Measuring, Estimating, and Customer Handover
What this domain tests
Damage assessment, repair-versus-replace decisions, labour and material estimating, blend panels, documentation, and customer handover.
Core rules
- Inspect the whole panel, not just the visible dent. Check gaps, edges, inner structure, and adjacent panels for hidden damage.
- Decide repair or replace using damage location, panel material, access, and safety. A crease across a body line or damage near a structural section usually means replacement.
- Estimate blend panels. Metallic and pearl colours often need blending into the adjacent panel; include the cost of materials and labour.
- List materials separately: filler, primer, sealer, basecoat, clearcoat, abrasives, masking, and waste. Do not bury them in labour.
- Record pre-existing damage and take notes before work starts. Get customer authorisation for supplements.
- At handover, walk around the vehicle with the customer, check warning lights, keys, cleanliness, and explain the warranty and cure time.
Worked example
A left front door has a 200 mm dent; the left rear door and left front fender are adjacent. The colour is metallic. Reasoning: repair the door, but the estimate must include blending the rear door and fender because a panel-to-panel metallic match is unreliable. Add clearcoat on the blend panels, plus materials and masking. If hidden damage is found behind the door trim, stop and get authorisation before continuing.
Traps
- Forgetting blend panels on metallic repairs.
- Promising an exact colour match instead of a blend.
- Not documenting pre-existing scratches or warning lights.
- Omitting waste and masking from the estimate.