $100. The customer is responsible to pay the shop 50% which is $50. This is in place because insurance companies do not want to replace a worn part with a brand new one.
Original manufacturer made parts. ‘Honda parts made by Honda’
Used parts which come from a like model vehicle, the same year or newer than your car. They will used from vehicle which was not damaged in the area from which the part comes.
New parts made for your specific vehicle, by a second party company. ‘Honda parts made by a non Honda manufacturer’.
Parts, usually bumpers that are repaired by a company and re-sold to shops
Per your insurance policy, the amount the customer must pay before the insurance will cover any repair expense.If you have $250 deductible and your total repair cost is $1000, the customer pays the first $250, with the insurance picking up the remaining balance of $750. While the repair cost can change during the repair, your deductible never changes.
Labor time billed is flat rate time determined by industry manuals for each required operation, it is not actual time spent on repair.
An agreement between insurance companies and shops. The insurance company agrees to recommend a shop to their customers in exchange for certain restrictions, including; set rates, repair processes, warrenties and often discounts on parts or bottom line prices.