Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 24, 2012

Over the last decade collision repair shops have begun relying heavily on sophisticated software programs such as UltraMate by Mitchell to estimate auto body damage. Such software programs, which include the ability to locate parts and their costs, and to pull up standard work duration for every task involved in the repair, could, at least in theory, ensure the estimates are to some extent consistent

In reality, there still is a lot left up to the judgement of the individual estimating the work, leading to a wide range of cost estimates. Factors such as parts type, decisions on whether to repair or replace can have significant impact on the bottom line cost, even for minor work done to repair a fender bender.

In a recent study conduced by Dingit.com a large number of estimates submitted by body shops for the same case were analyzed. The estimates that were received ranged from as low as $ 200 and as high as $ 690. More specifically, 26% of the body shops provided estimates in the range of $ 200 and $ 400, 57% between $ 400 and $ 600, and 17% were over $ 600. This distribution shows that the low or high cost estimates were not just outliers or the result of mistakes but rather real, accurate estimates. In other words, if a single estimate in the range of $ 200 would have been received, the conclusion could be that it was either a mistake, or more likely, a low estimate that was given intentionally as an attempt to attract the customer. But as indicated, since 26% of the estimates were is this range, we can conclude that these were bona-fide estimates.

So what are the causes for such a wide range of estimates