Auto Repair Estimate Template for Mechanics and Repair Shops

The auto repair estimate follows the order of a visit to the shop: the vehicle comes in, you find out what's wrong, you price the fix and the customer approves it.

• Repair shop and estimate details: business name, address, phone or email, a "Shop registration no." line for states that register repair shops, the estimate number, the date, a "Valid until" date and the service advisor
• Customer: name and phone or email
• Vehicle: year / make / model, VIN, license plate and odometer reading
• Concern and findings: the customer concern, then your inspection findings
• Replaced parts: "Return replaced parts to customer (yes / no)"
• Parts: description, part type, quantity, unit price and amount, with a parts subtotal
• Labor: each job with its hours, your shop rate and the amount, with a labor subtotal
• Totals: subtotal, "Hazardous waste disposal fee", "Sales tax, if applicable" and the estimated total
• Notes: "Before we start", which says no work starts until the customer signs, that you'll ask before doing more and what the part types mean, and "Not included"
• Authorization: "Repair authorized by (customer signature)", print name and date

The sample is a 2017 crossover with a grinding noise when braking and a shaking steering wheel. It prices new front pads and rotors, a brake hardware kit, brake fluid and a used wheel cover (333.00 in parts), 2.4 hours of labor at 140.00 an hour (336.00) and a 24.00 hazardous waste disposal fee, for an estimated total of 693.00 with sales tax at 0%.

The parts table has a "Part type" column, so every line says what kind of part you're quoting. A customer comparing two shops' estimates can then see whether one quotes a new part from the vehicle maker and the other a cheaper aftermarket or used one. The sample's "Before we start" note explains the types:

• New OEM: a new part from the vehicle maker
• New aftermarket: a new part from another manufacturer
• Used: taken from another vehicle

If you fit rebuilt or reconditioned parts, write that in the part type column instead.

If you're offering the customer a choice, such as an OEM part or an aftermarket one, put the part you're quoting in the table and the alternative in the notes with its price. Every line in the parts table counts toward the estimated total, so list only the parts the customer is being asked to approve.

The customer's signature on the estimate is your record that they approved this work at this price. Get it before you order parts or start work, and give the customer a copy. If they approve by phone, text or email instead, write on the estimate who approved, when, and the number or address you contacted.

If you find more work once the car is apart, stop. Write up the extra parts and labor and the new total, and get the customer's approval before you go further. Record that approval the same way. The sample's "Before we start" note tells the customer you'll do this.

Use "Not included" for things you checked and aren't fixing. The sample says the rear brakes were within the maker's limits at inspection, which tells the customer you looked at them.

In California, the Bureau of Automotive Repair's Write It Right guide sets out what an automotive repair dealer's estimate, authorization and invoice must contain. Among other things, it says:

• An estimate is required for an automotive repair dealer to perform repairs to a motor vehicle. It must describe the specific job and give the estimated price for all parts and labor.
• Each part listed must be new unless it's specifically identified as used, rebuilt or reconditioned. On auto body and collision estimates, a new replacement crash part must be a new OEM part unless it's identified as a non-OEM aftermarket or used crash part.
• Authorization must be obtained and recorded on the estimate before any repairs begin. Written authorization is the customer's signature and the date. Oral or electronic authorization is the date, time, the name of the person authorizing and the phone number or email address contacted.
• Before any additional repairs beyond the original estimate, the dealer prepares a revised work order with the additional parts and labor, their cost and the total revised cost, and gets the customer's authorization.
• A customer may only be charged for the supplies used on their vehicle. Their cost must be included in the estimate and each one itemized on the invoice. Generic charges for supplies or miscellaneous parts are prohibited.
• Charges for handling and disposing of toxic wastes or hazardous substances directly related to the job must be itemized separately on both the estimate and the invoice. If a disposal fee is charged, both must also show the dealer's EPA identification number.
• Sales tax is only included in the invoice, not the estimate. On a California estimate, leave the template's tax rate at 0%.
• Replaced parts must be returned if the customer asks for them when the estimate is authorized. Core parts sold on an exchange basis and parts returned under warranty are exceptions, and the customer must be offered the chance to inspect them.
• Towing fees go on a separate document, not on the repair estimate.

The guide also covers tear down, Smog Check, automatic transmission, windshield, air conditioning and collision estimates, so check it for the kind of work you do. Outside California, check your state's rules for auto repair estimates with your state's consumer protection agency or attorney general.

1. Add your shop's details, your registration number if your state requires one, the estimate number, the date, the "Valid until" date and the service advisor. If you charge a disposal fee in California, add your EPA identification number too.
2. Enter the customer and the vehicle: year / make / model, VIN, license plate and the odometer reading.
3. Write the customer concern as they described it, then your inspection findings.
4. Fill in the parts with their part type, quantity and unit price, then the labor with hours and your shop rate. In the Excel file, each line amount, the parts and labor subtotals, the subtotal, the tax and the estimated total are calculated by formulas. Type the hazardous waste disposal fee as an amount, or enter 0.00 if you don't charge one. The sales tax rate sits in its own cell, starts at 0% and is applied to the subtotal plus the fee. Change it if tax applies; if it doesn't, leave it at 0%. Don't delete the fee or tax rows, because the estimated total refers to them. In Word or on the PDF, work out the amounts and totals yourself.
5. Edit the "Before we start" and "Not included" notes to match your terms and this job.
6. Ask whether the customer wants the replaced parts back, then have them sign the authorization block before you start, and give them a copy.

The PDF is a blank form for printing and filling in by hand at the service desk. The Word and Excel files have the same layout with the brake job sample filled in, so you can overwrite them and save a copy for each vehicle. If you'd rather start from a general layout, see the estimate templates for Excel, for Word, for Google Sheets and for Google Docs.