Auto Repair Shop Video Statistics

Key takeaways

1. Mechanic educators and repair creators drew 24.4% of the views of YouTube's 400 most-viewed 'car repair', 'mechanic' and 'oil change' videos and DIY and car-enthusiast creators 20.4%; repair shop channels drew 5.8%, and shops naming a U.S. location 1.3% (our read, Nov 2026). (Mark Studios) See details
2. Videos of 60 seconds or less were 40.5% of that sample and drew 56.5% of its views. (Mark Studios) See details
3. The national YouTube channels of 10 repair and quick-lube chains had a median of 3,275 subscribers, and their videos of the past year a median of 1,084 views; only 1 of the 10, Jiffy Lube, had a video in the sample. (Mark Studios) See details
4. Of 400 location pages we read from 10 auto repair and quick-lube chains, 0.5% embedded a video player a visitor can start, while 67.5% linked a YouTube channel, 62.8% offered online booking and 13.5% mentioned a digital vehicle inspection or photos of the car (our read, Nov 2026). (Mark Studios) See details
5. 64% of dealer service customers in J.D. Power's 2026 Customer Service Index wanted photo or video evidence with their inspection results; 26% of mass-market and 44% of premium-brand customers said they got it. (J.D. Power) See details
6. The U.S. had 85,899 general repair shops, 10,069 specialized repair shops and 8,608 quick lubes with employees in 2025, and Census counted 225,471 mechanical and electrical repair businesses with no employees in 2024. (BLS, U.S. Census Bureau) See details
7. General repair is fragmented and quick lubes are not: the 4 largest firms took 2.5% of general repair receipts in 2022, against 24.8% of quick-lube receipts. (U.S. Census Bureau) See details
8. Consumer prices for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose 59.4% from 2015 to 2025, against 35.8% for all items, and 5.8% in the 12 months to September 2026. (BLS) See details
9. Employers had 704,640 automotive service technicians and mechanics in May 2025 at a median wage of $50,620; the median was $59,920 at car dealers and $48,370 at repair shops. (BLS) See details
10. No SEC annual report from 2001 to 2025 used the phrase "digital vehicle inspection" (0); "right to repair" appeared in 19 10-Ks filed in 2025, up from 7 in 2015 (our count). (Mark Studios) See details
11. A Florida repair shop must give a written estimate when a job will cost more than $150, and may not exceed it by more than 10 percent, capped at $50, without the customer's consent. (Florida Legislature) See details
12. The popular "$792 a year" for car maintenance is AAA's estimate for 2016, still repeated in 2026, and the "two out of three drivers don't trust repair shops" figure is a 63 percent result from one 2016 AAA survey. (Insurify, AAA) See details

Who makes the most-viewed car repair and mechanic videos on YouTube?

Mechanic educators and car creators, not repair shops. In our read of the YouTube Data API on November 3, 2026 (18:17 UTC), mechanic educator and repair creator channels, which teach or show repairs and sell none, drew 24.4% of the views of the most-viewed videos returned for "car repair", "mechanic" and "oil change" (our count). DIY and car-enthusiast creators (builds, restorations, detailing and off-road) drew 20.4%. We asked YouTube for its search results sorted by view count, worldwide: the top 200 for "car repair", the top 200 for "mechanic" and the top 50 for "oil change", where the day's search quota ran out after one page. That gave 400 unique videos from 296 channels (our count). We classified every channel by hand from its title, its description and the titles of its videos in the sample. This is a snapshot of YouTube's view-sorted results for two and a half queries on one day, not a census of car repair video, and every count can change by the hour.

Every video in the sample had at least 1 million views, and 141 had at least 10 million (our count). The median video had about 7.0 million views (our count). The 10 most-viewed videos drew 26.9% of all the sample's views, and the 10 channels with the most views drew 28.3% (our count). No single channel drew more than 4.0%, so no one channel moves the class shares much. The most-viewed video of all was a 5-second chain-joining gadget Short from Villagegear, a rural-machinery gadget channel, with 243,961,987 views (our count); it is classed other, which shows how loosely YouTube matches the word "mechanic". The most-viewed video from a mechanic educator channel was a 26-second Subaru oil change Short by an automotive technician, Alexander Vargas, published in January 2023, with 230,465,991 views (our count).

Channels that list the United States as their country posted 47.5% of the videos and drew 38.9% of the views (our count); the country is self-declared and blank for 18.0% of the videos. Calls that rest on thin evidence (no or minimal channel description) cover 53 videos with 16.1% of the views (our count). Nine videos came from channels that say their videos are AI-generated or that posted 3D animation or video-game footage; they drew 3.0% of the views (our count). The three lists barely overlap: only 25 videos appeared in more than one list, 20 of them in both "car repair" and "mechanic", and none in all three (our count).

The creators behind these videos have bigger audiences than the shops. The median mechanic educator channel in the sample had 148,500 subscribers (60 channels) and the median DIY and car-enthusiast channel 275,000 (55 channels), against 89,000 for the 20 independent repair shop channels (our count; subscriber counts are rounded by YouTube).

How much of the YouTube audience for car repair goes to repair shops?

Very little, and less still to U.S. shops. Independent repair shop channels posted 7.8% of the 400 videos and drew 5.8% of their views on November 3, 2026 (our count). One channel carries a third of that: TyreFix-YounasK, a tyre repair shop channel in Pakistan whose one 63-second puncture repair video had 121 million views. Without it, shop channels drew 3.9% of the remaining views (our calculation). Shop channels whose description or title names a U.S. place posted 12 videos (3.0%) and drew 1.3% of the views (our count): two paintless dent repair businesses (National Dent Repair in Nashville and Dent Time in San Diego) and three mechanical shops, Dave's Auto Center in Centerville, Utah, Jamie's Garage (whose owner runs five shops in Lakewood Ranch and Sarasota, Florida) and Royalty Auto Service in Camden County, Georgia. Those three mechanical shops posted 10 of the videos, with 0.8% of the views (our count). Dave's Auto Center had 1,640,000 subscribers, the most of any U.S. shop channel in the sample (our count).

The shop count is loose at the edges. Shop channels identified only by their channel name or a pasted list of services drew 3.8% of the views, against 2.0% for shop channels whose descriptions clearly name the shop and offer repairs (our count). Ten of the 20 shop channels are in India or Pakistan. A larger share goes to people who work in a shop or garage but whose channels sell no repairs: technicians, dealer techs and workshop welders filming their jobs drew 11.9% of the views from 21 videos on 17 channels (our count). We classed them as creators, not shops.

The share depends on the query. Shop channels drew 10.1% of the views of the 176 "car repair" videos, or 5.1% without TyreFix-YounasK (our count), but only 3.6% of the views of the 199 "mechanic" videos (our count), where media channels, mostly mechanic-fail compilations, movie clips and music labels, drew 25.1% (our count). Mechanic educators drew 22.8% of the "car repair" views (our count). In the 50 "oil change" videos, repair shop and quick-lube businesses naming a U.S. place drew 9.8% of the views, against 2.8% across the pooled sample (our count), mostly because a Jiffy Lube video featuring Joey Logano ranked third with 89,552,923 views (our count). Mechanic educators drew 39.7% of the "oil change" views, almost half of it from one technician's Subaru oil change Short (our count), and the 10 most-viewed "oil change" videos drew 72.2% of that list's views (our count).

How long and how new are the most-viewed car repair videos?

Mostly short, and mostly recent. 40.5% of the 400 videos ran 60 seconds or less (our count), and they drew 56.5% of the views (our count). Videos of 3 minutes or less, the current Shorts length limit, made up 61.2% of the videos and drew 78.1% of the views (our count; the API has no Shorts flag, so these are duration bands). The median video ran 115 seconds (our count). The median video of 60 seconds or less had about 10.4 million views, against 5,384,010 for videos of 61 seconds to 3 minutes (our count). Long videos still appear: 26.0% ran longer than 20 minutes and drew 14.2% of the views, and 48 of those 104 came from DIY and car-enthusiast creators, mostly rebuilds and restorations (our count).

The queries differ. 39.8% of the "car repair" videos ran longer than 20 minutes, against 19.1% for "mechanic" (our count), and the median "car repair" video ran 686.5 seconds, against 81 seconds for "mechanic" and 60 for "oil change" (our count). Videos of 60 seconds or less made up 44.7% of the "mechanic" list and drew 64.8% of its views (our count).

188 of the 400 videos were published in 2026, before November 3 (our count), and 49.2% in the 365 days before the read (our count). The median video was 375 days old (our count). Only 3.5% were published before 2020 (our count), and videos from 2024 or later drew 75.1% of the views (our count). The "mechanic" list is the newest: 65.3% of its videos were under a year old and its median video was 159 days old (our count). The "oil change" list is the oldest, with a median age of 886.5 days (our count); it includes a 2014 CBC News hidden-camera investigation of oil change shops.

How big are the repair chains' and shop-software sellers' YouTube channels?

Small next to the creators. We found the official national YouTube channels of 10 U.S. auto repair and quick-lube chains and franchisors (Jiffy Lube, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Take 5 Oil Change, Meineke, Midas, Firestone Complete Auto Care, Pep Boys, Mavis Tires & Brakes, Monro and AAMCO), from a link on each company's own website where there was one and a handle lookup otherwise. Their median subscriber count on November 3, 2026 was 3,275 (our count). No channel was found for Christian Brothers Automotive or Grease Monkey. Together the 10 posted 228 videos in the year to November 3, 2026, a median of 8.5 per channel; Mavis and Monro posted none (our count). The median video they posted in that year had 1,084 views (our count), and 88.6% of those videos ran 60 seconds or less (our count). Only 1 of the 10, Jiffy Lube, had a video in the view-sorted results for any of the three searches (our count).

View counts on brand channels include views of videos run as ads. Valvoline Instant Oil Change had 1,640 subscribers but a median of 2,722,508 views on its nine videos of the year, and Jiffy Lube a median of 326,619 (our count). Pep Boys had 1,296 videos in total, the most of any chain, but its nine of the past year had a median of 143 views (our count). Of the 10 chains, Firestone and Midas posted the most, 89 and 83 videos in the year (our count).

The three shop-management software sellers had 7,377 subscribers between them: Tekmetric 4,740, Shopmonkey 2,090 and AutoVitals 547 (our count). They posted 183 videos in the year to November 3, 2026, 121 of them from Shopmonkey, with a median of 498 views per video (our count), and none appeared in the search results above. Two organisations link a parent-brand channel rather than one of their own. Goodyear Auto Service's site links Goodyear's corporate tire channel, which had 16,400 subscribers (our count). NAPA's AutoCare page links The NAPA Network, which covers NAPA's parts stores as well as its AutoCare centers and had 205,000 subscribers, the most of the 16 channels read (our count).

Do auto repair and oil change chains put video on their location pages?

Almost never. On November 3, 2026 we read 400 U.S. shop location pages of ten auto repair and quick-lube chains in a headless browser, 40 per chain, drawn at random from each chain's own sitemap listing, and 0.5% showed any video (our count). Both pages with video were Midas pages that embed a YouTube player: one plays a shop welcome video and the other a story about the shop helping a local customer. 0.5% of the pages embedded a video player a visitor can start and 0.0% played a muted background video. No sampled page of the other nine chains showed a video of any kind (our count).

The chains keep their video on YouTube instead. 67.5% of the location pages linked to a YouTube channel: every Jiffy Lube, Mavis, Meineke, Midas, Precision Tune and Valvoline page, most Grease Monkey pages, and no Christian Brothers, Firestone or Take 5 page. Valvoline's YouTube icon opens a video from the channel's uploads list rather than the channel page. 1 of the ten chains' national homepages showed a video (Valvoline) (our count).

A chain's location pages are filled from one brand template, so most features are all or nothing within a chain, and the pooled shares mostly describe ten templates, not choices made at each shop. Meineke and Take 5 Oil Change belong to Driven Brands and Firestone Complete Auto Care to Bridgestone; most of the ten chains are franchise systems or mix franchised and company-run shops. The sampled pages were in 44 states and DC (our count). 3 of the 13 chains first considered could not be read: Pep Boys' store sitemap answered with a bot challenge, Goodyear Auto Service's site showed a maintenance page and Monro's sitemaps list no store pages.

