The auto body repair industry has its own vocabulary. This glossary covers the terms you’ll most often encounter on an estimate, a supplement, or in a conversation with an adjuster. Every entry is written for car owners, not for industry insiders.
Glossary entries
- ADAS Recalibration — Advanced Driver Assistance Systems recalibration — the process of restoring proper alignment and calibration to the forw…
- OEM Parts — Original Equipment Manufacturer parts — parts produced by the same factory or supplier that made the parts on your car w…
- I-CAR Gold Class — The collision repair industry’s top training credential. Awarded by the Inter-Industry Conference on Auto Collision Repa…
- ASE Certified — Automotive Service Excellence certification — a national, voluntary credentialing program that requires automotive techn…
- Frame Straightening — The process of returning a damaged vehicle frame or unibody structure to factory tolerances using a chassis rack and las…
- Supplement (Insurance) — An addition to the original insurance estimate. Typically required when teardown reveals damage that was not visible fro…
- Salvage Title — A vehicle title designation indicating the vehicle was declared a total loss by an insurance carrier — typically because…
- Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) — A repair technique that removes dents from a vehicle panel without disturbing the paint. Works on small-to-medium dents …
- Pre-Repair Scan — An electronic scan of the vehicle’s onboard diagnostic systems performed before repair work begins. Documents existing t…
- High-Strength Steel (HSS) — Steel alloys engineered to be stronger than conventional steel at the same thickness. Used in modern vehicle structures …
Have a term we didn’t cover?
If you have an estimate, supplement, or repair report you want decoded, send it to us and we will walk you through the terms specific to your situation. We have been writing collision estimates in Canoga Park since 1994 and explain what they mean to dozens of customers every week.