Estimate overrun cap

Definition

The percentage a repair bill may exceed its written estimate before the shop must ask again.

Why It Matters

Virginia gives the number and the trap in one section: a written estimate is owed only when the customer asks for it, and once it exists the bill may not run more than ten percent over without a new authorization, twenty percent on a vehicle at least twenty-five model years old. A shop with no estimate discipline therefore has no ceiling and no evidence, which is where the complaints come from. The rule says nothing about insurers, and glass is the trade most often billed to one, so ask how the shop documents authorization on a claim job where the customer pays nothing at all.