Auto Repair Estimates - Making a Career From Writing Estimates

What is an estimator?

An estimator is a person that writes auto repair estimates on vehicles that have been involved in an accident. The estimator must understand the basic car design and know the nomenclature of a vehicle. The estimator must also have good communication skills as they deal with customers on a daily basis. Not only does the estimator have to communicate with customers, but they will also be the contact person for the insurance companies, shop managers, and the shop foreman or technicians. Therefore, communications is a must for an auto estimator. This career pathway is definitely for a people person. In fact, I would even say that a person that writes auto repair estimates for an auto body repair center needs to be part salesman. It is their job to sell them self, the company, the technicians, and the service that the shop provides. Not all technicians make good estimators, but it is a good idea for the estimator to have experience as a technician. Although, there have been people hired without experience and trained by the shop to write estimates.

Who Will Hire You?

There are two different industries that hire auto estimators. One is auto body repair shops and the other is insurance companies. This can also split into other categories in each industry. Collision shops can be dealerships, franchise shops, or independent shops. Some insurance companies hire their own auto estimators, while other insurance companies hire independent auto estimators. When you write estimates for the insurance company your title may be an auto appraiser instead of an auto estimator.

What Can You Expect To Earn?

This can vary on your experience and if you work for a small body shop or an insurance company. However, according to O*Net the national median for an Auto Damage Appraiser is $53,440 and had a growth rate of 7% to 10% in a ten year period. (2006 - 2016) Some collision repair centers will pay their estimators a salary and a percentage of every job that they sell. Therefore, the more estimate sales that the estimator produce, the more income he or she can earn if on one of these types bonus incentives.

What is the first step towards this career?

The first thing you will need is to learn is the basics. You can do this by enrolling in a collision repair program. Many local community and junior colleges offer these programs. This will allow you to learn the basics about the entire industry. Everything from the body repair, structural or frame repair to painting. Most programs incorporate a basic estimating course within the auto program. This will give you a taste of the industry and determine where you fit in best at. You may decide to become a collision or paint technician instead of a person that writes auto repair estimates. Whatever you decide, this training is the first step to securing a job in the auto collision repair or estimating careers. Some insurance companies require that you have a bachelor degree, but many do not. Experience hold a lot of weight with insurance companies as well. The training is your foundation and how you build the building is up to you. What I mean is, once you have your basics down, you have many opportunities and directions to explore.

Where do I find a facility to gain the training?

The best training for your money is going to be at a junior or community college. Community colleges normally focus on smaller groups, which offers lower student per instructor ratio. This leads to a deeper level of learning. They also receive state and federal funding, which allows them to offer quality programs at a much lower cost to the student. Other training facilities include technical schools and private owned schools. Check with your local community college to see if they offer collision repair. If not, ask them if there is a nearby tech school that does. Chances are that they will know where to point you in the right direction. Once enrolled in a collision repair program, you will be on your way to a career as a person that writes auto repair estimates or many other career pathways that collision repair has to offer.

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Credit Repair Business For Sale

Income growing, recession-proof business, and scalable. Complete transition assistance training. Potential of over $1,000,000 per year net profit or more.

That's how a classified ad reads for any good credit repair business for sale.

If you're looking for a credit repair business for sale, one way you can save money is through buying a franchise that includes everything you need to run your business. The major reason to buy a credit repair business for sale is to acquire the revenue stream, which is derived from the brand, ongoing operations executing the credit repair files, and referral sources.

That said, in most markets, there are so many other professionals dependent on having clients with good credit (real estate agents, car dealers, furniture and jewelry dealers, even college admissions counselors) that developing referral sources is quite easy. Postcards, flyer drops, "lunch and learns" along with a "mail route" of pop-by's have all been proven to produce business.

Other aspects of a credit repair business for sale, such as the brand and ongoing operations can be quickly ramped up with less cost than purchasing an associated business in most cases. Equipment required is minimal, and staff can be completely trained in a few days with one online video training and coaching teleconferences.

What would be the price of a business that had over a million dollars per year in net profit? What if you could find a Credit Repair Business for Sale for pennies on the dollar - all you had to do was improve the marketing and hire some help?

Before you purchase an existing credit repair business for sale, we recommend comparing the cost of starting one, using a complete turn-key franchise type system.

As you evaluate your options, we recommend you look for the following components:

- Legal Support. Credit restoration is an ever changing field, and not an exact science. Credit Bureaus evolve their recipe for distilling a credit score, the market produces more people with delinquencies, and creditors change their policies. A good system will provide you with unlimited paralegal support as well as access to a nationally-recognized credit repair attorney for coaching calls, mastermind sessions, and updates on the details of operation of a credit restoration business.

- Online video training. This will allow you to replace staff quickly, scale up your team, and provide access to the latest version of training in this ever-changing field. In addition to video training, coaching calls with other credit restoration professionals can help you learn from others' mistakes outside your service area.

- Marketing Support. As you look at any credit repair business for sale be sure to consider the marketing in place. Generally, referral relationships are one of the easiest and most consistent sources of business. One upside to referral sources is that of transparent accountability in that you'll quickly see where the bulk of your leads are coming in from and be able to develop that further. A good system will include brochures, a website, flyers, materials for "lunch and learn" presentations to referral sources or materials for consumer presentations such as real estate offices and religious or civic groups.

When you invest in a credit repair business for sale, you can add this as a revenue stream if you work with real estate, personal services (i.e. taxes, insurance, etc.), or anyone that depends on attractive financing for clients (i.e. mortgage lenders, car dealers).

Note that like any business opportunity, we cannot guarantee your success. That said, we work to maximize your success. Your level of success depends on your work invested, talents, etc. Take the time to fully investigate and make the decision that's right for you when you look for a credit repair business for sale.

One advantage to this business is that it's generally recession-proof, because during a soft economy, the base of potential clients increases. Over eighty million americans have bad credit, and millions are willing to pay to get it fixed.

In looking at any business opportunity - including a credit repair business for sale, you'll want to evaluate a few key areas:

Is the sector or opportunity growing or shrinking? Credit scoring is definitely here for life, and it's importance continues to grow. Having good credit makes a substantial difference to anyone buying a home or car, getting car insurance in most states, getting a new job, or financing just about anything.
Is it scalable? If you were to buy a conventional brick-and-mortar business like a dry cleaner, often times the only way to increase the business is to open more locations. Investing in a credit repair business for sale means you can help a wide geographic area just by increasing your marketing or sales efforts.
Are you selling on price? This is an area where the right credit repair business for sale really shines: the right system will make you the expert (or your team). You could build this business yourself, but you could end up spending over a million dollars on software, thousands of hours on research, and many thousands of dollars on marketing ideas that didn't work. Just as there's a difference between a Porsche and a Buick, your credit repair business will be able to clearly demonstrate your value and therefore command a better price in the market.

Starting a franchise of a credit restoration business, instead of purchasing a credit repair business for sale can save you money and provide a higher rate of return.

Edward Jamison is the nation's #1 credit repair attorney, and has created a complete turn-key http://creditcrm.com/news/credit-repair-business-for-sale/