40 location pages read per chain on November 3, 2026 (our count). Firestone's sitemap lists at most 30 stores per state, Midas' count leaves out its Canadian shops and Meineke's its Puerto Rico shops. A listed page is not proof of an open shop. Text flags count the page's own body text, not sitewide menus; booking links count anywhere on the page. A page that says "ASE Certified" is not proof that every technician holds the certification. Per-page file: location-pages.csv (street-address parts of page addresses removed). In a hand-check of 30 random pages, 3 per chain, 100.0% of flag values matched a hand reading (our calculation).

What do auto repair chain location pages show instead of video?

Booking, coupons, reviews and recruiting. In the same November 3, 2026 read, 62.8% of the pages offered online appointment booking, on every Christian Brothers, Firestone, Mavis, Meineke and Midas page and most Grease Monkey and Precision Tune pages (our count). The quick lubes work the other way: every Take 5 and Valvoline page says no appointment is needed, and 40.0% of all pages said no appointment is needed or walk-ins are welcome (every Grease Monkey, Take 5 and Valvoline page, and every Mavis page for flat-tire repairs). Jiffy Lube pages offer an online price estimate but no booking link. 99.5% showed or linked coupons or specials in the page body, 82.2% showed customer reviews or a star rating, and 100.0% linked to careers or jobs (our count).

Few pages describe the inspection itself. 13.5% mentioned a digital vehicle inspection or photos or video of the customer's car: every Christian Brothers page, where the template says its free digital vehicle inspection lets drivers see actual photos of their vehicle, and 35.0% of Midas pages, where it is part of an oil-change coupon (our count). 1.2% promised a written estimate or no work without the customer's approval, all of them Christian Brothers pages that carry it in a shop's own FAQ or service text. 20.2% stated warranty terms, such as a 3-year/36,000-mile warranty or a limited lifetime guarantee (every Christian Brothers and Midas page and one Grease Monkey page), and 35.8% mentioned ASE-certified technicians, all of them Christian Brothers, Meineke, Midas or Precision Tune pages (our count).

Payment options are part of the template too. 58.5% of the pages mentioned financing or a store credit card in the page body, every Firestone, Mavis, Meineke and Midas page and some Christian Brothers, Jiffy Lube and Precision Tune pages (our count). The read covers the public location pages only: it says nothing about the video these chains post on YouTube or social platforms or the inspection photos and videos a shop may text to a customer.

How many auto repair shops and quick lubes are there in the U.S.?

The United States had 85,899 general automotive repair shops with employees in 2025, on the Bureau of Labor Statistics' count of private establishments covered by unemployment insurance (NAICS 811111) (BLS QCEW). Another 10,069 were specialized repair shops such as brake, transmission, exhaust and electrical shops (NAICS 811114) (BLS QCEW), and 8,608 were oil change and lubrication shops (NAICS 811191) (BLS QCEW). The whole automotive repair and maintenance industry (NAICS 8111), which also takes in body shops, car washes and other automotive repair, counted 174,791 establishments (BLS QCEW).

These are counts of locations with a payroll. They leave out one-person businesses with no employees, dealer service departments (BLS counts them under new-car dealers) and service bays inside tire and auto parts stores. Body, paint and glass shops are covered on the auto body and collision repair statistics page.

QCEW counts annual-average private establishments and jobs. Average pay is total wages divided by jobs, before inflation, and mixes every role in the shop, from technicians to service advisers and office staff. The 2015 figures use the 2012 NAICS; general repair and quick lubes have the same definitions in both years.

From 2015 to 2025 the number of general repair shops with employees rose 8.0% and their jobs 18.6% (our calculation), so the average shop had 4.6 jobs in 2025 (our calculation). Quick lubes grew faster: 17.1% more shops and 31.5% more jobs (our calculation). Average pay per job rose 54.7% at general repair shops and 59.3% at quick lubes, before inflation (our calculation), while consumer prices overall rose 35.8% over the same ten years.

Specialized repair has no 2015 figure on the same code. The 2022 NAICS created code 811114 Specialized Automotive Repair for shops doing specialized mechanical or electrical work other than engine repair, with brake, suspension, exhaust, electrical, transmission and tune-up shops as its examples (Census NAICS manual). It merged three older codes. In 2015 BLS counted 2,669 exhaust system repair shops (NAICS 811112) (BLS QCEW), 4,653 transmission repair shops (811113) (BLS QCEW) and 5,897 other mechanical and electrical repair shops (811118) (BLS QCEW).

How big is a typical auto repair shop?

Most general repair shops are small: 55,637 of the 84,859 U.S. general automotive repair establishments with paid employees had fewer than 5 employees in mid-March 2023, according to the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (Census CBP), or 65.6% (our calculation). Together those 84,859 establishments had 403,389 paid employees (Census CBP). CBP sorts each location by its own headcount, so one branch of a multi-shop operator counts by its own staff. CBP 2023 still uses the 2017 NAICS, so it has no specialized-repair (811114) total.

How much do auto repair shops take in?

U.S. general automotive repair shops with paid employees took in $71,002,726 thousand in receipts in 2022, according to the Census Bureau's Economic Census, from 84,104 establishments owned by 79,149 firms (Census Economic Census). Specialized repair shops took in $5,911,297 thousand (Census Economic Census) and oil change and lubrication shops $9,646,760 thousand, where 5,527 firms ran 9,893 establishments (Census Economic Census). The Economic Census covers employer businesses only and reports receipts before inflation.

Do chains dominate auto repair?

Not in general repair: the 4 largest firms took 2.5% of U.S. general automotive repair receipts in 2022 (Census Economic Census), and the 50 largest took 8.6% (Census Economic Census). Quick lubes are different. The 4 largest oil change and lubrication firms took 24.8% of that industry's receipts (Census Economic Census), and the 50 largest took 50.9% (Census Economic Census). The top four's share was 9.9 times as high in quick lubes as in general repair (our calculation), on the same Census measure for the same year. Census ranks firms by their receipts in each industry and does not name them; a chain's locations that are classified as tire dealers, parts stores or dealers are not in these figures.

What work brings in the money at a general repair shop?

Engine, power train and transmission repair was the largest named product line at U.S. general automotive repair shops in 2022, at 11.2% of receipts, according to the Economic Census (Census Economic Census). Census has no separate line for diagnostics; diagnosis is billed inside each repair line.

Each share is that line's part of all receipts in the industry, from employer establishments only. Body work at general repair shops is a sizable line; shops that mainly do body work have their own industry, covered on the auto body and collision repair statistics page.

How many auto repair businesses have no employees?

The Census Bureau counted 225,471 U.S. automotive mechanical and electrical repair businesses without paid employees in 2024 (NAICS 81111, general plus specialized repair) (Census Nonemployer Statistics), up from 165,453 in 2015 (Census Nonemployer Statistics), a rise of 36.3% in nine years (our calculation). They reported $13,585,161 thousand in receipts in 2024 (Census Nonemployer Statistics), an average of $60,252 per business before costs (our calculation). Nonemployer Statistics counts tax filers with receipts of $1,000 or more, mostly sole proprietors, so a mobile mechanic working alone is counted. Census publishes it no finer than the 5-digit 81111, and oil change shops share a code with car washes there, so there is no count of no-staff quick lubes.

How many repair shops and mechanics do state registries count?

California's Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) counted 36,297 registered automotive repair dealers on September 30, 2026, the largest state count found (BAR licensing statistics). BAR registers every business that repairs vehicles for pay, so that figure takes in body shops, tire and glass shops, mobile mechanics and dealer service departments as well as general repair shops. General repair ranks first among the primary business types the dealers report, ahead of auto body and paint shops, but BAR publishes the ranking without counts (BAR). Registries count licences or registrations, not shops at work, and each state decides who needs one and what kinds it splits out, so the totals below cannot be compared from state to state.

California's count has grown. BAR counted 34,345 automotive repair dealers on September 30, 2023, 35,094 a year later and 34,483 in 2025, so the 2026 figure is 5.7% above the 2023 one (our calculation from BAR's handouts). Smog Check stations went the other way: test-and-repair stations fell 6.1%, from 4,228 to 3,971, and STAR-certified stations numbered 3,433 in 2026. With 1,998 test-only stations and a few repair-only stations, California had 5,989 licensed Smog Check stations (our sum). BAR also licenses people: 12,645 Smog Check inspectors and 5,005 Smog Check repair technicians held licences on September 30, 2026 (BAR). In July to September 2026 BAR received 1,140 initial repair dealer applications and approved 937, and 30.5% of Smog Check inspector exams were passed (BAR).

New York's Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) splits repair shops from body shops and keeps both in one facility file on the state's open-data portal. By our count, 13,489 general repair shop registrations were active on November 3, 2026, and 56.7% of them were at facilities that also held a public inspection station licence. DMV had 8,028 active public inspection stations, nearly all of them at registered repair or body shops. 28.3% of the repair shop registrations belonged to facilities that also held a new or used car dealer registration, so the count includes dealer service departments and used car lots that repair cars, not only independent shops. Another 4,789 repair shop registrations had lapsed within the six years the file keeps (our count).

New York City's five counties held only 17.1% of the state's active repair shop registrations, fewer than Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island together (our count). Most registrations are old: the median active one was first issued 16.3 years before November 2026. New ones are still arriving, and 693 of the active registrations were first issued in 2025, more than in any other year. Lapsed registrations leave the file after six years, so the older years count only the shops that are still registered.

Connecticut's DMV has a single repairer licence for mechanical and body shops alike. Of its 1,139 active general repairer licences on November 3, 2026, 143 carried a national repair or quick-lube chain banner such as Valvoline, Monro, Firestone or Midas in a legal or trade name, and 10.5% had the word tire in a name (our count). A franchisee licensed under a company name with no banner is missed, so the chain count is a floor.

Hawaii licenses both the shop and the mechanic through its Motor Vehicle Repair Industry Board. On June 30, 2025 the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA) counted 529 current repair dealer licences, 1,058 certified mechanics and 158 registered mechanics, 1,756 board licences in all (Hawaii DCCA geographic report). That makes 1,218 mechanic licences, about 2.3 for each licensed repair dealer (our sum). Nine months earlier, on September 30, 2024, DCCA counted 506 repair dealers and 1,005 certified mechanics (Hawaii DCCA), so repair dealer licences rose 4.5% (our calculation).

Michigan also certifies mechanics and registers repair facilities, under its Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, but its Department of State publishes no count of either; each mechanic certification test costs $18 from July 1, 2026 (Michigan Department of State). Some states license only part of the trade. New Jersey's list of 863 private inspection facilities and 264 emission repair facilities covers shops that inspect or fix emissions failures for the state, and Maryland's 131 certified emissions repair facilities are shops that chose to join the state's programme. Florida also registers motor vehicle repair shops, but its registry could not be read for this page.

How many car repair shops are on OpenStreetMap?

On November 3, 2026, OpenStreetMap, the volunteer-built map, had 48,887 places in the United States tagged as car repair shops, 1,384 of them in Florida (our count through an Overpass mirror). The tag covers body shops as well as mechanical shops, and the map is far from complete: New York's DMV alone lists 13,489 active repair shop registrations. Mapped shops say little about themselves online. Only 20.5% of the U.S. car repair shops on the map carried a website tag, against 24.3% in Florida, and just 13.6% said which services they offer. These counts show what volunteers have mapped, not how many shops operate, and a shop drawn both as a point and as a building outline counts twice. The counts are published in ny-dmv-repair-shop-registrations.csv, ct-dmv-general-repairer-licenses.csv, state-repair-registry-counts.csv and osm-car-repair-shops.csv (aggregate counts only).

How many auto mechanics and technicians are there in the U.S.?

U.S. employers had 704,640 wage-and-salary automotive service technicians and mechanics (SOC 49-3023) in May 2025, according to the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey (BLS OEWS). Counting the self-employed, BLS Employment Projections put the occupation at 825.8 thousand jobs in 2025 (BLS Employment Projections). The Current Population Survey, which asks households about each person's main job, counted 901 thousand employed people working as automotive service technicians and mechanics in 2025 (BLS CPS). The three counts differ because the first surveys employers, the second adds self-employed workers, and the third asks households.

