How costs are estimated
Every cost on this site is the labor time an automaker pays for the job, times an hourly shop rate for the state, plus the parts at catalog prices read on a named day. 63 labor times were read in filed documents; one script, rerun when a source changes, produces every figure.
Cost pages at the top of search results give one national range to sell a part, a warranty or a loan; this site prices the repair for your state and your type of vehicle from the labor time the automaker itself allows, an hourly rate drawn from that state's technician wages and parts prices read on a named day, then checks your own quote line by line, with no form to fill and nothing to sell.
1. Labor times from automaker bulletins
When an automaker tells its dealers how to fix a fault, in a technical service bulletin, a service campaign or a recall remedy, it prints the labor time it will pay for each operation, with an operation code. Manufacturers file these documents with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which publishes them. We searched them for the twelve repairs priced here and kept each time that covers the repair itself, recording the model, engine, operation, code and bulletin.
Times are grouped into four types of vehicle. For each type, the estimate keeps the shortest and the longest time read as the two ends of its range, and their midpoint as the typical time. When no bulletin was found for a type, the range uses every time read for the repair and is marked with an asterisk below. Rows were left out when the time only applies on top of another operation, or when it covers a larger job.
| Repair | Sedan | SUV | Pickup | Luxury | Times read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Front brake pads | 0.4 h to 0.8 h | 0.7 h to 1.1 h | 1.1 h | 1.1 h to 1.6 h | 7 |
| Front brake pads and rotors | 0.8 h | 0.9 h | 0.7 h to 0.9 h * | 0.7 h | 4 |
| Water pump replacement | 1.3 h | 1 h | 1.8 h | 2.1 h | 5 |
| Head gasket replacement | 4.5 h to 6.6 h | 11.4 h | 11.3 h | 9.9 h to 14.3 h | 6 |
| Car battery replacement | 0.5 h to 0.7 h | 0.5 h | 0.5 h to 0.7 h * | 0.5 h to 0.7 h * | 5 |
| Catalytic converter replacement | 1.2 h | 1.3 h to 2.6 h | 1.3 h | 1.2 h to 2.6 h * | 4 |
| Alternator replacement | 0.6 h | 0.5 h to 1.5 h | 0.5 h | 0.5 h to 1.5 h * | 6 |
| Timing belt replacement | 2.9 h to 3.4 h * | 3.1 h to 3.2 h | 3.4 h | 2.9 h to 3.2 h | 5 |
| Oil change (synthetic oil and filter) | 0.3 h to 0.4 h * | 0.4 h | 0.3 h to 0.4 h * | 0.3 h | 2 |
| Wheel alignment | 0.5 h | 0.5 h to 0.8 h | 0.6 h | 0.5 h to 0.8 h * | 5 |
| Transmission replacement | 6.6 h | 5 h to 6.8 h | 7.7 h to 10 h | 9 h | 7 |
| A/C recharge (evacuate and recharge) | 0.5 h * | 0.5 h | 0.5 h * | 0.5 h * | 2 |
| Starter replacement | 0.9 h | 0.8 h | 0.6 h to 0.9 h | 0.6 h to 0.9 h * | 5 |
| Repair | Vehicle | Time | Why it was left out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brake pads | 2016 Acura ILX | 0.3 h | add-on time claimed only with a disc replacement |
| Pads and rotors | not stated (213 = 2017+) Mercedes-Benz E-Class (model 213, code B06) | 3.1 h | includes calipers, bleeding and a brake test |
| Water pump | 2015-2017 Ford F-Super Duty | 3.1 h | heavy-duty diesel, includes diagnosis |
| Battery | 2021-2023 Ford F-150 | 0.3 h | add-on time claimed only with another operation |
| Catalytic converter | 2022-2023 Ford F-150 | 3 h | add-on times claimed only with a diagnosis operation |
| Catalytic converter | 2022-2023 Ford F-150 | 0.8 h | add-on times claimed only with a diagnosis operation |
| Oil change | 2018-2022 Honda Accord | 0.3 h | drain and refill only, filter not replaced, add-on |
| Oil change | 2019-2023 (TLX 2021-2023) Acura RDX / TLX | 0.3 h | drain and refill only, filter not replaced, add-on |
| Oil change | 2018 Ford F-150 | 0.8 h | includes a leak inspection and a PCV valve |
| A/C recharge | 2019 Cadillac XT5 | 1.2 h | table layout of the bulletin is ambiguous |
| A/C recharge | 2016-2019 Honda Pilot / Passport / Ridgeline | 0.3 h | add-on line to a condenser replacement |
2. The hourly shop rate of each state
The industry survey of about 700 independent shops, carried out in September 2025 and published on August 19, 2026, gives the share of shops in each band of posted hourly rate. The band from $100 to $139 is the remainder of the published shares. Reading the distribution as linear inside each band gives a national 25th percentile of $114, a median of $134 and a 75th percentile of $159 an hour. The two open-ended bands at the ends are never used.
