Automotive Service Writer / Technical Estimator

Norfolk, VA | $25–$28/hr + OT | Monday–Friday | No Weekends

If you’ve spent years turning wrenches and know your way around parts catalogs, and repair estimates, this is a different kind of Service Writer job.

We’re looking for a mechanically minded Service Writer / Technical Estimator to help build out the Intake & Reconditioning side of a busy automotive operation. This is 100% internal — no retail customers, no selling work, no chasing approvals.

You’ll be the person helping connect the dots between the inspection, the tech, the parts department and outside vendors — figuring out what the car needs, what parts will work, what it should cost and how to get it done.

What you’ll be doing

• Review technician findings and build accurate repair estimates/work orders
• Research and source mechanical, body, trim and hard-to-find parts
• Dig through parts catalogs, diagrams and interchange information to nail down fitment
• Track down used, discontinued and oddball parts when the usual suppliers come up empty
• Work directly with diagnostic techs to understand complicated or unusual repairs
• Identify missing information and help determine what needs to happen next
• Get quotes from outside shops and specialty vendors and coordinate sublet work
• Help delegate repairs and keep outside work moving
• Occasionally get under a car or out in the shop when that’s what it takes to figure something out
• Keep estimates, parts research, vendor quotes and open issues organized

You’ll spend roughly half your time at the desk and half working around the shop, so this is not a sit-behind-the-computer-all-day Service Writer position.

The operation reconditions 700–800 vehicles a year, so there is plenty to work on. The focus is on solving problems and getting cars through the process, not generating sales or selling hours.

What we’re looking for

• 5+ years of hands-on automotive technician experience
• 2–3+ years as a Service Writer, Estimator or similar technical role
• Strong parts knowledge and experience sourcing parts yourself
• Experience reading parts diagrams and figuring out fitment/interchange issues
• Experience tracking down used, discontinued or hard-to-find parts
• Solid estimating and repair-order experience
• The mechanical knowledge to talk shop with experienced diagnostic techs
• Good computer skills and comfort working with online catalogs and supplier sites
• The patience to chase down an answer when the first three searches don’t get you there

Pay:

• $25–$28/hr, depending on experience
• Time-and-a-half after 40 hours
• Monday–Friday, 8 AM–5 PM
• 45 paid hours every week, including paid lunch
• No weekends
• Full-time, on-site
• Paid vacation and paid holidays

There’s no customer service theater, no sales quotas and no pressure to sell repairs. You’re here to figure out what the car needs, find the right way to get it done and keep the whole process moving.

If you’re the person in the shop who can look at a weird problem, dig through the catalog, call three places, find the right part and say “here’s what we need to do” — we want to talk to you.