time, and if you take photos and do your own time study, you’ll have documentation of what’s necessary. Document everything. Get photos of different coatings. Be creative…it’s yours. Punch them and put them in your three-ring binder under the tab for Protective Coatings.
5. You might want to add other examples of not-included items such as part number label removal, since almost every new part has a part number label that should be removed. Heat or a release agent must be employed. Remember, we don’t want anybody to know we repaired a car. We want it to be an invisible repair. That’s our job, and those part number labels can be a dead giveaway.
6. Your binder is assembled and it’s professionally done and thorough. You’ve affixed the necessary time to your repair estimate to do the jobs we’ve discussed. You’re like a lion in wait as you see the appraiser parking the car in your lot. You’re confident because you’re extremely well-prepared. Be calm, be self-assured and prove every point with your excellent documentation.
7. Go to the bank and make the deposit.
Best wishes and good luck.
Writer Mike West, a contributing editor to BodyShop Business, has been a shop owner for more than 30 years and a technician for more than 40 years. His shop in Seattle, Wash., has attained the I-CAR Gold Class distinction and the ASE Blue Seal of Excellence.
