Before you pay a repair estimate, have AI sort every line into "needed now" and "can wait", with a question for the shop on each. Works in ChatGPT or Claude.
What you need
A photo of the estimate
Your car's year, model and mileage
The prompt
Here is a repair estimate for my [year, make, model] at [miles] miles. Check every line against the manufacturer's maintenance schedule for this mileage. Sort each line into: needed now, looks early, or can't tell. Only comment on price where you can find a real price for this part and car; otherwise say you don't know. For every line that looks early, give me one question to ask the shop before I agree to it.
What it did in my test
I used a sample 9-line estimate for a 2019 Honda CR-V at 48,000 miles, $1,687.35 (made up to test it). It marked the front brake pads as needed now ($408) and flagged $878.53 of lines that looked early against Honda's schedule, each with a question to ask.
Use it the right way
This is for asking better questions, not for accusing your mechanic. Sometimes an early-looking line is right because of what they saw on the lift. Ask, then decide.