How to Price Your Work: Stop Leaving Money on the Table

Most Independent Techs Undercharge

Whether you are mobile or running your own small shop, you are probably charging less than you should. Dealerships and big chains charge $150-200/hr labor rate and you are sitting at $80 because you "don't have the overhead." Stop. You DO have overhead — van or shop lease, tools, insurance, fuel, phone, self-employment tax, diagnostic subscriptions, and all the hours you spend on estimates, admin, and driving instead of turning wrenches.

Undercharging does not get you more work. It gets you more work that does not pay your bills. You end up running harder, working longer, and taking home less than you would flagging hours at a shop. That is not independence. That is a pay cut with extra stress.

If you are going to run your own business, you need to price your work like a business. Here is how.

Know Your Real Costs (The Break-Even Number)

Before you can set a rate, you need to know what it actually costs you to operate. Most techs have never done this math, and that is why they undercharge.

Step 1: Add Up Your Monthly Fixed Costs

These are the bills you pay every month whether you work one job or fifty:

• Van payment
• Van insurance (commercial auto)
• General liability insurance
• Phone bill (business portion)
• Tool payments or replacements
• Software subscriptions (diagnostic, invoicing, scheduling)
• Marketing costs
• Any other recurring business expense

Add it all up. Write it down. For most solo techs — mobile or small shop — this number lands somewhere between $2,000 and $5,000/month.

Step 2: Factor In Your Tax Burden

As a self-employed tech, you are paying 25-30% of every dollar in taxes (self-employment tax of 15.3% plus income tax). This is money that has to come out of your revenue before you count anything as income. If you forget this number, you will think you are making money when you are actually spending next April's tax bill.

Step 3: Determine Your Billable Hours

This is where most techs get it wrong. You do not bill 40 hours a week. Realistically, a solo tech — whether mobile or running a one-person shop — can bill 25-30 hours per week. The rest is drive time, writing estimates, ordering parts, invoicing, marketing, phone calls, and admin work. That is roughly 110-130 billable hours per month.

Step 4: Do the Math

Here is the formula:

(Monthly fixed costs + desired monthly income + tax set-aside) / billable hours per month = minimum hourly rate

Example:

• Monthly fixed costs: $3,000
• Desired monthly income (owner's draw): $5,000
• Tax set-aside (30% of $8,000 gross): $2,400
• Total needed: $10,400
• Billable hours per month: 110
• $10,400 / 110 = $94.55/hr MINIMUM

That is your floor. Not your rate. Your rate should be above that. The floor is what keeps the lights on. Your rate is what builds the business, funds your emergency account, and lets you actually get ahead. Add 15-25% above your floor for profit margin.

The Market Rate Reality

Knowing your costs is half the equation. The other half is knowing what the market will bear.

• Shop door rates in 2026: $130-200/hr depending on market and specialty. Dealerships are on the high end. Independent shops are in the middle. Budget chains are at the bottom.
• Mobile techs offer convenience — and that has real value. You come to the customer. They do not have to take off work, arrange a ride, or sit in a waiting room. Do not discount that. Convenience is a premium service.
• Specialty work commands premium rates. Diagnostics, programming, ADAS calibration, and module work: $150-250/hr is reasonable. If you have the skills and equipment to do advanced work, charge accordingly.
• General maintenance and repair for mobile: $100-150/hr is reasonable in most markets for 2026.

Research YOUR local market. Call 5 shops in your area. Check what dealerships charge. Look at what other mobile techs are advertising. You should be within the range of local shop rates — and often higher for specialty or convenience work.

Parts Markup — You Deserve to Get Paid for Sourcing

Some mobile techs feel guilty about marking up parts. Stop it.

Standard industry markup on parts: 40-60% over your cost. This is normal. This is expected. Every shop in America does it. Every dealership does it. It is a standard part of the automotive repair business model.

Think about what you are actually doing when you source parts:

• Researching the correct part number
• Comparing prices and quality across suppliers
• Ordering or physically picking up the part
• Inspecting it when it arrives
• Warrantying it if it fails

That is a service. You are providing convenience, expertise, and warranty coverage. That has value.

