What a photo estimate actually is. A photo estimate is a written, line-itemed document showing parts, labor hours, paint and materials, and probable supplements — the same format as our in-person estimate, but written from photos instead of a hands-on inspection. We use CCC ONE, the industry-standard estimating platform, the same one most carriers use. The photo estimate is binding for cosmetic damage we can fully see (bumper scrapes, single-panel dings, mirror replacements). For anything that suggests structural impact, we write the visible damage at fair market labor and parts pricing, then flag the line items most likely to expand at teardown. That second category is what becomes the supplement once the car is on the rack — see our supplement explainer for what that looks like and why almost every claim over $1,500 has at least one.
| Path | Time on your side | Accuracy on cosmetic damage | Accuracy on hidden damage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photo estimate (this page) | 5 min to send; reply within 1 business day | Good — bumper scrapes, single-panel dents, mirrors | Underestimates by definition (we can't see what's behind the panel) | Quick ballpark, undrivable car, customer in another city, comparing shops remotely |
| In-person appointment | ~20 min on-site | Best — estimator inspects in person | Best — visible inner-structure deformation gets caught | Drivable car, deciding self-pay vs claim, comparing shops in detail |
| Adjuster's first estimate (carrier) | 0-2 hours on-site or photo upload | Roughly accurate | Almost always low — supplements common | You've already filed the claim and want to start the clock |
Exactly what to send. Five things make our photo estimate as accurate as possible. (1) Photos of the damage from 4-6 angles. Get a close-up of the impact area, a wider shot showing the full panel, both sides if the damage is symmetric (e.g. front bumper hit), and an underbody shot if the damage is forward of the front wheels. Outdoor daylight if you can — the camera flash hides paint depth. (2) A photo of the VIN sticker. It's the white sticker on the driver-side door jamb (open the driver's door and look at the rear edge of the door frame). The VIN tells us the exact trim, paint code, and wiring options — three of the biggest variables in collision pricing. (3) Year, make, model, and color name. "2022 Honda Accord Sport, Modern Steel Metallic." (4) Two-sentence description of what happened. "Rear-ended at a stoplight in Tempe, my car was stationary, the other driver's insurance is Progressive." (5) Insurance carrier and claim number if you've filed. Without these the estimate still works, but having the claim number means we can start carrier coordination immediately if you decide to repair with us.
How fast you'll hear back. One business day is the working SLA. Most photo estimates go out the same business day if you send them in the morning, next-business-morning if you send them in the afternoon. We don't write photo estimates on weekends — we're closed Saturdays and Sundays — so a photo emailed Friday at 4 PM gets answered Monday morning. The reply comes from the same email address you sent to (mesa@ / gilbert@ / scottsdale@) and includes a PDF or in-line line-item estimate, a labor-hour breakdown, and a brief note on what we'd expect to see at teardown if the damage looks structural.
What photo estimates can't see. Three categories of damage are invisible from photos and are why we always quote them as ballparks rather than firm bids. (a) Frame deformation. Modern unibody vehicles can take a hit that bends the inner structure 5-15mm without leaving an obvious dent on the outer panel. We catch this with a frame measurement on the rack, not from a phone camera. (b) ADAS module damage. Front-radar, blind-spot, and lane-departure modules sit behind bumpers and inside fenders. A bumper hit that looks cosmetic from outside frequently knocks an ADAS module out of calibration — required to recalibrate per OEM procedure (see I-CAR ADAS information). (c) Broken inner brackets and reinforcements. Rear-end and side impacts often break the energy-absorbing brackets behind bumpers and inside doors — they're 30 seconds visible on the rack and invisible in any photo. All three of these get added via supplement after we have the car. The carrier expects supplements; they're a normal part of the claim cycle.
When the photo estimate is final (no supplement expected). About 30-40% of photo estimates we write turn into a repair where the photo number was the final number — no supplement, no surprise. The pattern: small, contained, cosmetic damage where every affected panel is visible from outside. Examples we see weekly: a single-panel door ding from a parking-lot incident, a bumper scrape from a low-speed brush against a wall, a side-mirror replacement after clipping a mailbox. If your damage looks like one of those, a photo estimate is plenty to make a self-pay decision. For anything where the impact involved another moving vehicle at speed — even at 15-25 mph — expect a supplement and budget the photo estimate as the floor, not the ceiling.
How this works for an insurance claim. If you've filed a claim and your carrier wants their own estimate first (Progressive's photo-app, GEICO's drive-in, State Farm's Select Service), get that done — we can work from the carrier's first estimate too. Forward us the carrier's PDF along with your photos and we'll write a parallel estimate plus flag any line items the carrier missed. Most carriers accept a body-shop estimate as a supplement input; we negotiate directly with the assigned adjuster. Under ARS §20-468 you have the legal right to choose any licensed Arizona body shop regardless of which adjuster wrote the first estimate. Steering by the carrier away from your chosen shop can be an unfair claim settlement practice under ARS §20-461 and is reportable to the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI).
No commitment, no pressure. About 1 in 6 of our photo estimates don't end in a repair at OAB — customers take the number and use it to compare shops, decide to file the claim differently, decide to total the car, or decide the damage isn't worth fixing. The estimate is free and the email back to us is just an email. We don't auto-enroll you in anything, we don't pull your credit, we don't put you on a marketing list. If you want to schedule the in-person appointment after the photo estimate to firm up the number, that's a free 20 minutes; if you want to take the photo estimate to a different shop, that's also fine. The point of the photo estimate is to put honest numbers in your hand fast — what you do with them is up to you. Background reading on shop selection: the BBB consumer tips on choosing an auto body shop and the AZ DIFI consumer insurance guide.