Three paragraphs. One verdict.
How Holdwright decides whether a shop quote is fair, borderline, or overpriced — what goes into the numbers, where they come from, and what to actually do with the verdict before you sign the estimate.
The day your warranty ends, the dealer’s prices don’t.
The buyer’s moment
Warranty just ended. Dealer or independent shop hands you an estimate. You have no benchmark — and no one to call.
What Holdwright is
A deterministic check (no LLM) that compares the quote to regional market rates for the same repair in your ZIP, plus plain-language tips before you sign.
What the membership adds
Unlimited checks, a printable back-to-the-shop brief, and a money-back promise on every overpriced verdict we issue.
Same numbers, every time. No LLM. No guessing.
The Holdwright engine is a deterministic function: the same five inputs always produce the same verdict. Numbers come from a public rate card keyed to your ZIP — not a live crowdsourced feed, not a black-box model. The brief says “quick and directional,” not magic.
- Category — brakes, cooling, air conditioning, suspension, electrical, engine / timing, exhaust, or transmission
- ZIP code — sets the regional pricing band for the job
- Labor hours the shop wrote on the estimate
- Parts cost the shop wrote on the estimate
- The total on the receipt — the one number you actually pay
| ZIP PREFIX | METRO | MULTIPLIER |
|---|---|---|
| 100, 101, 112 | New York / Brooklyn | 1.20× |
| 941 | San Francisco | 1.22× |
| 021, 022 | Boston | 1.18× |
| 900 | Los Angeles | 1.18× |
| 200 | Washington DC | 1.15× |
| 981 | Seattle | 1.15× |
| 606 | Chicago | 1.12× |
| 330 | Miami | 1.12× |
| 750 / 770 | Dallas / Houston | 1.10× |
| 320 / 850 / 190 | Jacksonville / Phoenix / Philly | 1.10× |
| 0 / 1 / 9 first digit | Northeast & West Coast (non-metro) | 1.10× |
| 3 / 6 / 7 first digit | Southeast & Central | 1.05× |
| 2 / 4 / 5 / 8 first digit | Rest of the country | 1.00× |
Numbers are bucketed public-market medians — conservative on the low end. Parts range × hours × ZIP multiplier = market band. Same arithmetic for every check.
The four verdict tiers
VERDICT BANDS · 4 TIERSWe bucket the total into one of four tiers based on where it lands relative to the market range for that category in your ZIP. Same names every time whether you’re reading this page or staring at the checker result.
- FAIRTIER 01
Looks fair for this job in your area.
- Threshold
- Total ≤ 95% of market high
- What it means
- Sits INSIDE the regional band
- BORDERLINETIER 02
A little above market — get a second quote to be sure.
- Threshold
- Total ≤ 115% of market midpoint
- What it means
- 5–15% over typical for your ZIP
- OVERPRICEDTIER 03
Overpriced for this job in your area.
- Threshold
- Total ≤ 135% of market high
- What it means
- More than 15% over typical for your ZIP
- WELL OVERPRICEDTIER 04
Well above market — don’t sign this until you compare.
- Threshold
- Total > 135% of market high
- What it means
- The kind of number dealers quote hoping you won’t compare
Worked example · front brakes, Manhattan
Front brake pads + rotors · 2.5 hr at the $120/hr baseline · ZIP 10001 (NYC, 1.20×). The engine runs the same arithmetic on every quote you check, regardless of category.
- ≤ $792 → fair
- ≤ $811 → borderline
- ≤ $1,126 → overpriced
- > $1,126 → well overpriced
Move on the verdict, not the silence.
Each verdict comes with a written playbook. Pick the branch that matches what the checker told you. Members get a printable back-to-the-shop brief that folds these into the conversation with the service writer.
- Keep the written quote on file. If the final invoice runs more than 10% over the estimate, ask why before signing anything.
- Get the exact part name + part number on the estimate — aftermarket “OEM-equivalent” pads and struts are 20–40% cheaper than dealer-branded boxes.
- Ask the shop to itemize parts vs labor separately so you can see where the dollars go. A borderline quote is usually fine once you can see the split.
- Price the same part on a public parts catalogue (RockAuto, NAPA, dealer OEM) — labor is the variable, parts rarely are.
- Cross-check the hours on the invoice line-by-line — many shops pad post-warranty labor because the warranty won’t push back.
- Get the exact part name + part number. Ask whether aftermarket is acceptable; if so, the price drops fast.
- Get a second quote, even a 15-minute phone quote from a shop two miles away. Holdwright can check that one too.
- If this is a dealership quote, walk it across the street to an independent shop. The same job is often 30–50% less.
- Ask for the shop’s itemized breakdown in writing, including the labor time guide they’re billing against.
- Members: pull up the Holdwright brief for this quote category and bring it to the service writer — it gives you the call-out items in plain language.
Don’t sign the dealer’s estimate until Holdwright sees it.
Anonymous · no signup · runs in under a second. The standalone checker takes five fields and gives you a verdict plus the next-move playbook above.
Or email holdwright-3@polsia.app · reply within one business day.