System and method for generating vehicle repair estimate reports based on predictive estimating

Abstract

Consumer safety of repaired vehicles can be improved by providing systems and methods for generating vehicle repair estimate reports based on predictive estimating and transmitting these reports to clients. A master server serviced by a vehicle manufacturer generates a vehicle repair estimate report based on predictive estimating and transmits this report to a client via a web-based graphical user interface. Also, a master server serviced by a vehicle manufacturer generates a vehicle repair estimate report based on predictive estimating and transmits this report to a client via a vehicle repair claims management user interface. The vehicle repair estimate report based on predictive estimating may comprise repair packages and repair information relating to recommended replacement parts and quantities thereof, the part numbers for the suggested replacement parts, the price estimate for the suggested replacement parts, manufacturer-recommended repair instructions, and other relevant information.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A system comprising:
 a processor; and   a tangible, non-transitory memory configured to communicate with the processor,   the tangible, non-transitory memory having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:   converting, by the processor, data about a plurality of major vehicle parts and data about a plurality of secondary parts to a standardized format compatible with a vehicle repair claims management user interface that is associated with a third-party vehicle repair claims management entity;   determining, by the processor using predictive estimating, that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged due to an outside impact by another object to a major vehicle part creating a damaged major vehicle part, wherein the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts include at least one of one-time use parts or hazardous materials parts;   displaying, by the processor, a list of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts associated with the damaged major vehicle part;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts in the list to be indicated as being determined as unnecessary; and   creating, by the processor, an estimate report for replacing the damaged major vehicle part and the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts that are necessary.   
     
     
         2 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising removing, by the processor, the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts from the list that were indicated as being determined as unnecessary. 
     
     
         3 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the determining that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged is based on a manufacturer of the damaged major vehicle part. 
     
     
         4 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the determining that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged is pre-determined prior to the major vehicle part being damaged. 
     
     
         5 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the determining that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged includes determining that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts need to be replaced even without damage. 
     
     
         6 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are behind the damaged major vehicle part. 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are in radial directions away from the damaged major vehicle part. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, by the processor, vehicle repair information, in response to receiving a selection of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts in the list. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, by the processor, respective prices for replacing the damaged major vehicle part and each of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are grouped into repair packages based on at least one of a type of damage, a location of the damaged major vehicle part or a location of one or more of the plurality of secondary parts that are likely damaged. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising converting, by the processor, data about manufacturer-recommended repair instructions to the standardized format compatible with the vehicle repair claims management user interface that is associated with the third-party vehicle repair claims management entity. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising transmitting, by the processor using an application programming interface (API) or a SIM application toolkit (STK), from a master server to a third-party vehicle repair claims management client, data about the plurality of major vehicle parts in a first non-standardized format and data about the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts in a second non-standardized format. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising merging, by the processor, manufacturer-recommended repair instructions with the estimate report on the display screen, in response to receiving a selection of a button corresponding to one or more of the damaged major vehicle part or the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, by the processor, manufacturer-recommended repair instructions in a separate window from the estimate report on the display screen, in response to receiving a selection of a button corresponding to one or more of the damaged major vehicle part or the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the manufacturer-recommended repair instructions includes manufacturer-recommended parts to be replaced, an identification of the one-time use parts, and part numbers for the manufacturer-recommended parts to be replaced. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising revising, by the processor, the estimate report in response to receiving a request to remove additional of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising receiving, by the processor, a purchase request for the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts, in response to a selection of a purchase request on the display. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, by the processor, an update of the list of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts associated with a different damaged major vehicle part, in response to receiving a selection of the different damaged vehicle part. 
     
     
         19 . A method comprising:
 converting, by a processor, data about a plurality of major vehicle parts and data about a plurality of secondary parts to a standardized format compatible with a vehicle repair claims management user interface that is associated with a third-party vehicle repair claims management entity;   determining, by the processor using predictive estimating, that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged due to an outside impact by another object to a major vehicle part creating a damaged major vehicle part,   wherein one or more of the plurality of secondary parts include at least one of one-time use parts or hazardous materials parts; and   displaying, by the processor, a list of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts associated with the damaged major vehicle part;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts in the list to be indicated as being determined as unnecessary; and   creating, by the processor, an estimate report for replacing the damaged major vehicle part and the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts that are necessary.   
     
     
         20 . An article of manufacture including a non-transitory, tangible computer readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon that, in response to execution by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
 converting, by the processor, data about a plurality of major vehicle parts and data about a plurality of secondary parts to a standardized format compatible with a vehicle repair claims management user interface that is associated with a third-party vehicle repair claims management entity;   determining, by the processor using predictive estimating, that one or more of the plurality of secondary parts are likely to be damaged due to an outside impact by another object to a major vehicle part creating a damaged major vehicle part, wherein the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts include at least one of one-time use parts or hazardous materials parts;   displaying, by the processor, a list of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts associated with the damaged major vehicle part;   receiving, by the processor, a selection of the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts in the list to be indicated as being determined as unnecessary; and   creating, by the processor, an estimate report for replacing the damaged major vehicle part and the one or more of the plurality of secondary parts that are necessary.