The trade is almost all men: 1.8% of employed automotive service technicians and mechanics were women in 2025, according to the Current Population Survey (BLS CPS).

Do more technicians work at dealers or at independent shops?

Dealers employ the largest share: 32% of automotive service technicians and mechanics worked at automobile dealers in 2025, 25% in automotive mechanical and electrical repair shops, 15% were self-employed and 6% worked at auto parts, accessories and tire retailers, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook). Employment Projections puts the self-employed share at 14.6% in 2025 (BLS Employment Projections). In the OEWS employer survey, automotive repair and maintenance shops (NAICS 8111, which also includes body shops and car washes) employed 251,720 of these technicians in May 2025 (BLS OEWS).

How much do auto mechanics earn?

The median annual wage of U.S. automotive service technicians and mechanics was $50,620 in May 2025, according to BLS OEWS (BLS OEWS), close to the $50,980 median for all occupations (BLS OEWS). The lowest-paid 10% earned less than $34,660 (BLS OEWS) and the highest-paid 10% more than $81,790 (BLS OEWS).

Technicians at independent repair shops earn less than those at dealers. The median for technicians in automotive repair and maintenance shops (NAICS 8111) was $48,370 in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), against $59,920 at automobile dealers (NAICS 4411) (BLS OEWS), so the dealer median was 23.9% higher (our calculation). OEWS covers wage-and-salary workers only, so shop owners and self-employed mechanics are not in these figures.

Is demand for auto technicians growing?

BLS projects employment of automotive service technicians and mechanics to grow 5.0% from 2025 to 2035 (BLS Employment Projections), faster than the 3.5% projected for all occupations (BLS Employment Projections). It projects 66.2 thousand openings a year on average over the decade (BLS Employment Projections). Most of those openings come from replacing workers who retire or move to other occupations, not from new jobs.

How dangerous is auto repair work?

51 workers in U.S. general automotive repair died from work injuries in 2024, 16 of them from contact with objects and equipment, according to the BLS Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (BLS CFOI). The count includes self-employed workers, and small annual counts swing widely. Employers in automotive repair and maintenance (NAICS 8111) reported 1.9 nonfatal injury and illness cases per 100 full-time workers in 2024, against 2.3 for all private industry (BLS SOII). That employer-reported rate covers body shops and car washes too, and excludes the self-employed.

How many auto repair shops are there in Florida?

Florida had 5,458 general automotive repair shops with employees in 2025, on BLS's count of private establishments covered by unemployment insurance (NAICS 811111) (BLS QCEW), up from 5,141 in 2015 (BLS QCEW). They averaged 23,023 jobs in 2025 (BLS QCEW), against 20,669 in 2015 (BLS QCEW), and paid an average of $59,939 per job (BLS QCEW), against $37,345 in 2015 before inflation (BLS QCEW). Over those ten years Florida's general repair shops grew 6.2% in number, their jobs 11.4% and their pay per job 60.5% (our calculation). The state also had 828 specialized repair shops (NAICS 811114) (BLS QCEW) and 529 oil change and lubrication shops (NAICS 811191) (BLS QCEW) in 2025.

Florida general repair shops with employees took in $3,672,429 thousand in receipts in 2022, from 5,115 establishments, according to the Economic Census (Census Economic Census). Florida also had 24,473 automotive mechanical and electrical repair businesses without paid employees in 2024 (NAICS 81111) (Census Nonemployer Statistics).

How many auto repair shops are in Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties?

Broward County had 504 general automotive repair shops with employees in 2025, Palm Beach County 428 and Martin County 60, according to BLS QCEW (BLS QCEW). The three counties held 18.2% of Florida's general repair shops with employees (our calculation) and 17.9% of its mechanical repair businesses with no employees in 2024 (our calculation). Each county also has far more one-person businesses than employer shops, on the Census Bureau's nonemployer count for mechanical and electrical repair (NAICS 81111).

Shop counts and pay are QCEW annual averages for private NAICS 811111 establishments; pay is before inflation and covers every role in the shop. The no-employee column is the Census Bureau's 2024 Nonemployer Statistics for NAICS 81111 (general plus specialized repair), which counts tax filers rather than storefronts and is noise-infused. Martin County's small counts move a lot from year to year.

What do auto technicians earn in Florida and South Florida?

Florida employers had 49,930 wage-and-salary automotive service technicians and mechanics in May 2025 (BLS OEWS), at a median annual wage of $48,260 (BLS OEWS), 4.7% below the national median of $50,620 (our calculation). The Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro area, which covers Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, had 11,970 of these technicians (BLS OEWS) at a median of $49,550 (BLS OEWS). Martin County sits in the Port St. Lucie metro area, where the median was $49,380 (BLS OEWS). These are BLS OEWS employer-survey figures and exclude the self-employed.

How fast are car repair prices rising?

Consumer prices for motor vehicle maintenance and repair rose 5.8% in the 12 months to September 2026, according to the BLS Consumer Price Index for urban consumers (BLS CPI), faster than the 3.7% rise in prices overall (BLS CPI). Within it, maintenance and servicing prices rose 7.8% (BLS CPI) and repair prices 3.5% (BLS CPI). Body work prices are covered on the auto body and collision repair statistics page.

Over the longer run, the CPI index for motor vehicle maintenance and repair averaged 270.717 in 2015 (BLS CPI) and 431.435 in 2025 (BLS CPI), on a 1982-84=100 base: a rise of 59.4% in ten years (our calculation), against 35.8% for the all-items index over the same years (our calculation). The all-items index averaged 237.017 in 2015 (BLS CPI) and 321.943 in 2025 (BLS CPI). The CPI measures the out-of-pocket prices consumers pay at the shop, labor and parts together. BLS publishes no producer price index for auto repair shops, so there is no seller-side price series to compare.

How much do households spend on car maintenance and repairs?

The average U.S. consumer unit (roughly a household) spent $1,241 on vehicle maintenance and repairs in 2025, about 1.5% of its total spending, according to the BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys (BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys). That compares with $837 in 2015 (BLS Consumer Expenditure Surveys), a rise of 48.3% before inflation (our calculation). The average covers every consumer unit, including those without a car, so spending per car owner is higher. The 2025 estimate has a standard error of $61.69, more than twice the 2024 one, so the size of the latest jump is less certain than the figure alone suggests.

How big are the public quick-lube and repair chains?

Valvoline is the largest public quick-lube chain: it ran 2,180 service center stores in the U.S. and Canada at September 30, 2025, directly or through franchisees, by its own count in its fiscal 2025 annual report to the SEC (Valvoline 10-K). 1,016 of them were company-owned (Valvoline 10-K). System-wide store sales, franchisees included, were $3,453.8 million, up 11.3% (Valvoline 10-K), and system-wide same-store sales grew 6.1% (7.1% a year earlier), Valvoline's 19th straight year of growth (Valvoline 10-K). Over five years the system added 718 net new stores (Valvoline 10-K), and in November 2025 Valvoline cleared an FTC review to buy 207 Breeze Autocare stores, Oil Changers among them, selling 45 of them on (Valvoline 10-K).

Driven Brands' Take 5 Oil Change had grown to 1,342 locations at December 27, 2025 (Driven Brands 10-K): 812 company-operated and 530 franchised (Driven Brands 10-K). Take 5's same-store sales rose 6.2% in fiscal 2025 (Driven Brands 10-K). Driven's repair brand, Meineke Car Care Center, had 780 franchised locations (Driven Brands 10-K), and same-store sales in the Franchise Brands segment that holds Meineke fell 1.1% (Driven Brands 10-K). In February 2025 Driven agreed to sell its U.S. Car Wash business to Whistle Express for $385 million (Driven Brands 10-K).

Monro, the largest listed chain of general repair and tire shops, ran 1,115 stores at March 28, 2026 and serviced about 3.8 million vehicles in its fiscal year (Monro 10-K). The count was 1,260 a year earlier, before its board approved closing 145 underperforming stores (Monro 10-K). Comparable store sales still rose 1.4% (Monro 10-K). Florida had 101 Monro stores, more than any state except New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania (Monro 10-K). Goodyear ran about 505 company-owned retail outlets in the Americas offering maintenance and repair, mainly as Goodyear or Just Tires (Goodyear 10-K). Icahn Enterprises' Automotive segment had about 820 company operated store locations and 727 franchise locations in the U.S. (Icahn Enterprises 10-K); the filing does not name the brands.

How much do the chains spend on advertising, and where?

Valvoline spent $74.3 million on advertising in fiscal 2025, up from $60.5 million in fiscal 2023 (Valvoline 10-K). Monro's advertising expenses jumped to $31.5 million in fiscal 2026 from $19.0 million a year earlier (Monro 10-K). Driven Brands' franchisees and company stores paid $108,521 thousand into its brand advertising funds in fiscal 2025 (Driven Brands 10-K).

Video is named as a channel. Valvoline says it invests in advertising through video, social and digital media alongside search and direct response (Valvoline 10-K). Driven Brands lists CRM, social and digital media, television, print, radio and sponsorships (Driven Brands 10-K). AutoZone, a parts retailer, calls digital and broadcast media its primary advertising methods for retail traffic (AutoZone 10-K). None of the chains' 10-Ks uses the shop-software term "digital vehicle inspection"; Valvoline says its technicians recommend services from visual inspection, service history and carmaker schedules (Valvoline 10-K).

What do the chains say about hiring technicians?

Monro says it has had more difficulty hiring skilled technicians than pre-pandemic and expects that to continue (Monro 10-K). It had about 6,440 employees at March 28, 2026, 6,270 of them in the field (Monro 10-K). Valvoline had about 10,100 employees in its company-operated stores and 11,400 in total (Valvoline 10-K). It gives new store staff 270 hours of training, generally within their first 60 days (Valvoline 10-K), and recruits with mobile applications, online chat and video storytelling that shows its culture through its own employees (Valvoline 10-K). Snap-on, which sells tools to technicians from franchise vans, ran about 3,400 van routes in the U.S. (about 4,700 worldwide) at the end of 2025 (Snap-on 10-K); its Tools Group's net sales fell 1.2% to $1,964.9 million (Snap-on 10-K).

How much of the auto parts business comes from repair shops rather than do-it-yourselfers?

About half at the largest retailers, and more at the distributors. O'Reilly derived about 50% of its 2025 sales from professional service providers and 50% from do-it-yourself (DIY) customers (O'Reilly 10-K). Advance Auto Parts put professional sales at about 50% in each of fiscal 2023-2025 (Advance Auto Parts 10-K). AutoZone is more DIY-heavy: domestic commercial sales were 33.1% of its domestic sales in fiscal 2026, after growing 10.6% (AutoZone 10-K). At Genuine Parts (NAPA), do-it-for-me customers, mainly repair shops, dealers and fleets, were about 80% of automotive sales (Genuine Parts 10-K), and its North American repair center network, NAPA Auto Care and similar programs, had over 20,000 locations (Genuine Parts 10-K). Icahn Enterprises says consumers have moved from do-it-yourself toward do-it-for-me service over the past decade as vehicles grew more complex (Icahn Enterprises 10-K).

The market sizes in these filings are other people's numbers. O'Reilly puts the U.S. automotive aftermarket at about $435 billion, citing the Auto Care Association, a trade body that sells data, and its own addressable market at $165 billion to $175 billion (O'Reilly 10-K). AutoZone cites S&P Global Mobility for an average light-vehicle age of 12.9 years (AutoZone 10-K); O'Reilly gives 12.6 years in 2024, up from 11.4 years in 2014 (O'Reilly 10-K). Shell's annual report gives no Jiffy Lube store count, but records its March 2026 agreement to sell Jiffy Lube's franchisor to an affiliate of Monomoy Capital Partners for $1.3 billion (Shell 20-F).

How often do SEC annual reports mention quick lubes, do-it-for-me and right to repair?

