Break-Even Calculator for Auto Repair

Auto repair shops have a unique cost structure built on two revenue streams: parts markup and labor billing. Your parts department works like retail (buy at wholesale, sell at markup), while your service bays sell technician time at 3–4x the hourly wage you pay. The break-even math revolves around bay utilization: how many of your lifts are producing billable hours per day. A typical shop with 4 bays can generate 32 billable hours per day at capacity, but most shops run at 65–80% utilization due to scheduling gaps, diagnostic time, and waiting on parts. Your fixed costs, including rent on a 2,000–5,000 sq ft shop, insurance, equipment, and diagnostic tool subscriptions, run regardless of how many cars you service. This calculator is pre-filled with auto repair benchmarks: $5,000/month rent, 40% cost of goods (parts at wholesale cost), and 25% labor. Use it to find how many repair orders per day you need at your average ticket to cover all costs.