This SAE Recommended Practice applies to all portions of the vehicle, but design efforts should focus on components and systems with the highest contribution to the overall average repair cost. The costs to be minimized include not only insurance premiums, but also out-of-pocket costs incurred by the owner.

Damageability, repairability, serviceability and diagnostics are inter-related. Some repairability, serviceability and diagnostics operations may be required for collision or comprehensive loss-related causes only, some operations for noncollision- related causes only (warranty, scheduled maintenance, non-scheduled maintenance, etc.), and some for both causes. The scope of this document deals with only those operations that involve collision and comprehensive insurance loss repairs.

The purpose of this document is to assist automobile manufacturers in optimizing their products' damageability, repairability, serviceability, and theft deterrence. This document should be considered concurrently with other parameters such as function, safety, cost, weight, manufacturability, recyclability, quality, styling, performance, marketability, etc. The main objective is to contain or reduce overall collision-repair costs without compromising occupant safety, crashworthiness, and other design parameters.