"Right to repair" has the clearest rise: 19 Form 10-K annual reports filed in 2025 used the phrase, up from 7 in 2015, by our count of exact phrases by filing year in EDGAR full-text search (our count). The filers changed too. The 9 in 2005 were software, technology and consumer-product companies such as Lucent, Gilead and Samsonite, none of them vehicle makers or repair chains; in 2025 most were equipment, vehicle and device makers: Deere, CNH Industrial, General Motors, Rivian, Lucid, LiveWire, Titan Machinery and GE HealthCare (our count). The count cannot separate the policy sense from contract wording such as a right to repair or replace a product. Across 2001-2025, 222 10-Ks used it.

"Digital vehicle inspection", the shop-software term for photo and video inspections texted to drivers, appeared in 0 10-Ks from 2001 to 2025, singular or plural (our count). "Quick lube" peaked at 15 filings in 2010, when most filers were filter, parts, packaging and lubricant makers such as Clarcor, Donaldson, Ashland and Honeywell plus Midas, and was down to 4 in 2025: Driven Brands, Mister Car Wash, Quest Resource and Valvoline (our count). "Do-it-for-me" held steady at 14 filings in 2025, against 12 in 2005, with 343 over the 25 years; several 2025 users (ADT, GoDaddy, LegalZoom, Home Depot, Lowe's) apply it to home services or software, not cars (our count). "Oil change" or "oil changes" fell from a peak of 59 filings in 2010 to 22 in 2025 (our count).

Source: our count from EDGAR full-text search, published as a CSV with this page. Unlinked cells come from the same CSV.

"Technician shortage" is almost absent from annual reports: it first appeared in a 10-K filed in 2009, from a theatre equipment company, and the first automotive-training filer to use it was Universal Technical Institute in 2016 (our count). It never appeared in more than 2 filings a year, and only 19 times in all; the chains write about hiring difficulty instead (see Monro above).

The counts measure wording, not activity. EDGAR full-text search covers filings from 2001 onward, so "do-it-for-me", "quick lube", "oil change" and "right to repair", all present in 2001, first appeared earlier than this data can show. Each 10-K counts once however often it uses a phrase; the search ignores case, treats hyphens as spaces and does no stemming, so plurals were searched separately and combined. It misses private chains and franchisors such as Jiffy Lube, Midas and Christian Brothers, foreign filers on Forms 20-F and 40-F, and 10-K/A amendments. Year means filing year, so 2025 mostly covers fiscal 2024 reports.

How many shops do the auto repair and quick-lube franchises have?

Jiffy Lube is the largest of the quick-lube franchise systems covered here, with 2,083 service centers at the end of 2025, 1,765 of them franchised (Jiffy Lube FDD). The counts below come from Item 20 of each franchisor's latest franchise disclosure document (FDD) in the Minnesota Department of Commerce's public CARDS database; franchisors file these under the FTC Franchise Rule and count their own outlets. Several systems are shrinking: Tire Pros fell to 495 stores from 644 two years earlier (Tire Pros FDD), Car-X to 97 from 145 (Car-X FDD) and Milex and Mr. Transmission to 106 from 113 (Moran Industries FDD). Christian Brothers Automotive grew to 326 franchised shops (Christian Brothers FDD).

Source: Item 20 outlet tables of each FDD; unlinked cells come from the same table. Take 5's latest FDD on file stops at fiscal 2024, and Driven Brands' 10-K counts 1,342 Take 5 locations a year later. Meineke's latest FDD on file also stops at 2024, and CARDS lists an order cancelling its Minnesota registration in July 2026; Driven Brands' 10-K gives 780 franchised Meineke locations at the end of 2025. Midas became a company operator in 2025, taking over 111 shops, and its franchisor is based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida (Midas FDD). Big O Tires' 470 are 21 PDF and 449 BFF stores, its two franchise formats.

How much does a franchised quick lube or repair shop sell?

About $1.1 million to $1.8 million a year for the quick lubes that publish averages. 891 comparable franchised Valvoline Instant Oil Change centers averaged $1,844,172 in net sales in fiscal 2025, with a median of $1,704,870 (Valvoline FDD), and 785 comparable company-operated centers averaged $1,677,087 (Valvoline FDD). Those company centers averaged 51.1 oil changes a day (Valvoline FDD) at an average ticket of $106.85 (Valvoline FDD). 298 affiliate-owned Take 5 centers open a full year averaged $1,384,790 in gross sales in fiscal 2024 (median $1,327,808) (Take 5 FDD). 1,732 franchised Jiffy Lube centers open all of 2025 averaged $1,109,718.70 in net adjusted sales (Jiffy Lube FDD), while their average vehicle count fell to 8,442 from 9,219 in 2023 (Jiffy Lube FDD).

Midas, the general repair brand here whose sales tables can be read as text, gives quartiles only: the top quarter of 856 franchisees open all of 2025 averaged $2,141,832 in gross revenue (Midas FDD) and the bottom quarter $676,751 (Midas FDD). The top quarter invoiced an average of $542 per customer visit (Midas FDD). Midas also discloses Google ratings: its top 10% of franchisees averaged 5.0 stars and its bottom 10% 3.8 (Midas FDD). Christian Brothers' Item 19 tables are images in the filed PDF and could not be read as text. These are franchisor-compiled, unaudited figures for the outlets each table names; the samples, years and sales definitions differ, so the brands cannot be ranked against each other.

What do auto repair and quick-lube franchisees pay for advertising?

From under 1% to 8% of sales, by the franchisors' own terms. Meineke franchisees contribute 8% of gross revenues each week to the Meineke Advertising Fund (Meineke FDD). Take 5 franchisees pay 5% of weekly gross sales to the brand's marketing funds (Take 5 FDD), which in fiscal 2024 spent 69.4% on media (mail, digital and mass media), 10.8% on website and SEO media and 5.1% on creative and production (Take 5 FDD). Jiffy Lube franchisees pay up to 1.5% of gross sales to a National Advertising Fund (Jiffy Lube FDD). Valvoline Instant Oil Change franchisees must spend at least 3% of adjusted gross revenue on local advertising (Valvoline FDD), and Valvoline plans a national fund from fiscal 2027 starting at .25%, rising to up to 1% over five years (Valvoline FDD). Christian Brothers charged a flat $12,500 a year for its national and regional marketing programs at the end of 2025, about 0.42% of average franchise revenue, with a cap of 3% (Christian Brothers FDD).

What do digital vehicle inspection software sellers say photos and video do for repair orders?

The sellers say repair orders get bigger when the customer sees the problem: Tekmetric said its 2024 data showed shops using digital vehicle inspections (DVIs) had average repair orders about 21 percent higher than shops without them, $741.60 against $612.98 (Tekmetric via Vehicle Service Pros). In a DVI, a technician photographs or films the worn part, and the shop texts or emails the customer an inspection report to approve or decline the work.

Every figure in this section comes from a company that sells DVI or shop-management software, drawn from its own customers. Most do not say how many shops or repair orders they counted, over what period, or what the comparison group was. Shops that inspect and share more may also be busier, larger or doing bigger jobs, so none of these gaps shows that photos alone caused the difference.

The claims measure different things. AutoVitals and BOLT ON compare inspections with more or fewer photos, Tekmetric compares shops that use DVIs with shops that do not, and Shop-Ware compares repair orders shared with the customer with ones that were not. "Up to" in BOLT ON's figure is a ceiling, not an average.

How many repair shops use digital inspection software?

No neutral count exists; the sellers count their own customers. Shopmonkey's inspection demo page said 10,000+ auto shops use its software on Nov. 3, 2026 (Shopmonkey), while its home page said over 8,000 the same day (Shopmonkey). Tekmetric said its Shop Index draws on more than 10,000 North American shops on its platform, in data through June 2026 (Tekmetric). BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY said more than 10,000 independent repair shops had used its software and that shops had sent drivers 50 million repair photos through it by November 2020 (BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY).

These totals overlap (a shop can run one company's shop-management system and another's inspection tool), count shop types beyond mechanical repair, and cannot be added together.

What is the average repair order at shops on Tekmetric's platform?

The average repair order at Tekmetric customer shops was $704.25 in data through June 2026, according to Tekmetric's Shop Index, which it says covers more than 10,000 North American shops (Tekmetric Shop Index). The top quarter of shops averaged $879.38 and the median shop $649.88 (Tekmetric). The same index puts monthly car count at 118 vehicles on average (median 97) (Tekmetric) and the effective labor rate, what shops actually collect per labor hour, at $134.92 (Tekmetric).

The index covers Tekmetric's own customers, not a random sample of U.S. shops, and mixes U.S. and Canadian shops.

How many photos do the sellers tell technicians to take?

AutoVitals tells shops to take at least 30 photos per vehicle, based on what it calls its 2023 and 2024 customer data, in a guide published Feb. 5, 2025 (AutoVitals). The same guide sets goals of inspecting 80%+ of vehicles (AutoVitals) and of customers spending 400+ seconds looking at the report, which it says goes with higher approval rates (AutoVitals). These are targets the seller sets, not measured averages, and the guide gives no shop count; its own conclusion says "over 90%" for the inspection rate. Tekmetric's lower figure, six to eight photos and videos, shows that the sellers do not agree on a number.

How do drivers look for car repair on Google?

Google's newest published figures on repair search are from 2017: nearly 25% of all U.S. automotive searches from January to August 2017 were about parts, services and maintenance, according to Google's internal data (Think with Google). Google said more than half of those parts, service and maintenance searches came from mobile phones (Think with Google).

In a 2017 survey Google commissioned from Critical Mix of 1,500 U.S. adults who had bought auto parts or service in the previous six months, over 50% of those who used mobile search called the service provider straight from a search result (Think with Google), and more than 40% needed reactive rather than routine maintenance, the unplanned repair after something breaks (Think with Google). Google sells the search ads and call buttons these figures promote, and the article they come from was written for car dealers' service departments.

How many drivers watch car video on YouTube?

1 in 3 U.S. adults aged 18 to 54 watched auto content on YouTube once a month in a February 2016 Google/Ipsos Connect survey of 2,503 people who go online at least monthly (Think with Google). "Auto content" covers all car video, from reviews to repairs, not repair how-to alone.

In the same 2017 Google/Critical Mix survey of 1,500 U.S. adults who had bought parts or service in the past six months, 65% of people who took a vehicle in for service said they first heard about the service center they visited through video (Think with Google). Google did not say whether that meant TV, online or YouTube video, and the survey was paid for by the company that sells YouTube ads. We found no newer Google, YouTube or Meta post that gives a figure for car repair searches, "near me" repair searches or how-to car video.

How many technicians are ASE certified?

More than a quarter of a million individuals hold ASE certifications, according to the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence in January 2026 (ASE). ASE, a non-profit founded in 1972, writes and sells the tests; its count is rounded and includes collision, truck, school bus and parts specialists as well as car technicians.

ASE offers 52 tests, grouped into specialties such as automobile, medium and heavy truck, school bus and collision repair (ASE). It says usually only two out of every three test takers pass on their first attempt (ASE). A test taker becomes ASE Certified after passing at least one test and showing two years of relevant work experience (ASE), and must retest every five years to stay certified (ASE).

How many new technicians does the trade need?

TechForce Foundation estimated in December 2024 that nearly 1 million new-entry transportation technicians will be needed over the next five years across four sectors: automotive, collision, diesel and aviation (TechForce Foundation). It said less than 25% of that need comes from growth; most comes from replacing technicians who retire or leave (TechForce Foundation). In the diesel, automotive and collision sectors, replacement needs outpace workforce growth by more than 4-to-1 (TechForce Foundation).

The workforce is still growing. TechForce's 2024 report found the technician workforce in its four sectors grew 2.8% in a year, against 2.0% for the U.S. labor force (TechForce Foundation), and its 2025 report found 3.6% growth against 1.9% (TechForce Foundation). TechForce is a non-profit that funds technician scholarships. Its full reports sit behind a download form, so the method and the automotive-only figures are not quoted here, and these are projections and sector totals, not counts of auto repair technicians alone.

Is there research on video in technician training?

Little: the one controlled study we found tested a question-based instructional video on 39 automotive vocational teacher candidates in Indonesia against a control group of 42, and the video group scored significantly higher on a test afterwards (International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning). It was one small group at one university, studying future teachers rather than working technicians. Searches of ERIC and PubMed found no peer-reviewed study of photos or video in repair shops' communication with customers.

