Replace the single repair-cost number with a real plan.
"Estimated repair: £4,500" tells you nothing. CarMargin breaks the same cost down line by line — parts, labour, calibration — so you can argue with each entry.
Line-item parts list
Every part the AI thinks the lot needs, with severity (R&I — remove and install, vs R&R — remove and replace) and an estimated cost band. You see the assumption behind every pound, not a black-box total.
Labour hours per task
Hours per task with your regional shop rate applied. A panel that needs four hours of paint prep at £55/hr is £220 — visible, not hidden.
ADAS calibration warnings
Cars from roughly 2017 onwards carry forward-facing radar, cameras behind the windscreen, and corner radars in the bumpers. Damage to any of them adds a calibration job that shops charge for separately. CarMargin flags these and adds them to the cost — they're the most common surprise in salvage repairs.
Repair complexity score
Frame jig required? Aluminium-body welding? EV high-voltage work? Each one rules out home repair and pushes the lot into specialist shops. The complexity score tells you which category you're in before you bid.
DIY-vs-shop split
Each line is tagged as "competent home mechanic" or "shop only". If you're a hands-on buyer, your true cost is the shop-only lines plus the parts. If you're flipping to a trade buyer, it's everything.
Parts-availability score
A qualitative pain rating per make/model — "rare Euro, six-week back-orders common", "abundant on eBay UK", "main-dealer-only with VIN-coded ECU". A cheap repair you can't get parts for is more expensive than an expensive one you can.
Feeds the max-bid number directly.
The repair plan total is one of the inputs to the deterministic max-bid solver. Change your target ROI, transport miles, or shop-rate setting, and the recommended max bid recalculates instantly without re-calling the AI. The repair plan is the slow, expensive part — the maths on top is fast.
Honest about what it doesn't know.
Photo-based estimates can't see engine internals, transmission wear, or the contents of an ECU fault log. The repair plan flags exactly that — there's a "what you can't see from photos" section calling out the costs that could exist but aren't yet quantified. Use the chat to ask follow-ups, or take the printed plan to your inspector.
Upstream, the vision pass is what feeds the line items here — and the risk flags price the things this plan can't see.