Frequently Asked Questions
What Should the Price Difference Be Between Dealerships and Independent Shops?
Our research indicates that dealerships tend to charge 15 to 40 percent more than local independent shops, depending on the complexity of the work and the equipment required to perform it. Dealerships often charge higher labor rates to account for factory-trained technicians and because they tend to use original equipment manufacturer parts (OEM). Independent shops can have a wide range because of the parts used—they may use OEM parts or those made by other suppliers. Some independent shops are very specialized and charge prices similar to a dealership because they use high-quality parts and have made investments in special tools and diagnostic equipment.
Why Do You Give a Range and Not a Single Price?
RepairPrice Estimates are presented as a range because our research has shown that each shop prices its services a little differently, based on the parts they use, how much profit they add, and the labor rate they employ. If you call several local shops and dealerships, you'll receive a range of quotes based on the quality of the parts used and the shop's investment in tools and diagnostic equipment. Convenience features offered—like loaner cars and staying open for extended hours—also factor in.
Using the price ranges is simple. If a shop quotes a price above the top of our range, you should use our directory to find a quality shop that will perform the work for a price within our range. If you encounter a price that is below our range, we recommend asking about the quality of the parts they use. We suggest avoiding extremely cheap parts just to save a few bucks because they will need to be replaced more frequently.
Why Don’t You Have My Exact Model?
For most repair information, the exact model of the car does not affect the time and parts required to perform a particular repair. For example, a Volkswagen Golf and a Volkswagen GTI share most mechanical and electrical systems. Other examples of this are the Volvo V70 and V70R wagon, the Subaru Impreza and Impreza WRX, and the Mini Cooper and Cooper S. We’ve been very careful to ask you for the right information at the right time—our estimates are customized to your car's engine, transmission, and whether it’s 4WD or 2WD. When a repair is distinctive to a certain model, we will ask you for the information.
Why Don’t I See My 2007 or 2008 Model?
We rely on outside sources for certain pieces of data required to create our RepairPrice Estimates, including the carmakers themselves. It is more difficult to acquire data for newer vehicles since most of the new cars are under warranty. We’re working continuously to add new models as soon as we can get the best, most reliable data to produce the most accurate estimates. Before long, we'll make scheduled maintenance estimates available for all the vehicles under coverage and those estimates and schedules will apply to even the newest cars.
What About My Hybrid Model?
Hybrid technology is very new and the repair data we rely on to produce accurate estimates is still catching up with the vehicles being sold. We are working to improve our hybrid expertise and coverage, and over the next several months, we’ll be creating new hybrid-specific coverage.
Why Is My Model Missing?
In some cases, the needed data was not available to produce accurate estimates. In other cases, certain models are so rare and/or unique that we could not create accurate estimates. Please let us know if you don’t see your car on our list. The more feedback we get, the better we can judge which models are the most popular. Within days of our launch, we received a large number of requests from Oldsmobile Aurora owners. We've added the Aurora and are working to add other models as well. Don’t be shy—we want to hear from you!
Why Don’t You Have Any Cars Older Than 1990?
RepairPal doesn't currently cover cars produced before 1990 because the number of pre-1990 vehicles on the road is diminishing and because we focus on the most popular models and years. Additionally, the availability of parts for older cars is fairly limited and price data is difficult to acquire. If we don’t have confidence in our ability to generate accurate estimates, we won’t publish them.
What are RepairPal "Questions & Answers"?
We built a tab on our Cars page to capture all of your questions and give experts and knowledgeable visitors an opportunity to help out. Sometimes we're able to help by answering your questions, often with the help of our expert technicians. Other times, the amazing RepairPal community is able to provide an answer. This service is 100% free and easy to use, but we don't have any way to guarantee that you'll receive the answer you're looking for or receive it immediately.
I Am a Shop Owner/Manager: Why Is My Shop Not Listed?
There are more than 270,000 individual shops listed in our directory. They are constantly being updated and it's been very difficult to find, update, and clean listings of shops. We need your help to continue to improve. If you don’t see your shop, please use the feedback link to send us the information and we’ll add it. Likewise, if you see your shop and any of the information is inaccurate or incomplete, let us know. Just make sure to tell us that you are the shop owner!
I Am a Customer: Why Is My Favorite Shop Not Listed?
There are more than 270,000 individual shops listed in our directory. They are constantly being updated and it's been very difficult to find, update, and clean listings of shops. We need your help to keep improving it. If you don’t see your favorite shop, tell us and we’ll add the shop to our directory.
Why Don’t You Cover Canada?
Providing accurate RepairPrice Estimates for drivers in the United States was a difficult project, and we focused solely on the U.S. out of necessity. The interest coming from Canada since our launch has been extraordinary and we will expand our service to cover Canada as soon as possible.
What are these RSS feeds all about?
We've added RSS feeds to our blog, and also to all of our individual car pages. You can subscribe to the RSS feed for your car to be notifed about updates that affect your car. This includes recalls, technical service bulletins, reviews and questions from other RepairPal users. The easiest way to do so is to go to your My Car page and click on the RSS link at the top of the page. You can also subscribe to feeds in the Cars page of RepairPal.
What is a "Widget" and how do I get the RepairPal Widget?
We've just designed and launched a widget for the RepairPrice Estimator by popular demand. The Repair Price Widget is a fully functional version of our Estimator that anyone can embed onto his or her website. Visit our widget page to create a widget for your website to get your own.
I'm a RepairPal fan. How do I get a free RepairPal bumper sticker?
You can the world about RepairPal by placing a sticker on your car -- or wherever else comes to mind! Let repair shops know that you're armed with the right pricing and repair information. The RepairPal sticker is made of the highest quality laminated vinyl and fade-resistant ink and it's the perfect size for your rear window.
To get your free bumper sticker, simply send a self-addressed stamped envelope to: RepairPal, 5900 Hollis St, Suite G, Emeryville, CA 94608. We'll pop a sticker in the envelope and send it back to you lickety split.
No answer to your question? Let us know.