Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
True cost per loaner use
$26.42
Monthly fixed cost (dep + insurance)
$416.67
Shuttle labor cost per use
$8.00
Total monthly loaner cost
$1,057
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How to use this
- 1Enter loaner vehicle value ($).
- 2Enter useful life (years).
- 3Enter insurance per year ($).
- 4Enter loaner uses per month.
- 5Enter fuel, cleaning, wear per use ($).
- 6Enter staff shuttle/prep minutes per use (min).
- 7Enter loaded staff labor rate ($/hr).
- 8Read your true cost per loaner use on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
A loaner fleet feels free once it's paid off, but depreciation, insurance, maintenance, registration, and lost service-bay revenue from the tech time spent shuttling and prepping loaners are all real costs that rarely get allocated back to the repair orders that use them. This calculator adds up fixed ownership cost, per-use variable cost, and shuttle labor time to produce a true cost per loaner-day and per loaner-use, so you can decide whether to keep growing the loaner fleet, cap it, or start charging a modest loaner fee on lower-margin jobs. Many shops that add this up for the first time are surprised to find each loaner use costs $15-$35 in fully loaded cost once shuttle labor and insurance are included, which matters when loaners are handed out on every $90 oil change instead of reserved for bigger repairs that justify the retention value.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Loaner vehicle value: 18000 $
- Useful life: 5 years
- Insurance per year: 1400 $
- Loaner uses per month: 40
- Fuel, cleaning, wear per use: 8 $
- Staff shuttle/prep minutes per use: 20 min
- Loaded staff labor rate: 24 $/hr
Results
- True cost per loaner use: $26.42
- Monthly fixed cost (dep + insurance): $416.67
- Shuttle labor cost per use: $8.00
- Total monthly loaner cost: $1,057
What each field means
Inputs
- Loaner vehicle value ($)
- The loaner vehicle value used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 18000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Useful life (years)
- The useful life used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 5 years so you have a working example on load.
- Insurance per year ($)
- The insurance per year used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 1400 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Loaner uses per month
- The loaner uses per month used in the calculation. Starts at 40 so you have a working example on load.
- Fuel, cleaning, wear per use ($)
- The fuel, cleaning, wear per use used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 8 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Staff shuttle/prep minutes per use (min)
- The staff shuttle/prep minutes per use used in the calculation, measured in min. Starts at 20 min so you have a working example on load.
- Loaded staff labor rate ($/hr)
- The loaded staff labor rate used in the calculation, measured in $/hr. Starts at 24 $/hr so you have a working example on load.
Results
- True cost per loaner use
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Monthly fixed cost (dep + insurance)
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Shuttle labor cost per use
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total monthly loaner cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Should I charge customers for loaners?
Many shops reserve free loaners for repairs above a dollar threshold (say $500+) and charge a modest $10-$20/day fee below that, or skip the loaner entirely on quick services. That keeps the retention benefit on big-ticket repairs while not subsidizing $80 oil changes.
Does a loaner actually retain customers, or is it just a cost?
It works best as a retention tool for multi-day repairs where the alternative is losing the customer to a shop that offers a ride or loaner. For same-day work, a shuttle or Uber credit is usually cheaper per use than fleet ownership and insurance carrying costs.
Is renting loaners instead of owning them cheaper?
Depends on utilization. Below roughly 25-30 uses a month per vehicle, a rental or subscription fleet program often beats ownership once depreciation, insurance, and maintenance downtime are counted. Run both numbers before committing capital to purchase a fleet.
What maintenance costs am I forgetting?
Loaners rack up miles fast from repeated short trips and get driven by people who don't own them, so tires, brakes, and interior wear degrade faster than a personal vehicle's average. Budget maintenance at 1.5-2x a typical customer vehicle's mileage-adjusted rate.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Courtesy Vehicle Cost Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/courtesy-vehicle-cost
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/courtesy-vehicle-cost" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Courtesy Vehicle Cost Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Courtesy Vehicle Cost Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/courtesy-vehicle-cost) (2026).