If a part costs you $100, charging $140-160 is standard. Never apologize for parts markup. Shops do it. Dealerships do it. You should too.

Some techs prefer a flat "parts sourcing fee" of $25-50 per job instead of a percentage markup. Either approach works. Pick the one that makes sense for your business model and be upfront with customers about it.

Pricing Strategies That Work

Flat Rate Per Job

Quote the customer a total price before you start, just like a shop does. Use a labor guide (Mitchell, ALLDATA, or your own historical data) to estimate the time, multiply by your rate, add parts, and give them a number. This is more predictable for both sides. The customer knows what they are paying. You know what you are earning. If you beat the book time, you make more per hour. If the job goes sideways, you eat the difference — but that is the business.

Hourly + Parts

Simpler to calculate, but customers can get nervous about open-ended billing. If you use this model, set clear expectations upfront. Give them a time estimate and communicate if the job is going to exceed it. Nobody likes surprises on an invoice.

Diagnostic Fee

ALWAYS charge for diagnostics. $75-150 minimum. This is skilled labor. You are using tens of thousands of dollars in equipment, years of training, and hard-earned expertise to identify a problem. That is not a free estimate. That is a professional service.

If they approve the repair, you can roll the diagnostic fee into the total repair cost. If they decline the repair, you still get paid for your time and expertise. Either way, you are not working for free.

Trip/Service Call Fee

$50-75 just to show up. This covers your fuel and time driving to the customer's location. It is non-negotiable. You are running a mobile business, and your time behind the wheel is time you cannot bill elsewhere. Every shop factors their overhead into their rates. Your trip fee is your version of that.

Stop Giving Away Free Work

This is the section that will make you the most money if you actually follow it.

• Free estimates cost you money. Fuel to drive there. Time to look at the car. Wear on your van. If you spend 45 minutes driving to a location and 30 minutes looking at a car, that is over an hour of unbilled time. Multiply that by a few "free estimates" a week and you are giving away thousands of dollars a year.
• "Can you just look at it real quick?" is never quick. It turns into a 30-minute conversation, then they want to know what parts cost, then they want to "think about it." Charge a diagnostic fee. Every time.
• Charge a diagnostic fee. Period. If they do not value your time enough to pay for it, they are going to haggle on the repair price too. And they are going to be the ones calling you at 9 PM asking why their check engine light came back on for an unrelated code. The customers who push back on fair pricing are the ones who cause the most problems. Let your competitor deal with them.

The best customers — the ones who pay on time, refer their friends, and come back for every service — do not blink at fair pricing. They value quality work and they understand that professionals charge professional rates.

Raise Your Rates

If you have not raised your rates in the last 12 months, you have taken a pay cut. Inflation erodes the value of every dollar you charge. Your costs go up every year — insurance, fuel, parts, subscriptions, everything. If your rates stay the same, your profit shrinks.

• Raise rates 5-10% annually at minimum. This is standard in every service industry. It is not greedy. It is keeping up with the cost of doing business.
• Notify customers 30 days in advance. A simple message: "Effective [date], our labor rate will increase to $X/hr. We appreciate your continued business." Most will not blink. The ones who leave over $10 were not good customers anyway.
• Your skills are worth more every year. You have more experience. More certifications. Better equipment. You solve problems faster. Your rates should reflect that growth.

Think about it this way: every year you do not raise your rates, you are volunteering to work for less money. Nobody at a shop would accept a pay cut every year. Do not accept one from yourself.

For the full breakdown on managing your business finances — taxes, emergency fund, deductions, and the owner's draw system — read the Mobile Tech Business Blueprint. That article covers the money management side. This one covers the pricing side. Together, they are the foundation of a business that actually pays you what you are worth.

Use the Pay Tracker in My Notebook to track every job, monitor your effective hourly rate, and make sure your pricing is actually hitting your targets. The numbers do not lie.

Open My Notebook — Track Your Rates →