| name | auto-repair-estimate-decoder |
| description | Decode an auto repair estimate โ what each line actually is, which items are urgent vs upsell, and the questions that separate a fair shop from a fishing expedition. Use when someone asks 'is this repair quote fair', 'decode my mechanic's estimate', 'do I really need all this', or 'is the shop ripping me off'. Produces a line-by-line decode with urgency triage, parts/labor sanity checks, ranked red flags, and the exact questions to ask the shop before authorizing. |
Auto Repair Estimate Decoder Skill
Repair estimates mix three different things on one page: what your car needs now, what it will need eventually, and what the shop would like to sell you this week. This skill separates them โ decoding each line into plain language, triaging by "what happens if I don't," and flagging the patterns (fluid-flush bundles, replace-instead-of-repair, labor-hour padding) that distinguish an estimate from an invoice-in-waiting. It works from the estimate text; it never diagnoses the car.
What This Skill Produces
- A line-by-line decode: what each item is, what it does, what happens if deferred
- Urgency triage: safety-now / soon-with-timeframe / eventually / optional-upsell
- Sanity checks: labor hours vs. the job's typical shape, parts pricing patterns, diagnostic-fee handling
- Ranked red flags and the authorize/decline/second-opinion recommendation per line, plus the questions to ask
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
- The estimate text โ every line with prices; photos of the writeup work. Partial estimates get decoded with the missing pieces named.
- The car and the symptom โ year/make/model/mileage, and what brought it in (the estimate should connect to the symptom; lines that don't are the interesting ones).
- Context โ how long they plan to keep the car, and whether this shop has history with them.
Framework: Severity Scale
- ๐ด โ repairs unrelated to the presenting symptom appearing without explanation, "replace" where "repair/resurface" is standard practice for the condition described, fluid-flush bundles on intervals far shorter than typical service schedules, labor hours that imply the job twice ("remove and replace" charged for overlapping operations), vague lines ("front end work") with specific prices, diagnostic fees charged not credited toward authorized work (shop-dependent โ ask).