How much does it cost to maintain and repair a car?

AAA puts maintenance, repair and tires for a new vehicle at 11.73 cents a mile for 2026 models (AAA Your Driving Costs 2026). That is AAA's sales-weighted average across seven vehicle categories, estimated over five years and 75,000 miles. AAA's line covers manufacturer-scheduled maintenance, a comprehensive extended warranty, wear-and-tear repairs over the five years and one set of replacement tires. It is an estimate for a new vehicle, so it says little about what owners of older cars pay. In the same study AAA puts the full cost to own and operate a new vehicle at $12,863 a year (AAA). AAA says changes to its method mean the 2026 results do not compare directly with 2025.

Electric vehicles cost less to maintain in AAA's separate comparison of selected 2026 models. Maintenance on the electric compact SUVs AAA picked comes to $1,402 a year at 15,000 miles, against $1,954 for the gas-powered ones (AAA). For medium sedans the figures are $1,602 electric and $1,827 gas (AAA). AAA says this smaller comparison should not be set against its overall averages.

What does an average car repair cost?

It depends on who is counting and what they count. In 2025 the average check-engine-light repair cost $554.01 in parts and labor, CarMD reports from 39,116,755 such repairs recommended on 1996-2024 model-year vehicles (CarMD Vehicle Health Index 2026). That was a record for its series and well above $415.31 in 2024 (CarMD). The same year, owners in a Cox Automotive survey paid $261 on average for a dealership repair and $275 at a general repair shop (Cox Automotive). The two figures measure different things. CarMD sells diagnostic tools and prices only check-engine-light fixes, at dealer list prices plus markup. Cox sells software to dealers and asked 1,974 owners in April and May 2025.

The most common check-engine-light repair in 2025 was replacing a catalytic converter, at $1,510.88 on average, according to CarMD (CarMD). In CarMD's Southern region, which includes Florida, the average check-engine-light repair cost $563.41 in 2025 (CarMD).

How old are the cars on U.S. roads?

The average light vehicle in operation in the United States was 12.8 years old in 2025, according to S&P Global Mobility, which sells vehicle registration data to the aftermarket (S&P Global Mobility). It counted 289 million light vehicles in operation (S&P Global Mobility). Passenger cars averaged 14.5 years and light trucks, which include SUVs and pickups, 11.9 years (S&P Global Mobility). S&P describes a relatively stable 4.5% scrappage rate, so older vehicles stay on the road longer (S&P Global Mobility). The figures are a snapshot as of January 1, 2025. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics republishes this series in its National Transportation Statistics and credits it to S&P Global Mobility. We found no 2026 edition.

How many vehicles are registered, and how far are they driven?

The Federal Highway Administration counted 271,085,742 registered light-duty vehicles (cars, light trucks, vans and SUVs) in 2024 and 297,525,836 motor vehicles of all types (FHWA Highway Statistics). Light-duty vehicles were driven an estimated 2,924,107 million vehicle-miles that year (FHWA). The average light-duty vehicle covered 10,787 miles in 2024, down from 11,106 in 2023 (FHWA). FHWA builds these estimates from state traffic counts, fuel sales, registrations and modelling. Florida had 19,696,080 registered motor vehicles in 2024, counting automobiles, buses, trucks and motorcycles (FHWA).

Can drivers afford an unexpected repair bill?

Many could not, by AAA's 2017 estimate: its survey found that 64 million American drivers could not pay for an unexpected vehicle repair without going into debt (AAA). AAA did not publish that survey's sample size or dates, and we found no newer edition.

Do Americans trust auto mechanics?

About a third do. In December 2024, 33% of U.S. adults rated the honesty and ethical standards of auto mechanics as very high or high (Gallup). Another 52% rated them average (Gallup). Gallup interviewed a random telephone sample of 1,003 adults from December 2 to 18, 2024. It asks about mechanics only in some years. The share was 28% in 2010, the first year in its current trend table (Gallup), so the rating has changed little.

AAA vets shops for its members. Its Approved Auto Repair network had over 7,000 facilities in the United States and Canada in September 2025, its 50th year (AAA). AAA inspects the shops and runs the network, so the count describes its own program.

How does dealer service compare with independent shops?

Dealers are losing service visits to independent shops. In 2025 dealers handled 12% fewer service visits than in 2018, the Cox Automotive Service Industry Study found (Cox Automotive). Only 54% of owners of vehicles two years old or newer went back to the selling dealer for service in 2025, down from 72% in 2023 (Cox Automotive). Cox surveyed 1,974 owners aged 18 to 75 in April and May 2025. Cox sells software to dealers.

Speed is a big part of the gap. In J.D. Power's 2026 Customer Service Index, mass-market customers waited 1.61 hours on average for maintenance at a dealer and premium-brand customers 2.46 hours (J.D. Power). By comparison, 62% of aftermarket visits for similar work took under an hour (J.D. Power). J.D. Power puts dealer service satisfaction at 868 on a 1,000-point scale, up 3 points (J.D. Power). When satisfaction reached 950 or higher, 86% of mass-market customers said they definitely would return to the dealer for paid service (J.D. Power). J.D. Power drew on 51,228 owners and lessees of 1- to 3-year-old vehicles, fielded through 2025. It sells data and consulting to automakers and dealers.

Cost is not the reason dealers lose customers. Cox found that 45% of owners were unhappy with their dealership service, mostly over unexpected costs and poor communication (Cox Automotive). Yet the average dealer repair ($261) cost less than the average general repair shop visit ($275) in the same survey. 55% of owners said being able to compare costs online is very important (Cox Automotive).

Do service customers want photos and video of their repairs?

Most do, and few get them. In J.D. Power's 2026 Customer Service Index, 64% of dealer service customers said they would like photo or video evidence with their multi-point inspection results (J.D. Power). Only 26% of mass-market customers and 44% of premium-brand customers said they received it (J.D. Power). Mass-market customers who got photos or video during the visit rated their service advisor 907 out of 1,000 (J.D. Power). J.D. Power did not print the score for customers who got no photos or video.

J.D. Power's figures cover dealer service customers, not independent shops. Cox Automotive's 2026 study of photos and video in service visits is left out here because Cox, which sells service software to dealers, did not publish its field dates.

When does a Florida repair shop have to give a written estimate?

When the job will cost the customer more than $150, under the 2026 Florida Statutes. The Motor Vehicle Repair Act requires the shop to prepare the written estimate, including any diagnostic charge, before it starts diagnostic or repair work (Fla. Stat. 559.905). The threshold was $100 in the 2023 edition of the statutes and was raised by chapter 2024-137 (Fla. Stat. 559.905, 2023 edition).

The estimate has to list the shop and customer, the vehicle's odometer reading, the proposed completion date, whether labor is billed at a flat or hourly rate, any shop-supplies or waste charge, the guarantee, and a box for the customer to ask that replaced parts be saved. It must also state the daily storage charge, but storage cannot accrue for 3 working days after the customer is told the car is ready (Fla. Stat. 559.905). On jobs over $150 the shop must also hand over a separate, boxed notice in capital letters of at least 12-point type, on which the customer chooses a written estimate, a spending cap without one, or no estimate, and signs (Fla. Stat. 559.905).

How far can a Florida repair bill go over the estimate?

By $10 or 10 percent of the written estimate, whichever is greater, and never more than $50, unless the customer authorizes more (Fla. Stat. 559.909). Once a shop finds the charges will exceed the estimate by more than that margin, it must promptly notify the customer, who can authorize, change or cancel the job orally or in writing (Fla. Stat. 559.909). A shop may not hold the car because the customer refuses to pay for unauthorized work. A customer who asks when authorizing the repair is entitled to inspect the replaced parts, or to get them back unless the shop has a warranty or exchange-parts arrangement with a supplier (Fla. Stat. 559.909).

What must a Florida repair invoice and shop record show?

Every completed repair needs a legible invoice with the date and odometer reading, what was done, itemized labor, parts and merchandise with their costs, whether any part is used, rebuilt or reconditioned, the guarantee, and the shop's state registration number (Fla. Stat. 559.911). The same registration number has to appear in the shop's newspaper, magazine and directory advertising. Shops must keep estimates and invoices and let customers inspect and copy their records for at least 12 months (Fla. Stat. 559.915).

A customer who disputes a bill can get the car released by posting a cash or surety bond for the invoice amount, plus any storage, with the clerk of court. The shop then has 60 days to sue to recover the bond, or the bond is discharged (Fla. Stat. 559.917).

Which Florida shops must register, and what does registration cost?

Almost every business that repairs other people's vehicles for pay. Florida's definition of a motor vehicle repair shop names mobile repair shops, dealers, garages, service stations, self-employed individuals, truck stops, body shops, brake, muffler and transmission shops, and glass shops (Fla. Stat. 559.903). The Act exempts government shops, people repairing only their own vehicles or rental vehicles rented for 30 days or less, farm-vehicle repairers, licensed auctions and school shops (Fla. Stat. 559.902). An individual with no employees and no established place of business needs no registration or fee, and licensed dealers pay no fee (Fla. Stat. 559.904).

Registration with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) comes before doing business, is renewed every two years and is priced per location by the number of employees who do repairs. A local business tax receipt for a repair shop cannot be issued or renewed without it.

Source: Fla. Stat. 559.904. Veterans, active-duty service members, qualifying spouses and veteran-owned businesses can have the initial fee waived.

Registered shops must post a sign that FDACS supplies, 11 by 17 inches in 30 point type, with the registration certificate attached, in full view of customers at the service counter (Fla. Admin. Code 5J-12.002). The statute behind the sign requires it to carry FDACS's toll-free consumer number and to tell customers they may ask for the return or inspection of replaced parts. FDACS's own website blocks automated readers, so this page cites the statute and rule text and reports no FDACS registration count.

What are the penalties for breaking Florida's repair act?

Up to $1,000 per violation. The Act sets FDACS administrative fines and civil penalties in the Class I category, which Florida law caps at that amount for each violation (Fla. Stat. 570.971). FDACS's penalty rule treats a missing estimate, disclosure notice or invoice, or poor record keeping, as a minor violation with a fine of up to $500 each; overcharging the estimate, unauthorized repairs and misrepresentation are major violations that can also bring suspension or revocation (Fla. Admin. Code 5J-12.007). Fines are counted per violation and added together. Customers can also sue for damages, court costs and attorney's fees.

How do other states' written-estimate rules compare with Florida's?

They differ on when an estimate is owed and how much a bill can grow without new consent. Florida requires a written estimate above $150 (Fla. Stat. 559.905) and Illinois above $100 (815 ILCS 306/15), while California (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9884.9) and Michigan (MCL 257.1332) require one before any repair work and New York only when the customer asks (N.Y. VTL 398-d). The table at the end of this section compares the six states' rules as each statute or regulation states them.

What does California require of repair shops?

A written estimated price for parts and labor on every specific job, with no dollar threshold, under the Automotive Repair Act whose registration article dates from 1971 (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9884.9). No work may be done or charged before the customer authorizes it, and any increase needs the customer's oral or written consent, by phone, email or fax, after the shop learns the estimate is short. Preventive maintenance at a posted price is the main exception. The Bureau of Automotive Repair's estimate regulation adds rules for tear-down estimates, insurer-paid repairs, towing fees and sublet work; it was last amended effective July 1, 2025 (16 CCR 3353).

All work, including warranty work, goes on an itemized invoice that separates service from parts and flags used or rebuilt parts, with One copy for the customer and one kept by the shop (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9884.8). Since 1971 a customer who asks when the work order is written gets the replaced parts back, or is shown them when they must go to the manufacturer under a warranty (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9884.10).

Any business that diagnoses, services or repairs vehicles for pay, including mobile repair, must register with the Bureau as an automotive repair dealer, for a $200 application fee and a $200 annual renewal. The registration covers the business; the Bureau does not license general repair mechanics (California Bureau of Automotive Repair). Mobile dealers must show their registered name, registration number and phone number on each repair vehicle in at least 72 point type, and every online ad and the dealer's website must carry the same three items (California Bureau of Automotive Repair).

How do New York and Michigan regulate repair shops and mechanics?