| Posted labor rate | Share of shops |
|---|---|
| under $100 | 7 % |
| $100 to $139 | 50 % |
| $140 to $159 | 19 % |
| $160 to $179 | 12 % |
| $180 to $200 | 9 % |
| over $200 | 3 % |
A shop's hourly rate mostly pays its technicians. Each state's band is therefore the national band multiplied by a wage index: the mean hourly wage of automotive service technicians and mechanics in the state, divided by the national mean of $27.13, both from the Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for May 2025. The survey does not publish rates by state, so this scaling is our assumption; it reflects that wages, and with them rates, are higher in some states than in others, but a given shop can sit anywhere in or outside the band.
3. Parts prices
Each type of vehicle has two reference vehicles. On October 20, 2026 we read the listings of a public online parts catalog (RockAuto) for each part each repair needs: the lowest price of a unit in stock (closeouts left out), the median listing and the highest. A type takes the lowest low, the mean of the medians and the highest high of its two vehicles. The timing belt kit was read only on vehicles with a timing belt and is used for every type. Core charges, refunded when the old part is returned, are not counted. Catalog prices are not shop prices: a shop buys from its own distributor and resells at its own price.
| Type | Reference vehicles for parts |
|---|---|
| Sedan or small car | 2017 Toyota Camry 2.5L, 2016 Honda Accord 2.4L |
| SUV, crossover or minivan | 2017 Honda CR-V 2.4L, 2016 Ford Explorer 3.5L V6 |
| Pickup truck | 2017 Ford F-150 5.0L V8, 2016 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 5.3L V8 |
| Luxury or European car | 2016 BMW 328i 2.0L turbo, 2016 Mercedes-Benz C300 2.0L turbo |
Two parts have no public price that could be read in the same way: a replacement transmission, sold new, rebuilt or used at very different prices, and the refrigerant of an air conditioning recharge. For those two jobs the site gives the labor only and lets the reader type the part price from a quote. A catalytic converter approved by the California Air Resources Board, required in some states, is priced separately where the catalog lists one (CARB list of approved parts).
4. A worked example
An alternator on a sedan in South Dakota, the state in the middle of the wage ranking. Bulletins give 0.6 h for a sedan. The mean technician wage there is $26.76 an hour, an index of 0.99, so the shop rate band is $113 to $157, with $133 in the middle. Labor comes to $80 at the typical time and rate. The median listing of the part is $227. The typical bill is $307; the low end combines the shortest time, the low rate and the cheapest part in stock ($200), the high end the longest time, the high rate and the dearest listing ($424).
5. Limits
- Warranty times are what automakers pay their dealers. Independent shops often bill from commercial guides whose times can differ, and some jobs on a given car take longer than on the vehicles read.
- Several times read include a short inspection or test listed with the operation. Diagnosis of an unknown fault is not included.
- The head gasket estimate covers the gasket set and the labor; machining the cylinder head, fluids and other parts found worn are extra.
- Shop rates by state are the national survey scaled by wages, not a survey of each state. Cities, dealers and specialists can sit well above the band.
- Sales tax, shop supplies, disposal fees and diagnosis come on top. Nothing here is a quote or a diagnosis.
Prices of repairs keep rising: the consumer price index for maintenance and repair gained 5.8 % in the twelve months to September 2026. The sources are read again at each review. Corrections: contact page.