A Guy by Marc Duvin After eight years and nearly 150,000 miles, about the only thing in which my Toyota Land Cruiser had not been involved was a devious plot involving the collision repair industry. Now I can cross that off the list. When Sara and I hatched our plot, the goal was simple: Find out if men and women are receiving comparable treatment from collision repair shops. The same car. The same dent. Six different shops. Three of the shops deal with a woman, and three deal with a man. Simple, right? Not so fast. While our little scheme was quite revealing when it comes to the estimation process, I find the results concerning the variation in treatment of men and women to be somewhat limited. First things first - it’s quite apparent that, all things considered, Sara had a significantly more friendly experience with the shops she visited than I did. That’s not to say the people with whom I dealt were ornary, or even unfriendly. It’s just Sara seemed to encounter a certain amount of fraternization, or let’s say friendly chit chat, to which I was not privy. That being said, I should add I was glad that was the case. When I take my car in to be fixed, I’d rather the people with whom I deal cut right to the chase. I want to get in, get solid advice and get out. In short, I want the shop to be professional. For the most part that’s what I encountered. At least in one case, however, the friendly face Sara encountered resulted in an estimate that was hundreds of dollars below what all the other shops in this study offered. By listening to Sara’s situation and taking the time to think about it, this one shop determined it would be possible to repair my car without replacing as many parts as seemed necessary at first review. Did Sara encounter this helpful and creative thinking because she was a woman, or was it simply because she was dealing with a helpful and competent person? It’s tough to say. In all other respects, however, Sara and I received very similar treatment. Each of us was greeted, worked with and given an estimate within a time range of 15 -40 minutes. Each of us received written estimates by people who studied the car and researched the cost of replacement parts. And finally, other than that one case, each shop estimated the cost of the repair in a range of $800 - $1,100. In the end, I’d have to conclude that this man and this woman received generally similar treatment from the shops involved in our study. I’d also have to conclude, however, that anyone looking to repair their car would be a fool not to get competing estimates. The same dent on the same car received an estimate of around $300 from one shop, and $1,100 from another. So now, with our little scheme completed, I’m off to get my truck repaired for the next 150,000 miles. I wonder where I’ll go?

A Girl by Sara Gedeon Upon entering my first shop, I was greeted almost immediately by a male estimator instead of the female receptionists who were busy talking to one another. The estimator came from behind the counter, introduced himself, shook my hand, and gave me his card. I was impressed already. As we walked out to the Land Cruiser together, he inquired about payment for the repair. Would it be insurance work or an out-of-pocket expense? I informed him that I would be paying for the repair myself. To further impress me, this estimator took his time looking at the dented rear of the truck and even took a few digital pictures. He did ask if I wanted any other repairs done, but did not push the fact when I refused. Noticing the rust, he informed me that I could simply use a rubbing compound to eliminate most of the rust and prevent further damage. The estimator was extremely helpful in suggesting different ways to lower the cost of the repair. In fact, only the metal bar would actually have to be replaced on the bumper. He would more than likely be able to fix the bumper without having to replace the two $250 sidepieces. Done observing, we walked back into the shop where I waited approximately ten minutes for him to write up the estimate. I was shocked when I saw the estimate - only $252. I noticed that the small dent was not accounted for on the estimate and inquired about this. He informed me that a paintless dent repairer could take the dent out for $75. In total, the first shop I visited would be able to do the repair for $327. The second shop I visited was not such a pleasant experience. The female receptionist was helping another customer as I walked in. However, the two men sitting comfortably at their desks did not attempt to help me. The receptionist finally informed me that I could pull my car around to the front so the estimator could look at it. Why could he not simply walk out to the truck with me? Although he did not ask, I informed him that the repair would not be insurance work and that anywhere he could save me money would be appreciated. While inspecting the Land Cruiser, this estimator inquired about the cause of the damage. When I told him that I hit a pole, he responded, "This is a big truck for you." He also suggested having other things repaired on the truck, only he pushed a little more and kept asking if I was sure. "This looks dangerous," he said. I sat at his desk where he finished the estimate and continually mumbled that I was lucky I didn’t damage this or that had I hit at another angle the damage would be so much more severe. I attempted not to roll my eyes and impatiently waited for the estimate to print out. As he was saying that he attended college with another "Gedeon," I stared at the estimate in disbelief - $863.20. According to this estimator, I did in fact need the two expensive sidepieces. At the next shop, I was not greeted at all. In fact, I almost had to grab a woman and tell her that I needed help whereupon she simply pointed to a man on the telephone. After finishing his extended conversation, he looked up and I told him that I was in need of an estimate. The estimator walked out to the Land Cruiser with me and asked which insurance company I would be using at which point I told him I would be paying for the repair myself. Again, I said that anywhere money could be saved was a definite plus. He looked at the truck carefully and told me that I should have the rust repaired as soon as possible; he could put it in the estimate if I wanted him to. I refused but he kept it up and suggested rust repair three more times. He would have to take the window out, refinish, blah, blah, blah. Instead of $10 for a rubbing compound, I was looking at $150-200. No thank you, just the rear damage please. I waited almost 25 minutes for the estimate. However, in his defense, I think he was calling for prices on parts. "You picked an expensive part to hit," was all he said when he handed me the estimate. Total - $1060.13!