Guides for auto repair shop owners

Plain, practical guides for owners of independent repair shops with a few bays: how to get the phone ringing, how to price the work so it pays, and how to open a shop. Each one is written to be used, with steps, numbers and the official sources where rules apply.

Your shop's website

• Auto repair shop website design: what gets the phone to ring: what goes on the first screen, the pages you need, and a 10-minute check of your current site.
• The best website builder for an auto repair shop, and how to choose: Wix, Squarespace, GoDaddy, WordPress and shop software compared on cost over three years, booking and who owns the site.
• Free auto repair shop website templates: which are really free: the templates worth using, what each costs to publish, and the ten things to change before it goes live.

Marketing and getting found

• Auto repair shop marketing ideas, in the order to do them: 20 ideas from your Google listing to paid ads, with what each costs and how to measure it.
• Auto repair shop SEO: how to show up for "mechanic near me": your Google profile field by field, a service page outline, the rules that get listings suspended, and how to measure it.

Pricing your work

• How to charge for auto repair: labor rate, parts and diagnosis: work out your hourly rate from your own costs, with a worked example and a parts matrix.

Opening and running a shop

• How to open an auto repair shop in California: BAR registration, permits, sales tax, insurance, estimate rules and a checklist.
• How to start an auto repair shop: steps, costs and the first 90 days: the steps in order, a startup cost table, which states register shops, EPA basics and insurance.

Want to see your own shop's homepage built from what you already publish? Email us your shop name and we'll send a free preview. Or read how our $499 shop homepage works.