New York registers shops; Michigan certifies individual mechanics as well. In New York a registered shop must put an estimate in writing only when the customer asks, may charge a reasonable fee for it, and may not charge beyond it without consent; on vehicles up to 18,000 pounds the estimate and invoice must say whether body parts are original equipment, aftermarket or used (N.Y. VTL 398-d). Registration costs a $10 application fee plus $150 per place of business for a two-year certificate, and $150 to renew (N.Y. VTL 398-c). The DMV can fine a shop up to $750 per violation for a first offense and up to $1,000 for a repeat offense within thirty months (N.Y. VTL 398-e).

Michigan requires an itemized written estimate before any repair work and lets the bill exceed it without consent only by 10% or $50.00, whichever is lesser, when the customer has not signed a waiver (MCL 257.1332). From July 1, 2026 a facility's registration fee follows its gross annual repair revenue, from $100.00 under $50,000 to $500.00 over $300,000 (MCL 257.1330). Mechanics doing specialty or master work must pass state-approved exams, at $18.00 per exam, with $25.00 for an original certificate and $20.00 to renew (MCL 257.1330). An uncertified worker can stay a mechanic trainee for no more than 2 years, under the direct supervision of a certified mechanic (MCL 257.1313).

What do Massachusetts and Illinois require?

Massachusetts' Attorney General rules, issued under the state consumer protection law, bar charging for any repair without a signed authorization listing the work and the price, a posted price, a prior phone authorization or a signed waiver up to a stated amount. A shop that finds the job will run more than $10.00 over the authorized or posted price must stop and get the customer's approval (940 CMR 5.05). Shops must also offer to return or show replaced parts and give a dated, itemized bill.

Illinois' Automotive Repair Act bars starting work over $100 without the customer's specific authorization after the required disclosures. The shop gives either a written estimate, which the bill may not exceed by more than 10% without consent, or a written price limit, and the estimate must include diagnostic charges and the expected time when the job takes more than one working day (815 ILCS 306/15).

How do the six states' repair-estimate rules line up side by side?

Sources: each state's statute or regulation as linked; New York and California statute pages read through Internet Archive captures.

Can a carmaker void a warranty because an independent shop did the maintenance?

No. Since the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was enacted on January 4, 1975, a warrantor may not condition a written or implied warranty on the owner using any brand-name part or service, unless it is supplied free under the warranty or the Federal Trade Commission grants a waiver (15 U.S.C. 2302). The FTC's interpretation spells out that a warranty cannot stay valid only if non-warranty service and maintenance use authorized repair shops or authorized parts, and that "void if serviced elsewhere" clauses break the Act in two ways (16 CFR 700.10). A warrantor can still refuse to pay for damage it shows was caused by a non-authorized part or repair.

The FTC has enforced the rule against vehicle makers. In October 2015 it approved a complaint and settlement against BMW for tying MINI car warranties to MINI dealers and genuine MINI parts, as its May 2021 report to Congress recounts (FTC, Nixing the Fix). On April 10, 2018 FTC staff sent warning letters to six major companies selling automobiles, cellular devices and video game systems in the United States (FTC). In 2022 the FTC alleged that Harley-Davidson's motorcycle warranty was void unless buyers used authorized Harley-Davidson parts; the consent order it proposed would last 20 years (Federal Register). In July 2024 staff warned eight more companies, sellers of air purifiers, treadmills and PC hardware rather than vehicles, about tying warranties to branded parts and "warranty void if removed" stickers (FTC).

The FTC's May 2021 "Nixing the Fix" report grouped the repair restrictions described to it into eight categories, one of them vehicle telematics. Aftermarket commenters LKQ Corp. and MEMA, both sellers into the parts market, told the FTC that only manufacturers can reach telematics data and that a carmaker can use it to steer a driver to a dealership after a crash; the report records those as commenters' assertions (FTC, Nixing the Fix).

Where does the federal REPAIR Act stand?

It has not passed either chamber. The REPAIR Act, H.R. 1566, was introduced on February 25, 2025 by Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida to give vehicle owners and the repairers they choose access to vehicle data, repair information and tools (GovInfo). As introduced it would let any person, including an independent shop, complain to the FTC, and would give the FTC 5 months to conclude each complaint investigation (GovInfo). Its latest recorded action is a February 10, 2026 subcommittee markup that forwarded it to the full Energy and Commerce Committee by voice vote (GovInfo bill status).

Two states already have vehicle data-access laws passed by voters. Massachusetts approved its 2020 telematics data question with 75.0% of the yes-or-no vote (Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth), and Maine approved its automotive right-to-repair initiative in November 2023 with 341,574 votes in favor (Maine Law and Legislative Reference Library). The auto body and collision repair statistics page covers both laws in detail.

Which EPA rules apply to auto repair shops?

EPA rules on air-conditioning refrigerant, used oil and emissions tampering all reach repair shops. Under Clean Air Act section 609, any shop servicing vehicle air conditioners for pay had to certify to EPA by January 1, 1993 that it uses approved refrigerant recovery or recycling equipment and that every technician using it is trained and certified (40 CFR 82.42). Since November 15, 1992, class I and class II refrigerant in containers under 20 pounds may be sold only to certified technicians or for resale (40 CFR 82.34). Shops must keep their section 609 records on site for at least three years (40 CFR 82.42).

A shop that generates used oil may haul it, along with oil collected from do-it-yourselfers, to a recognized collection center without an EPA ID number, but no more than 55 gallons at a time (40 CFR 279.24). Used oil with more than 1,000 ppm total halogens, a sign of mixed-in solvents such as some parts cleaners, is presumed to be hazardous waste unless the handler proves otherwise (40 CFR 279.10).

Removing or disabling emission controls, or selling or installing a defeat device, carries a statutory civil penalty of up to $2,500 per vehicle or per part for anyone other than a manufacturer or dealer (42 U.S.C. 7524). After EPA's inflation adjustment the maximum is $5,911 for penalties assessed on or after January 8, 2025 (40 CFR 19.4).

How often do consumers complain about auto sales and repair?

Auto complaints rank high in both national tallies on this page. The FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network received 197,015 "Auto Related" reports in 2024, 3.04% of all reports and the 7th-largest category (FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024), up from 178,100 in 2023, when it ranked 6th (FTC Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023). The category covers deceptive claims about car prices, financing, leasing and warranties as well as repair and maintenance problems, so it is wider than repair shops, and Sentinel reports are unverified and self-selected.

The Consumer Federation of America, a consumer advocacy group, surveys state and local consumer agencies each year. Its 2024 report found auto sales, leasing and repair the top complaint category for the ninth year in a row (Consumer Federation of America). The ranking combines the top-ten lists of 41 agencies in 31 states, some taken from agency websites rather than survey answers, so it is not a national count (Consumer Federation of America).

What do the popular auto repair numbers really say?

Most are old, stretched or misread. Of four numbers that repair shop marketers, insurers and shop software sellers repeat, traced in November 2026, the spending and trust figures come from AAA, a motor club that also runs the Approved Auto Repair network, and their popular forms date from 2016. The 80% video lift comes from a video vendor's client results in 2009. The technician "shortage" figures are projected openings, most of them to replace workers who leave.

"The average driver spends $X a year on car repairs"

The most repeated figure, $792 a year, is AAA's estimate for 2016, and it never measured what drivers pay repair shops. In November 2026 Insurify, an insurance comparison site, still says car maintenance costs $792 a year "according to AAA", in an article titled for 2026 (Insurify). Policygenius, an insurance marketplace, gives the same $792 and dates it to 2016 (Policygenius). RefiJet, an auto refinancing lender, pairs the $792 with 10.13 cents per mile (RefiJet), a rate from AAA's 2024 edition, so one sentence joins two editions eight years apart.

The origin is AAA's 2016 Your Driving Costs, which put maintenance at $792 a year for a new car driven 15,000 miles (AAA). Your Driving Costs models a new car's first five years; it is not a survey of bills. AAA's 2016 maintenance cost included the price of a comprehensive extended warranty with a $100 claim deductible (AAA, archived), and tires were a separate line: on a small sedan, 4.81 cents a mile for maintenance plus 0.70 cents for tires (AAA, archived). AAA changed its method in 2017 and says each later edition is directly comparable only to the year before (AAA). Since then the line is "maintenance, repair and tires": routine maintenance, an extended warranty, wear-and-tear repairs over five years of operation and one set of replacement tires (AAA).

Earlier editions of that line put it at 8.94 cents per mile in 2019 (AAA), 9.68 cents in 2022 (AAA) and 10.13 cents in 2024 (AAA). Each edition is built from five top-selling models in each of nine vehicle categories (AAA), driven 15,000 miles a year for five years (AAA). A new car's warranty and first set of replacement tires are inside the figure; the repair bills of the older cars most drivers own are not.

Use instead: AAA's current per-mile "maintenance, repair and tires" figure, shown in the driver spending section of this page and named as AAA's estimate for a new car over its first five years. Never "$792 a year" as a current figure.

"Two out of three drivers don't trust repair shops"

It comes from one AAA survey fielded in September 2016, and the measured figure was 63 percent. AAA announced on December 1, 2016 that two out of three U.S. drivers do not trust auto repair shops in general (AAA). Its fact sheet gives the number as "two-thirds (63 percent)" (AAA). The survey was an omnibus telephone poll of 1,001 drivers 18 and older on September 22-25, 2016, with an error rate of plus or minus 3 percent (AAA). AAA did not publish the question wording, and we found no later AAA edition of the question. In the same survey 64 percent of drivers had found a shop they do trust (AAA), and AAA projected that 75 million drivers had not (AAA). The release promotes AAA's own Approved Auto Repair network.

The "76%" form is a misreading. 76 percent is the share of distrustful drivers who named unnecessary service recommendations as a reason (AAA), not a share of all drivers.

The newer "78%" is a different survey. AutoServe1, which sells texting and inspection software to shops, wrote in September 2026 that "recent industry research" puts distrust as high as two in three, with "one 2026 study" at 78% (AutoServe1), naming neither source. The 78% matches ConsumerAffairs, a reviews and lead-generation site, whose page is titled for 2026 but describes a survey of 1,000 drivers fielded through Pollfish in August 2023 (ConsumerAffairs). It found 78% did not always trust their mechanics (ConsumerAffairs), but only 9% said they never trust them; 69% said it depends on the mechanic (ConsumerAffairs). A May 2023 Pollfish survey of 1,431 vehicle owners for Jerry, a car insurance and car-care app (Jerry), found 56% said they definitely or probably had paid for a repair or maintenance service they did not need (Jerry).

Use instead: "In a September 2016 AAA telephone survey of 1,001 drivers, 63 percent said they generally do not trust auto repair shops, and 64 percent had a shop they trust", always with the year. Or ConsumerAffairs' August 2023 split (22% always, 69% it depends, 9% never), named as a lead-generation site's online panel.

"Video lifts conversions 80%"

The 80% comes from a video vendor reporting its own clients' results in 2009, not from a repair shop. EyeView Digital, which sold landing-page video, wrote in December 2008 that eToro customers who viewed its video were 20% more likely to download the product (EyeView, archived). Its first 80% came on February 10, 2009: viewers of its UMOO videos were 80% more likely to become depositing users (EyeView, archived). Both compare people who chose to watch with people who did not, so neither tests what adding a video does. In November 2009 EyeView blogged that its very first test on one TutorVista landing page boosted conversion by over 80 percent (EyeView, archived). Its case study gives 86 percent for an autoplaying video shown to first-time visitors, with no visitor counts (EyeView, archived). Its 2010 white paper says the boost was over 80% only "in some cases" (EyeView, archived), and the one test it describes in full, on eToro's page, found conversion almost 32 percent higher (EyeView, archived). Unbounce, which sells landing-page software, turned it into a general rule in 2010: video on landing pages "can increase conversion by 80%" (Unbounce, archived).

It still reaches auto service. Fixed Ops Marketing, which markets dealer service departments, wrote in July 2025 that landing pages with video see up to an 80% increase in conversions (Fixed Ops Marketing). Service Direct, a lead seller, told auto service businesses the same in June 2021, 80% (Service Direct). Neither names a study, and we found no published test of video on an independent repair shop's website. In August 2021 Unbounce analysed about 35,000 of its customers' landing pages in each of three periods and concluded that video appears to have a minimal or negative impact on landing-page performance (Unbounce).

