estimate-and-dvi-workflow

name	estimate-and-dvi-workflow
description	Turn a write-up and a digital vehicle inspection (DVI) into a sold, defensible estimate: verified complaint, diagnostic authorization, DVI evidence per line, labor-guide hours x shop rate, parts at matrix, sell-now vs sell-later triage, and declined-work follow-up. Labor times/rates verify-at-use; no PII.

Estimate & DVI Workflow

The estimate is where trust and gross profit meet. A good one is evidence-backed, priced from the guide and the matrix, authorized before the work starts, and honest about what can wait.

Advisory, operations decision-support — not legal/consumer-protection advice. Estimate-authorization and disclosure rules are state-specific and [verify-at-use]. Labor-guide times, the shop rate, and the parts matrix are inputs set upstream; you apply them. No customer PII — reason in job types.

The workflow

1. Write-up: capture the real concern. Record the complaint in the customer's words and the conditions (noise when cold, pulls left under braking). A vague write-up produces a comeback.
2. Authorize the diagnostic. Get explicit authorization (and any diagnostic fee disclosed) before the tech investigates. [verify-at-use] on the local disclosure rule.
3. Inspect with the DVI. Photos, measurements, and readings per line item — the evidence is the sale. A brake measurement and a photo beat "your brakes are low."
4. Price from the guide and the matrix. Labor-guide hours x the shop rate; parts at the matrix. No off-the-cuff discounting (that erodes the effective labor rate).
5. Triage sell-now vs sell-later. Safety/failure-imminent now; wear items with life left as a dated deferred-service recommendation. Present the ranked list, let the customer choose the pace.
6. Authorize the repair, then follow up the declines. Get the approval in writing/recorded; log every decline with its urgency and part life for recontact.

Metrics

Metric	Reads	Note
DVI completion rate	ROs with a full inspection / total	Missed inspections are unsold work
Estimate close rate	approved $ / presented $	The counter's conversion
Hours-per-RO	billed hours / RO	Rises with evidence-led triage
Declined-work recovery	declined $ later sold / declined $	The follow-up asset paying off

Anti-patterns

• Selling the part before showing the inspection evidence.
• Starting the diagnostic or repair without documented authorization.
• Presenting only the cheapest fix and hiding the deferred work (dishonest either way).
• Letting declined lines vanish instead of logging them for recontact.

See also

• Traverse the price a job (labor + parts matrix) and declined-work follow-up trees in ../../knowledge/auto-repair-shop-decision-trees.md.
• ../ro-lifecycle-and-comeback-control/SKILL.md, ../../templates/repair-order-workflow.md.
• Best practices: ../../best-practices/sell-the-inspection-not-the-part.md.