What's with auto body people? . . . .

Not offended by your idea of body guy's,Been doing it for a hobbie for over 28 years now,the problem is that materials and shop time are the best deal for the customer but who can say how long it will actually take to give an accurate estimate?you get started on the job and theres more rust to be repaired before the frame pieces can be put in,the new frame section needs sandblasting and painting theres a lot of unseen work to it,most shops that do give an estimate have to shoot it up to the moon to make sure they don't screw them selves,and to give a customer a good job takes more time than it might seem.that's why a lot of folks here at f.a.b.o. do this work themselves and the paint work and the body work so I guess we all tempermental fume sniffing flakes???.

You are so right waggin. I have seen my painter friend start projects that just snowball and could take months and never finish. Comparred to that headach he can do 50 insurance jobs.
Like you said, I just do it myself and learn along the way. I have been dabbling in my own automotive repair work for the last 20 years and can fix pretty much anything on my car.