Hi there,
Yesterday, moving my car from parking lot, I made 3 inches wide dent
on rear door of another car (Buick LaSabre 1994). I did not want to
call insurance, because they will increase my premium, and agreed to
pay the owner directly. Today he gave me an estimate with total
$1,236, including $780 for 18 hours labor costs.
The estimate looks very suspicious, especially time required to
complete repair:
OP	Description	MFG Part	Hours
I	Door shell, Rear	Repair	8,0*
L	Door shell, Rear	Refinish	2,5

I suspect a kickback. I cannot believe that to fix a small dent
required 18 hours of labor. How I can prove it?
I’ve found on the Internet that there are manufacturer's estimates of
the time required to complete repairs, but I cannot find them. Do you
know how I can find them over the Internet?
I would really appreciate your reply.
Sincerely,
Alex

I can't tell you where to find what you're looking for, but I can tell
you that my husband, who is an excellent mechanic, says that such
books are terribly inaccurate. It almost always takes more time than
they suggest to do a truly thorough job.

Kriswrite

Hey Alex,

I know this doesnt really answer your question, but you should give it
a try.  Almost the same thing happened to me, and a few quick
telephone calls fixed the problem for me.  Just call a couple Buick
shops in your area and ask to talk to the body shop.  Explain your
situation to them and ask if the price seems reasonable for the damage
you caused.  I ran into two dealers who didnt even want to talk unless
I brought the car in, but found that there were a few that were
willing to help.  Realize also that they can really only guess without
doing a real work up with the car.  In my case, it turns out the guy
wasnt screwing me, it just costs a lot to fix a Cadillac.

Hope everything works out for you,

Vern

Dear Kriswrite,
Can you ask your husband if he thinks that to fix a 3x1/8 dent
required 18 hours? I just want to know if the estimate I was given has
something to do with reality.
Thanks for your comments.
Alex

ADP is one of the companies that maintains a database for car repair
estimates.  But it doesn't have a downloadable version (which is no
surprise, since providing that information is how ADP makes money).
http://www.adpclaims.com/products/book.pdf