Shop / Prompts & Skills / Auto Repair Estimate Explainer — AI Prompt That Turns Estimate Lines Into Plain Customer Explanations

When the estimate's own figures disagree

An explanation is only as honest as the document it explains. When an estimate contradicts itself — two figures that cannot both be right, or essential text missing — the estimate explainer does not explain over the gap. It stops, and asks. This page shows the passing case first, then the case that gets held.

The passing case: every figure checks out

The explainer returns the customer-facing message and its own source check in one output:

STATUS: READY
MESSAGE:
Your written estimate lists replacement of the cabin air filter. It shows a $24 part charge and $18 labor charge, with a $42 total. This is an estimate; the text says the work is not yet authorized.
SOURCE CHECK:
- Work and prices: ESTIMATE_TEXT.
- Authorization status: ESTIMATE_TEXT.

Sample data above is fictional, shown so you can judge the output before buying.

The figures are unchanged — a $24 part charge and an $18 labor charge, with a $42 total — and the status is stated out loud: this is an estimate; the text says the work is not yet authorized. The source check names its two sources, work and prices and authorization status, both from ESTIMATE_TEXT.

The held case: two figures that cannot both be right

When the estimate's figures conflict, the prompt holds the explanation and returns questions about the conflict instead of picking a figure. A customer explanation built on a guessed number creates a worse problem than the delay — so those HOLD questions go back to the advisor, not to the customer. The same hold applies when essential text is missing: the explainer asks for what is missing rather than inventing it.

What never gets added, in either case

An explanation is not a diagnosis. The explainer does not add causes the estimate does not state, urgency the advisor did not assess, or savings that were never quoted. The line-by-line method itself is covered in our earlier guide, How to Explain an Auto Repair Estimate in Plain Language.

Questions