Car repair cost calculators
Each job below is priced the way a service writer prices it: flat-rate book hours × the shop's door rate, plus a parts range, plus your state's sales tax. The totals are bands, because two honest shops quote the same job 20–30% apart on parts sourcing alone.
Calculators in this cluster
Rebuilt, remanufactured or used — parts, book hours and your state's labor rate.
Run itLong block, swap labor and state rates, checked against buying another car.
Run itPads, rotors, calipers and fluid by axle, at your state's labor rate.
Run itTires plus mounting, balancing, TPMS, disposal, alignment and state tax.
Run itPrep hours, panel count, paint grade and state body-shop rates.
Run itGlass, ADAS recalibration, moulding, and whether your state waives the deductible.
Run itBelt, water pump, tensioner and seals — bundled at your state's labor rate.
Run itCARB vs federal parts, theft claims, and the shields worth fitting after.
Run itPack price, module rebuild, install labor and whether the warranty still covers it.
Run itDiagnosis, recharge, compressor or evaporator — including R-1234yf refrigerant pricing.
Run itPer-mile carrier pricing by distance, route, season and open vs enclosed.
Run itSales tax, title, plates, and the states that charge by value or weight.
Run itCitable reference tables
These are the exact numbers the calculators above default to. Updated 2026-09-04. Free to quote, republish, or feed to an AI assistant under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to RevenueLab.fyi.
US car repair costs, 2026
Totals assume the $105/hr US average independent-shop rate and exclude sales tax. Book hours are typical flat-rate hours for a mainstream sedan or crossover.
| Repair | Book hours | Parts range | Low | Typical | High | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replace a transmission | 8 hr | $1,800–$4,500 | $2,700 | $4,200 | $7,200 | Remanufactured unit is 25–40% under new; rebuild is cheaper but warranty is shorter. |
| Replace an engine | 15 hr | $2,500–$7,500 | $4,200 | $6,800 | $11,500 | Used low-mileage engines cut parts cost roughly in half at the cost of warranty. |
| Replace brakes (pads + rotors, both axles) | 2.5 hr | $220–$700 | $420 | $780 | $1,400 | Per-axle jobs are about half; calipers add $150–$400 per corner. |
| Replace tires (set of four) | 1 hr | $400–$1,400 | $560 | $940 | $1,800 | Mount, balance, valve stems and disposal typically run $25–$40 per tire. |
| Paint a car | 24 hr | $350–$1,800 | $1,200 | $3,800 | $9,000 | Prep hours, not paint, drive the price; body work is quoted separately. |
| Replace a windshield | 1.5 hr | $250–$900 | $320 | $620 | $1,500 | ADAS camera recalibration adds $150–$450 and is not optional on most 2018+ cars. |
| Replace a timing belt | 5 hr | $180–$600 | $550 | $950 | $1,700 | Do the water pump and tensioner in the same teardown or you pay the labor twice. |
| Replace a catalytic converter | 2 hr | $400–$2,400 | $620 | $1,500 | $3,200 | CARB-compliant units cost far more in California and states following its rules. |
| Replace a hybrid or EV battery | 4 hr | $1,800–$14,000 | $2,300 | $5,200 | $16,500 | Hybrid packs cluster $2–4k; full EV packs run $8–20k before any warranty coverage. |
| Fix car air conditioning | 3 hr | $120–$1,200 | $250 | $850 | $2,200 | A recharge is under $250; a compressor replacement is the top of the range. |
| Ship a car | — | — | $600 | $1,250 | $2,600 | Open transport, 1,500 miles; enclosed adds 40–60%, inoperable adds $150–$250. |
| Register a car (state fees + tax) | — | — | $45 | $420 | $2,100 | Flat-fee states sit at the bottom; value-based states scale with vehicle price. |
Shipping and registration are service costs rather than shop repairs, so they carry no book hours or parts line.
Independent shop labor rates by state band
Door rate per book hour, before parts. Dealer rates typically run 35–60% higher in the same market.
| Band | Rate / hour | States |
|---|---|---|
| Lowest | $82 | AL, AR, MS, KY, WV, OK |
| Low | $90 | TN, MO, IN, KS, IA, NE, SC |
| Below average | $98 | TX, GA, OH, MI, NC, FL, AZ |
| US average | $105 | National baseline |
| Above average | $112 | PA, MN, WI, NV, UT, VA |
| High | $125 | IL, CO, OR, NJ, MD, upstate NY |
| Higher | $140 | MA, WA, CT, HI, NY metro |
| Highest | $155 | CA metro (Bay Area, LA, San Diego) |
Example: a 5-hour timing belt at the CA metro rate is 5 × $155 = $775 labor before parts, versus $410 in the lowest band.
Cite this data
Machine-readable version, same numbers, no key required:
https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/car-repair-costs.jsonSuggested citation:
RevenueLab — US car repair costs 2026 (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/car-repair-cost-calculators), updated 2026-09-04.Licensed CC BY 4.0 with attribution to RevenueLab.fyi. Planning estimates for budgeting and quote-checking — not quotes, legal advice, or lending offers.
Questions people ask
Is my repair quote too high?
Back the shop's labor rate out of the quote: subtract the parts line, divide the rest by the book hours for the job. If the implied rate is far above the state band in the table below, you are paying a dealer rate at an independent shop. Parts markup of 25–40% over retail is normal; over 100% is not.
Why does the same repair vary so much between shops?
Parts sourcing does most of it — OEM versus quality aftermarket versus remanufactured can swing a job 30% before labor. The rest is the flat-rate book: shops bill the published hours whether the job runs long or short.
Are dealer rates included?
No. The table uses independent-shop door rates. Dealers typically run 35–60% above the independent rate in the same market, and each calculator exposes that as its own multiplier rather than hiding it in the total.
Do these totals include tax?
The totals are parts plus labor. Most states tax parts and a few tax labor too, so each calculator carries a state/local sales-tax band you can set to your county rate.
When is a repair not worth it?
The usual rule: if the repair costs more than half the car's private-party value, or more than about a year of replacement payments, put the money toward a different vehicle. The engine and transmission calculators show that comparison directly.