Use instead: "One video vendor reported an 80% lift from one tutoring client's landing-page test in 2009; Unbounce's 2021 look at about 35,000 of its customers' pages found video made little or no difference." Neither tested a repair shop.

"There is a shortage of X auto technicians"

The big numbers are projected openings for new technicians, most of them to replace workers who leave, not counts of empty jobs. TechForce Foundation, a nonprofit that promotes technician training, projected total new-entrant demand for automotive technicians of 155,578 in 2022 in its 2022 Technician Supply & Demand report (TechForce 2022). Of those, 79,326 were replacements for technicians who retire or leave (TechForce 2022), and 56,214 were 2021 vacancies carried over, which the report models at an 80% factor rather than counts (TechForce 2022). For 2022 to 2026 it expected nearly 413,000 openings from separations against just over 178,000 from growth (TechForce 2022). Adding several years of such openings together produces the six-figure "shortage" numbers that circulate.

Use instead: the current TechForce projection, named as projected openings for new technicians, or the Bureau of Labor Statistics' projected openings for automotive service technicians and mechanics (SOC 49-3023), labelled as openings that include replacements.

Every popular claim our research pages trace, 708 in all, is on one page: popular video statistics, fact-checked.

How we built this page

We started from the questions people search for about auto repair shop video statistics and looked for the organization that actually produced each answer. Every figure on this page sits in an evidence ledger with its source, the exact table or paragraph it came from, the measurement period, the population measured, and the date we checked it. This edition holds 586 figures from 61 publishers.

On November 3, 2026, each sourced figure on this page was re-fetched with the fetch cache cleared and matched against the recorded wording: BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages open data, occupation wage estimates (through the BLS data API), Employment Projections, the Occupational Outlook Handbook, the Current Population Survey, fatal and nonfatal injury data, the consumer price index and the Consumer Expenditure Surveys; Census County Business Patterns, Nonemployer Statistics and the 2022 Economic Census (through the Census data API); the 10-K filings of Valvoline, Driven Brands, Monro, Goodyear, Icahn Enterprises, Genuine Parts, Snap-on, AutoZone, O’Reilly and Advance Auto Parts, Shell’s 20-F and EDGAR full-text search; franchise disclosure documents in Minnesota’s public CARDS database; AAA, FHWA, J.D. Power, Cox Automotive, CarMD, S&P Global Mobility and Gallup; Tekmetric, AutoVitals, Shop-Ware, BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY, Shopmonkey, Google, ASE and TechForce Foundation; the repair statutes and rules of Florida, California, New York, Michigan, Massachusetts and Illinois, federal warranty law, the FTC, the REPAIR Act’s record on GovInfo, EPA rules and the FTC Consumer Sentinel Data Books; California’s Bureau of Automotive Repair and Hawaii’s licensing statistics; and the pages behind each popular claim. Where a site refuses automated requests we read an Internet Archive copy. Our registry counts come from the licence data of New York’s DMV and Connecticut’s DMV and from OpenStreetMap, our location-page figures from pages we read one at a time, our 10-K phrase counts from EDGAR full-text search, and our YouTube figures from the YouTube Data API, all on the same day. We left out Cox Automotive’s 2026 Fixed Operations study (it published no field dates), a seller’s customer-reported revenue claim, an AAA repair-bill range given without a method, Florida’s FDACS registration records (its site refuses automated requests), Michigan’s open-data portal and California’s licensee files (their robots.txt blocks all agents), Consumer Reports, tirereview.com, autoguide.com and ally.com (robots.txt blocks AI agents), TechForce Foundation’s gated 2026 report, and NHTSA’s recall reports, which our fetcher could not read.

We only cite the producer: government agencies, regulators, company filings and official posts, and the survey owner's own report. We do not cite statistics roundups, Statista-style aggregators, or salary sites without a public method. We did not bypass paywalls or sign-up forms; where a full report was gated, we used only the figures its publisher states publicly.

Figures marked "our calculation" are arithmetic on the cited numbers, and anyone can reproduce them:

This edition contains no Mark Studios customer data.

Limitations

• Our YouTube read follows YouTube's ranking. The 400 videos are what YouTube's search returned for 'car repair' and 'mechanic' (top 200 each) and 'oil change' (top 50, when the day's search quota ran out), sorted by views on one day. It is not a census of car repair video, counts are snapshots that include views from ads, and we classified 296 channels by hand; calls on thin channel descriptions cover 16.1% of the views.
• Location pages are templated. Within a chain most features are set by the brand's template, so our location-page shares describe 10 chains' templates, not what independent shops choose.
• Sellers report on their own customers. Tekmetric, AutoVitals, Shop-Ware, BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY and Shopmonkey sell inspection and shop software, and most of their figures come with no shop count, period or comparison group; Cox Automotive, CarMD, S&P Global Mobility and J.D. Power sell data or services to the trade. J.D. Power's and Cox's service studies cover dealer service, not independent shops.
• Three different counts of technicians. BLS's payroll survey (OEWS) leaves out the self-employed; Employment Projections adds them; the Current Population Survey counts people by main job. Census counts nonemployer repair businesses by tax return and publishes them only at the 5-digit level, general and specialized repair together.
• Industry codes changed in 2022. Specialized repair (NAICS 811114) merged three older codes, so it has no 2015 figure on the same basis, and County Business Patterns 2023 still uses the 2017 codes.
• Registry counts are not shops at work. New York's and Connecticut's files count registrations and licences, which include dealers' service departments and lapsed businesses on the edges; California's and Hawaii's counts are the regulators' own; Florida's registry could not be read.

How to cite this page

For a single figure, cite the original publisher named next to it, and link here if the verification trail is useful to your readers. Each figure has its own anchor, so you can link straight to it, for example https://www.markstudios.com/research/auto-repair-shop-video-statistics#DRV-214. To cite the page as a whole:

Mark Studios. "Auto Repair Shop Video Statistics." Last verified Nov 3, 2026. https://www.markstudios.com/research/auto-repair-shop-video-statistics

@misc{markstudios_auto_repair_shop_video_statistics_2026,
  author = {{Mark Studios}},
  title = {{Auto Repair Shop Video Statistics}},
  year = {2026},
  month = nov,
  url = {https://www.markstudios.com/research/auto-repair-shop-video-statistics},
  note = {Last verified 2026-11-03}
}

Our calculations and the evidence table are free to reuse with attribution and a link to this page. Each underlying figure remains the claim of its original publisher, and some publishers ask for a link when their figures are reused.

Sources

Download the evidence table (CSV)

