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Is your repair quote fair? Decode it.
Shops know what a job should cost. Now you can too. Enter your quote and get an instant read on whether it's in range for your exact vehicle — plus the specific questions that keep the conversation honest.
Decode your repair quote
Enter what the shop quoted. We compare it to the fair range for your exact vehicle and state, flag the lines worth questioning, and write you a short list of questions to ask before you say yes. Everything runs in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere.
How to read a repair quote
The decoder above does the arithmetic, but the skill behind it is simple enough to carry into any shop. Four moves separate a confident customer from an anxious one:
1. Compare labor hours, not totals
Shop rates differ by region for legitimate reasons — rent, wages, competition. The hours a job takes shouldn't. If two shops quote wildly different totals, the honest comparison is the labor time each one books for the same repair. Our repair guides publish the typical hour ranges so you can spot the outlier.
2. Make them itemize
A single-number quote can't be evaluated — and it's the format that hides padding. Ask for parts (with brand), labor, and shop fees on separate lines. Shops that itemize tend to price more carefully in the first place, because every line has to justify itself.
3. Test each add-on against its trigger
Fluid flushes, "while we're in there" parts, caliper service, shop supplies — each is legitimate under specific conditions and padding under others. The decoder flags the ones on your quote and tells you the condition that justifies each. A fluid flush is fine every two to three years; on a car that had one last year, it's an upsell.
4. A second quote costs twenty minutes
On any repair over a few hundred dollars, a second opinion is the highest-paid twenty minutes of your month. You don't even need to leave — most shops will give a phone or email estimate from your itemized first quote.
What this tool can and can't do: it compares your quoted price to a transparent model of what the job typically runs — it can't inspect your car or confirm a diagnosis. Treat a "within range" result as "not being overcharged," not as "this repair is definitely necessary." For that, the repair guides list the symptoms that actually warrant each job.