The estimate · Read it before you sign it

The estimate, explained line by line.

Every job here starts with a written estimate in this exact format. Below is one for a common job on a common car, with every line annotated in plain English — what it is, and why it costs that. The numbers are invented, because the shop is; the format is the product.

RO-1187

2019 Honda CR-V — Front brake pads & rotors

Labor rate: $135/hr, posted at the counter

Sample — invented numbers

Sample estimate for front brake pads and rotors on a 2019 Honda CR-V — an illustration with invented numbers, each line annotated in plain English
Line itemQty · rateAmount
Front brake pads, ceramic (axle set) The part, at what a good aftermarket set costs. The estimate names the brand, so you can look the price up yourself.1 set$58.00
Front brake rotors Two new rotors. If yours had measured within spec, this line wouldn’t exist — that’s $108 you’d have kept.2 × $54.00$108.00
Hardware & caliper service kit Clips, shims, high-temp grease — the small parts that stop new pads from squealing. Listed, because everything is listed.1 kit$12.00
Labor — replace pads & rotors, front axle Book time for this job on this car, at the shop rate posted on the wall. You pay for the job, not the clock — if it takes me longer, that’s my problem.1.5 hr × $135$202.50
Parts & labor$380.50
Sales tax 8.0% Aurora sales tax on the parts ($178.00). Separately listed labor isn’t taxed in Colorado — one more reason every line is separate.$14.24
Total, as approved Inside the $180–$420 per-axle range published on the services page. If a job ever wouldn’t land inside its range, you hear that before work starts — not at pickup.$394.74

Approved before work began Date

Nothing on this sheet changes without a text and a yes — rule two, below.

Conditions · No exceptions

Three rules, printed on every estimate

  1. The estimate comes first, in writing.

    Paper or text, your choice. No work starts until you’ve seen the number and said go.

  2. Changes get approved before they happen.

    If I find something mid-job, you get a text with the new line and the new total. You approve it, or I button the car back up.

  3. Your old parts go back in the box.

    Say the word and they ride home in your trunk. What came off is yours to see.