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28. California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), Bureau of Automotive Repair - Licensing statistics (handout, population as of September 30, 2024) (2024-10-17). Accessed 2026-11-03.
29. California Department of Consumer Affairs, Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), Bureau of Automotive Repair - Licensing statistics (handout, population as of September 30, 2025) (2025-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
30. Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Professional and Vocational Licensing Division, Geographic Report (Current Licenses) as of September 30, 2024 (2024-11-15). Accessed 2026-11-03.
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41. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUN000000081110049302313 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
42. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUN000000044110049302313 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
43. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TABLE A-1. Fatal occupational injuries by industry and event or exposure, all United States, 2024 (2026-02-19). Accessed 2026-11-03.
44. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, TABLE 1. Incidence rates of nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses by industry and case types, 2024 (2026-01-22). Accessed 2026-11-03.
45. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census, summary statistics, NAICS 811111, Florida (Census Data API) (2025). Accessed 2026-11-03.
46. U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 81111, Florida (Census Data API) (2026-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
47. U.S. Census Bureau, Nonemployer Statistics 2024, NAICS 81111, Palm Beach, Broward and Martin counties (Census Data API) (2026-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
48. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUS120000000000049302301 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
49. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUS120000000000049302313 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
50. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUM003310000000049302301 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
51. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUM003310000000049302313 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
52. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS series OEUM003894000000049302313 (BLS Public Data API v2) (2026-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
53. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Table 2. Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): U.S. city average, by detailed expenditure category, September 2026 (2026-10-14). Accessed 2026-11-03.
54. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): Motor vehicle maintenance and repair in U.S. city average, Series CUUR0000SETD (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
55. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U): All items in U.S. city average, Series CUUR0000SA0 (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
56. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Surveys: Maintenance and repairs (Transportation), all consumer units, Series CXUCAREPAIRLB0101M (2026-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
57. Valvoline Inc., Valvoline Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2025 (2025-11-21). Accessed 2026-11-03.
58. Driven Brands Holdings Inc., Driven Brands Holdings Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 27, 2025 (2026-05-19). Accessed 2026-11-03.
59. Monro, Inc., Monro, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 28, 2026 (2026-05-27). Accessed 2026-11-03.
60. The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (2026-02-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
61. Icahn Enterprises L.P., Icahn Enterprises L.P. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (2026-02-26). Accessed 2026-11-03.
62. AutoZone, Inc., AutoZone, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended August 29, 2026 (2026-10-26). Accessed 2026-11-03.
63. Snap-on Incorporated, Snap-on Incorporated Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026 (2026-02-12). Accessed 2026-11-03.
64. O'Reilly Automotive, Inc., O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (2026-02-27). Accessed 2026-11-03.
65. Advance Auto Parts, Inc., Advance Auto Parts, Inc. Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2026 (2026-02-13). Accessed 2026-11-03.
66. Genuine Parts Company, Genuine Parts Company Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025 (2026-02-20). Accessed 2026-11-03.
67. Shell plc, Shell plc Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2025 (2026-03-12). Accessed 2026-11-03.
68. Jiffy Lube International, LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Jiffy Lube International, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document, July 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 2340) (2026-07-06). Accessed 2026-11-03.
69. Asphalt Tire Pros Francorp, LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Asphalt Tire Pros Francorp, LLC (Tire Pros) Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 11409) (2026-05-28). Accessed 2026-11-03.
70. Car-X, LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Car-X, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 7748) (2026-05-29). Accessed 2026-11-03.
71. Moran Industries, Inc. (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Moran Industries, Inc. (Milex Complete Auto Care / Mr. Transmission) Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 5012) (2026-04-30). Accessed 2026-11-03.
72. Christian Brothers Automotive Corporation (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Christian Brothers Automotive Corporation Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 7361) (2026-04-20). Accessed 2026-11-03.
73. Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising, Inc. (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Valvoline Instant Oil Change Franchising, Inc. Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 2019) (2025-12-31). Accessed 2026-11-03.
74. Take 5 Franchisor SPV LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Take 5 Franchisor SPV LLC Franchise Disclosure Document 2025 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 10913, received December 31, 2025) (2025-12-31). Accessed 2026-11-03.
75. Midas International, LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Midas International, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 9020) (2026-04-24). Accessed 2026-11-03.
76. Big O Tires, Inc. (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Big O Tires, Inc. Franchise Disclosure Document 2026 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 4842) (2026-07-02). Accessed 2026-11-03.
77. Meineke Franchisor SPV LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Meineke Franchisor SPV LLC Franchise Disclosure Document 2025 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 10930, received December 31, 2025) (2025-12-31). Accessed 2026-11-03.
78. Kwik Kar Franchising, LLC (Franchise Disclosure Document filed with the Minnesota Department of Commerce), Kwik Kar Franchising, LLC Franchise Disclosure Document 2025 (Clean FDD, Minnesota CARDS file 11196) (2025-04-15). Accessed 2026-11-03.
79. Tekmetric (guest article on Vehicle Service Pros), Tech Tip: Use DVIs to enhance efficiency and customer experience in your shop (2025-04-07). Accessed 2026-11-03.
80. AutoVitals, Digital Inspections | AutoVitals (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
81. Shop-Ware, Digital Vehicle Inspection Software | Shop-Ware DVX (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
82. Shop-Ware, Shop-Ware home page (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
83. BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY (press release), BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY marks 50 million repair photos sent to drivers through DVI software (2020-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
84. Tekmetric, Digital Vehicle Inspections: Enhance Your Customer Experience (2024-09-20). Accessed 2026-11-03.
85. Shopmonkey, Book a Demo: Digital Vehicle Inspections | Shopmonkey (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
86. Shopmonkey, Shopmonkey home page (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
87. Tekmetric, Tekmetric Shop Index (2026). Accessed 2026-11-03.
88. AutoVitals, Digital Vehicle Inspection Best Practices (2025-02-05). Accessed 2026-11-03.
89. Google (Think with Google), What the auto industry needs to know to close the sale after the sale (2017-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
90. Google (Think with Google), Think with Google data point: search-to-call statistics (2017). Accessed 2026-11-03.
91. Google (Think with Google), Think with Google data point: auto content viewing statistics on YouTube (2016). Accessed 2026-11-03.
92. ASE (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence), About ASE (2026). Accessed 2026-11-03.
93. ASE (National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence), ASE at a Glance (2026). Accessed 2026-11-03.
94. TechForce Foundation, TechForce Foundation's 2024 Supply & Demand Report Highlights 2.8% Growth In Transportation Technician Workforce, Outpacing U.S. Labor Force Growth (2024-12-16). Accessed 2026-11-03.
95. TechForce Foundation, TechForce Foundation Supply & Demand report media page (2025). Accessed 2026-11-03.
96. International Journal of Emerging Technologies in Learning (Widjanarko et al.), Effectiveness of Question-Based Instructional Video (QBIV) for an Automotive Engineering Study Program (2024-02-22). Accessed 2026-11-03.
97. AAA, Your Driving Costs 2026 (brochure) (2026-09-15). Accessed 2026-11-03.
98. AAA, AAA: New Vehicle Ownership Costs Hit $12,863 Annually (2026-09-15). Accessed 2026-11-03.
99. CarMD, 2026 CarMD Vehicle Health Index (2026-04-22). Accessed 2026-11-03.
100. Cox Automotive, New Cox Automotive Study Finds Dealerships Have Lost 12% of Service Visits to Competition Since 2018 (2025-11-11). Accessed 2026-11-03.
101. S&P Global Mobility, Average Age of Vehicles in the US Rises to 12.8 Years in 2025 (2025-05-21). Accessed 2026-11-03.
102. Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table VM-1: Annual Vehicle Distance Traveled in Miles and Related Data (2026-02-02). Accessed 2026-11-03.
103. Federal Highway Administration, Highway Statistics 2024, Table MV-1: State Motor-Vehicle Registrations (2026-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
104. AAA, One in Three U.S. Drivers Cannot Pay for an Unexpected Car Repair Bill (2017-04-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
105. Gallup, Gallup News Service, December 2-18, 2024 - Final Topline (Honesty and Ethics) (2025-01-13). Accessed 2026-11-03.
106. AAA, Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence: AAA Approved Auto Repair (2025-09-30). Accessed 2026-11-03.
107. Cox Automotive, Dealerships Capture Record Fixed Ops Revenue but Lose Market Share as Customers Drift to General Repair, According to Cox Automotive Study (2026-04-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
108. Cox Automotive, 2026 Cox Automotive Fixed Ops and Ownership Study (media deck) (2026-04-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
109. J.D. Power, JD Power 2026 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study (2026-03-12). Accessed 2026-11-03.
110. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.905, Written motor vehicle repair estimate and disclosure statement required (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
111. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.905, Written motor vehicle repair estimate and disclosure statement required (2023 edition) (2023-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
112. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.909, Notification of charges in excess of repair estimate; unlawful charges; refusal to return vehicle prohibited; inspection of parts (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
113. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.911, Invoice required of motor vehicle repair shop (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
114. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.915, Motor vehicle repair shop records (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
115. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.917, Bond to release possessory lien claimed by motor vehicle repair shop (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
116. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.903, Definitions (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
117. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.902, Scope and application (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
118. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 559.904, Motor vehicle repair shop registration; application; exemption (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
119. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Florida Administrative Code, via Cornell LII), Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 5J-12.002 - Registration (2025-06-17). Accessed 2026-11-03.
120. The Florida Legislature (Florida Statutes), Florida Statutes 570.971, Penalties; administrative and civil (2026-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
121. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (Florida Administrative Code, via Cornell LII), Fla. Admin. Code Ann. R. 5J-12.007 - Enforcement Actions and Administrative Penalties (2024-02-22). Accessed 2026-11-03.
122. Illinois General Assembly (Illinois Compiled Statutes), 815 ILCS 306/15, Automotive Repair Act, Sec. 15. Disclosures to consumers; estimates (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
123. California Legislature (California Business and Professions Code), California Business and Professions Code § 9884.9 (2019-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
124. California Bureau of Automotive Repair (California Code of Regulations, via Cornell LII), Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 16, § 3353 - Estimate for Parts and Labor (2025-07-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
125. California Legislature (California Business and Professions Code), California Business and Professions Code § 9884.8 (2001-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
126. California Legislature (California Business and Professions Code), California Business and Professions Code § 9884.10 (1972-01-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
127. California Bureau of Automotive Repair, Apply for a license - Bureau of Automotive Repair (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
128. California Bureau of Automotive Repair, Sign, license display, and online advertising requirements - Bureau of Automotive Repair (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
129. New York State Senate (New York Vehicle and Traffic Law), New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-d, Motor vehicle repair shop requirements (2014-09-22). Accessed 2026-11-03.
130. New York State Senate (New York Vehicle and Traffic Law), New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-c, Registration required; application; fees and issuance of certificate of registration (2026-09-26). Accessed 2026-11-03.
131. New York State Senate (New York Vehicle and Traffic Law), New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-e, Suspension, revocation or refusal to issue registration; civil penalty; restitution (2025-06-14). Accessed 2026-11-03.
132. Michigan Legislature (Michigan Compiled Laws), MCL 257.1332, Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, Sec. 32 (written estimate required) (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
133. Michigan Legislature (Michigan Compiled Laws), MCL 257.1330, Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, Sec. 30 (fees) (2026-07-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
134. Michigan Legislature (Michigan Compiled Laws), MCL 257.1313, Motor Vehicle Service and Repair Act, Sec. 13 (mechanic trainee permit) (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
135. Massachusetts Attorney General (Code of Massachusetts Regulations, via Cornell LII), 940 CMR 5.05 - Motor vehicle repairs and repair shops (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
136. U.S. Congress (United States Code, via Cornell LII), 15 U.S. Code § 2302 - Rules governing contents of warranties (2015-09-24). Accessed 2026-11-03.
137. Federal Trade Commission (eCFR, 16 CFR 700.10), 16 CFR 700.10 -- Prohibited tying (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
138. Federal Trade Commission, Nixing the Fix: An FTC Report to Congress on Repair Restrictions (2021-05-06). Accessed 2026-11-03.
139. Federal Trade Commission, FTC Staff Warns Companies that It Is Illegal to Condition Warranty Coverage on the Use of Specified Parts or Services (2018-04-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
140. Federal Trade Commission (Federal Register), Harley-Davidson Motor Company Group, LLC; Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment (2022-07-05). Accessed 2026-11-03.
141. Federal Trade Commission, FTC Warns Companies to Stop Warranty Practices That Harm Consumers' Right to Repair (2024-07-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
142. U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo), H.R. 1566 (IH) - REPAIR Act, 119th Congress (2025-02-25). Accessed 2026-11-03.
143. U.S. Government Publishing Office (GovInfo BILLSTATUS), BILLSTATUS-119hr1566.xml (2026-05-27). Accessed 2026-11-03.
144. Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (Elections Division, PD43+), PD43+ Search Ballot Questions, 2020 (2020-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
145. Maine State Legislature, Law and Legislative Reference Library, Legislative History and Final Disposition, LD 1677 / IB0003, An Act Regarding Automotive Right to Repair (2023-11-07). Accessed 2026-11-03.
146. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, 40 CFR part 82, subpart B), 40 CFR Part 82 Subpart B -- Servicing of Motor Vehicle Air Conditioners (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
147. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, 40 CFR part 279, subpart C), 40 CFR Part 279 Subpart C -- Standards for Used Oil Generators (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
148. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, 40 CFR 279.10), 40 CFR 279.10 -- Applicability (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
149. U.S. Congress (United States Code, via Cornell LII), 42 U.S. Code § 7524 - Civil penalties (2026-11-03). Accessed 2026-11-03.
150. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (eCFR, 40 CFR 19.4), 40 CFR 19.4 -- Statutory civil monetary penalties, as adjusted for inflation, and tables (2025-01-08). Accessed 2026-11-03.
151. Federal Trade Commission (Consumer Sentinel Network), Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2024 (2025-03-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
152. Federal Trade Commission (Consumer Sentinel Network), Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2023 (2024-02-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
153. Consumer Federation of America (advocacy group), 2024 Consumer Complaint Survey Report (2025-06-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
154. Insurify (insurance comparison site; sells insurance quotes; repeater), How Much Car Maintenance Costs in 2026 (2026-11-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
155. Policygenius (insurance marketplace; repeater), How much does car maintenance cost? (2021-08-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
156. RefiJet (auto refinancing lender; repeater), Average Maintenance Costs for a Car (undated). Accessed 2026-11-03.
157. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), What Does It Cost to Own and Operate a Car? (2016). Accessed 2026-11-03.
158. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Your Driving Costs, 2016 Edition (2016-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
159. AAA (motor club; brochure hosted by AAA North Dakota), Your Driving Costs, 2018 Edition (2018). Accessed 2026-11-03.
160. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Your Driving Costs 2019 (2019-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
161. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Your Driving Costs 2022 fact sheet: How Much Does It Really Cost to Own a New Car? (2022-08). Accessed 2026-11-03.
162. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Your Driving Costs 2024 fact sheet: How Much Does It Really Cost to Own a New Car? (2024-09). Accessed 2026-11-03.
163. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Annual New Car Ownership Costs Boil Over $12K (2023-08). Accessed 2026-11-03.
164. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), Most U.S. Drivers Leery of Auto Repair Shops (2016-12-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
165. AAA (motor club; runs the Approved Auto Repair network), AAA Automotive Engineering: Auto Repair Survey (fact sheet) (2016-12-01). Accessed 2026-11-03.
166. AutoServe1 (shop communication and DVI software seller; repeater), What Customers Really Want From Their Repair Shop in 2026 (2026-09-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
167. ConsumerAffairs (consumer reviews and lead-generation site), Mechanic Trust Survey (2026) (2024-07-17). Accessed 2026-11-03.
168. Jerry (car insurance comparison and car-care app; sells into the market), Americans United in Confusion, Distrust Over Car Repair Costs (2025-08-08). Accessed 2026-11-03.
169. EyeView Digital (landing-page video vendor), EyeView - The new "Conversion" game (2008-12-04). Accessed 2026-11-03.
170. EyeView Digital (landing-page video vendor), UMOO - a prime beef example of EyeView's success (2009-02-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
171. EyeView Digital (landing-page video vendor), Another Video Conversion Success Story (2009-11-10). Accessed 2026-11-03.
172. EyeView Digital (landing-page video vendor), Case Study: TutorVista (2009). Accessed 2026-11-03.
173. EyeView Digital (landing-page video vendor), Making Video Accountable (white paper) (2010). Accessed 2026-11-03.
174. Unbounce (landing-page software vendor; repeater), The Benefits of Using Video on Landing Pages (2010). Accessed 2026-11-03.
175. Fixed Ops Marketing (dealer service marketing agency; repeater), VIDEO is NOT OPTIONAL on Your Service Website (2025-07-14). Accessed 2026-11-03.
176. Service Direct (lead-generation seller; repeater), 7 Auto Service Marketing Tips to Generate Leads (2021-06-30). Accessed 2026-11-03.
177. Unbounce (landing-page software vendor), Video on Landing Pages Means More Conversions, Right? Wrong-Here's Why (2021-08-26). Accessed 2026-11-03.
178. TechForce Foundation (nonprofit technician-training body), Technician Supply & Demand Report 2022 (2022). Accessed 2026-11-03.

Update policy and change log

We re-verify every figure quarterly and when a major source publishes a new edition. The next scheduled review is February 2027. Corrections go to contact@markstudios.com.

• Nov 3, 2026: First published with 586 figures from 61 publishers, each checked against its original source.