Webinar breaks down how ‘Who Pays for What?’ surveys work, most recent frame and mechanical results

The facilitators of the quarterly “Who Pays for What?” survey, Mike Anderson, president of Collision Advice, and John Yoswick, editor of CRASH Network, said Wednesday that the results are meant to spread awareness about included and not-included operations.

They broke down what the surveys typically ask, how the aggregate and anonymous data are presented in the survey results. They also provided some of the results from the most recent survey on frame and mechanical operations in an Autobody News webinar.

“I think that estimators have grown somewhat in their knowledge of OEM procedures, but I think we’ve gone backwards in regards to our acknowledgement of not-included operations,” Anderson said. “We ask people, if you didn’t charge for something or you never asked for it, why? We published the reasons why people said they’d never asked. The No. 1 reason that shops say they never asked for anything is because they thought that it was included.”

Yoswick added that’s one of the most valuable aspects of the surveys. “It just builds awareness. You might not have known at some point that duplicate OEM texture of seam sealer was not-included, but you might need a reminder of that, or your estimator might need a reminder, or your blueprinter. The surveys are really important because it gives you a way to remind your staff or yourself about these items once a year, at least, and then maybe a second time when you get the report.”

The second reason shops said they aren’t paid for operations is that they’ve never asked to be reimbursed or didn’t charge for a procedure, Anderson said.

“It’s less than 20% of the time that shops say they weren’t paid because an insurance company said no,” he said. “Now, I’m not defending the insurance companies. I’m just telling the people that take our surveys because… we have a training initiative or issue in our industry that people are not as aware of things that are not included anymore as they used to.”

When it comes to insurance appraisers, Anderson said someone with State Farm told him the company teaches their appraisers to ask four questions to determine whether something should be paid for or not: Is what you’re asking for required to return the vehicle to pre-accident condition? If you can prove it’s required, is it included? If you can prove it’s not included, then is there a pre-determined time in the estimating system? And if not, what is it worth?

“You provide an invoice for material, or it’s judgment time,” Anderson said. “Is it required to prep a raw Toyota bumper cover to put the vehicle back to pre-condition? Yes, it is. Here’s a document from Toyota. Is prepping the raw Toyota bumper cover included in any other labor operation? No, it’s not. Here’s a document from Toyota… Is there a pre-determined time? Yes, CCC pays 25% of the basic code time on the maximum an hour.

“I’m not saying you can win every negotiation using this, but I think if you, as an estimator, can prepare before you go into negotiations with at least having all this evidence ready and available, you can go into it with more confidence.”

Some procedures asked about in the frame and mechanical survey were:

• • Premeasured to diagnose structural damage
  • Remove coatings from pinch welds
  • Destructive testing of welds
  • Mobilize the vehicle if it gets towed in, putting it on wheel dollies to move it
  • prediagnostic alignments
  • R&I electrical components for welding
  • Rivet gun setup
  • Stall cure time
  • Final verification of measurements
  • Clearing the customer’s personal data if the vehicle is a total loss
  • Disconnecting/reconnecting the battery
  • Administrative fee for rekeying the estimate
  • Administrative fee for total losses

Forty-nine percent of shops said they’re always, or most of the time, getting paid to pre-measure a vehicle, which is down by 9%, Anderson said.

“With ADAS, this is more critical than ever before,” he said. “In the ’80s, you could look at the door gaps or something, they might be misaligned, but today, the way vehicles are built, they could divert inertia forces, and you would not know unless you measured it.”

The survey also found that the median non-DRP body labor rate for 2025 is $67, up from $65 in 2024. Anderson noted that in some geographic areas the rates are higher, and in some are lower.

The survey includes mechanical labor rates as well as DRP rates.

“We also showed how many people are subscribing and paid to subscribe to specific OEM websites versus Alldata, RepairLogic, CCC repair methods,” Anderson said. “This is one where we ask questions, for example, like who’s researching our repair procedures? Is it the estimator, the technician? Do you have a designated person?”

According to the survey, 66% of shops sublet alignments while 19% keep it in-house at a flat fee. Fifteen percent bill it at a mechanical labor rate. Forty percent of shops said they have a mechanic on staff.

Anderson and Yoswick noted that each survey also has links to applicable Database Enhancement Gateway (DEG) inquiry links and Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Quick Tip videos.

“If nothing else, you can utilize our ‘Who Pays for What?’ surveys… for training and to create awareness with your technicians and estimators,” Anderson said.

Survey results are available here.

Images

Featured image credit: GamePH/iStock