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Auto Body Estimate Template

Body and refinish hours, parts type, blend panels and a supplement clause. Free PDF.

Collision damage is estimated from the outside of a car whose damage is on the inside. A bumper cover hides a reinforcement bar, the bar hides a rail, and the rail is either straight or it is a structural repair that doubles the file. Every body shop in the country knows what happens next: the panels come off and a supplement is written. The estimate's job is to be the first honest version of that — hours by type, parts by grade, and a plain sentence saying that the teardown is when the real number appears.

Issued by

Meridian Collision Center

2810 West Van Buren Street

85009 Phoenix, AZ

United States

estimating@meridiancollision.example

Bill to

Lucienne Okafor

2130 Camelback Road

85016 Phoenix, AZ

United States

l.okafor@example.com

Estimated total

$2,416.20

Valid for 30 more days · Sep 5, 2026

This is an estimate, not a bill. Prices may change.

Before teardown

Written with the bumper cover and fender in place. The reinforcement bar, the rail and the condenser have not been seen; a supplement follows teardown if any of them is damaged.

Description	Qty	Rate	Tax	Amount
Body labour — front bumper, fender, headlamp mount 8.6 hours at 62.00, estimated before teardown	1	$533.20	—	$533.20
Refinish labour including blend to adjacent door Metallic silver; 6.0 hours, blend required for colour match	6	$58.00	—	$348.00
Parts — OEM bumper cover, aftermarket fender OEM fender available at 388.00 on request	1	$1,140.00	—	$1,140.00
Front radar sensor recalibration Static calibration to manufacturer specification after refit	1	$395.00	—	$395.00

Subtotal	$2,416.20
Total	$2,416.20

Terms

Repair authorisation required before teardown. Refinish warranted for as long as you own the vehicle.

Estimate #EST-3416 · Meridian Collision Center · Page 1 of 1

What this estimate commits you to

How long it stands: Thirty days, and only as the first estimate on a claim — an insurer's appraiser writes their own, and the two are reconciled before the vehicle comes apart.
What it does not cover: Mechanical repair behind the panels, pre-existing damage outside the impact area, glass replacement, wheel alignment, and a rental vehicle for the duration of the repair.
What would change the price: The supplement. A bent rail or crushed reinforcement visible only once the cover and fender are off, a structural measurement out of tolerance on the bench, corrosion under a panel being repaired, and additional blend panels the colour match turns out to need.
How the client accepts it: Sign the repair authorisation and the direction of pay so we may bill your carrier directly; teardown is scheduled once the deductible is confirmed and parts are ordered against the approved estimate.

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When the work is done, invoice it →

What to put on an auto body estimate

The vehicle, the impact point and the direction of force, because that is what predicts what is behind the panel
Body labour, refinish labour, frame and mechanical hours separated — they are different rates in every shop
Parts by type: OEM, aftermarket, reconditioned or recycled, priced as offered rather than assumed
Blend panels named, since colour match on a metallic almost always needs the adjacent panel
ADAS calibration where a sensor sits behind a panel being replaced, static or dynamic, priced as its own operation
The supplement rule: that teardown may produce one, who approves it, and how long approval takes

Questions

What is a supplement and why does every collision job have one?

It is an addition to the estimate written once the vehicle is apart. It exists because the first estimate is made with the damage still covered — and a shop that does not write supplements is either eating hidden damage or was lucky, which is not a business model.

Should the estimate say whether parts are OEM or aftermarket?

Always, per part. It is the difference an insurer's estimate and yours will most often disagree about, and a customer who reads the word aftermarket on your estimate can choose to pay the difference rather than discover it at delivery.

Why is calibration a separate line?

Because it is separate work with separate equipment. A camera behind a windscreen or a radar in a bumper has to be recalibrated to specification after the panel is replaced, and a car handed back with an uncalibrated driver-assist system is a liability nobody wants to have absorbed into a paint line.

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