A collision estimate looks like an invoice and is actually a plan. Each line describes an operation, and reading it tells you what is going to happen to your car and what is not.
The main sections
Parts, each with a category and a price. Labor, split by type: body labor, refinish labor, frame or structural labor, and mechanical labor, each charged at its own rate. Paint and materials, usually calculated from the refinish hours. Sublet, for work sent out, such as wheel refinishing, glass or recalibration.
Labor units
Times come from published databases rather than from someone’s opinion, which is why two honest estimates for the same damage land close together. Where they differ is judgment: whether a panel is repaired or replaced, and how much blending the finish needs.
The lines people skip
Corrosion protection after a panel is replaced. Seam sealer where a factory seam was disturbed. Recalibration of cameras and radar after work near a sensor. Alignment after suspension or structural work. These are not padding; leaving them out is how a repair looks finished and is not. See ADAS recalibration.
Repair or replace
This is the single biggest variable. Repairing a dented panel can be excellent work or a false economy depending on the metal, the location and the depth. A shop that will explain why it chose one over the other on a specific panel is telling you something useful.
Why the first estimate is rarely the last
Hidden damage appears once panels come off, and the additional work is added as a supplement. An estimate written from the outside of a damaged car is a starting point. See supplements explained.