Glenn Wilder fixes cars for a living, and even he can hardly believe what it costs these days.
Wilder is a third-generation car mechanic and owner of Wilder Bros. Tire Pros, a shop in North Scituate that’s been repairing vehicles since 1907. And while major auto repairs have never been cheap, Wilder said today’s bills are extraordinary.
“I would say the average repair ticket 20 years ago to fix your car was a couple hundred bucks,’’ said Wilder. But these days, “two, three thousand dollars to fix your car, that’s the norm, and it’s crazy to me.’’
It seems even crazier to drivers, whose repair bills have been soaring because of rising labor costs and the steep prices of high-tech components. Since 2020, car repair prices have leaped by 46 percent, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s nearly twice the overall rate of inflation. The BLS found repair costs increased by 5.4 percent last year alone.
Even relatively mundane tasks come with a steep price tag.
Melanie McNair, 78, of Boston, had to pay $2,200 last summer for four new brake pads and rotors for her 2021 Hyundai Tucson. The bill was so steep she had to have the work done in stages, rear brakes first.
“I think that is quite expensive,’’ said McNair, but she knew she had no other options. “Once you need brakes, what choice do you have?’’
Trump’s tariffs aren’t to blame for rising auto repair costs
When you think of high prices, you probably think of tariffs. After all, President Trump’s massive levies on foreign goods threatened a surge in auto parts prices.
But that’s actually not the cause of the recent price hikes.
A host of factors are pushing repair costs higher.
People are keeping their cars longer than ever, often requiring costly repairs at some point. And shops that repair cars damaged in accidents say low reimbursements from insurance companies often fall short of the full repair cost, forcing customers to foot the rest of the bill.
Skyler Chadwick, director of product consulting at Cox Automotive, said importers responded by stocking up on car parts before the tariffs took effect,
About 40 percent of car parts are made domestically, and another 30 percent come from Canada and Mexico and are largely covered under the terms of the US-Mexico-Canada free trade act. In all, only about 30 percent of car parts were directly affected by the tariffs.
Fancier cars are more expensive to fix
But auto parts still don’t come cheap.
Parts prices nationally went up 2.7 percent last year, according to Consumer Price Index data.
Many high-tech components are driving this growth.
Consider headlights. Years ago, replacement lamps cost a few dollars and could be installed at home. But the lighting modules on many of today’s cars cost hundreds of dollars each and must be installed by professionals.
And if your car’s in a wreck, you may have to replace the sensors used by the vehicle’s safety systems. Millions of cars use cameras to keep the vehicle in the correct lane, and radars and sonars to prevent rear-end collisions. Each of these items can add hundreds to the bill, said Brian Bernard, owner of Total Care Accident Repair Service in Raynham,
“If you get hit on a radar, if you get hit on a camera, or you get hit on a sonar, it could potentially add an instant thousand dollars or more to the repair,’’ said Bernard.
Or perhaps the sensors need to be recalibrated to make sure they’re properly aimed. The process typically adds between $300 and $500 to the customer’s bill, said Bernard, but it’s gone as high as $900.
Consumers have older cars
Even if you don’t have a car that’s got the latest technology, vehicles get more expensive to maintain as they age, and many people are keeping cars longer these days.
According to S&P Global, the average US vehicle is now 12.8 years old, an all-time record. Blame it on new-car prices that now average over $50,000, according to Kelley Blue Book.
A survey released last year by Consumer Reports found that maintenance and repair expense rises sharply for cars more than 5 years old. For instance, maintenance costs for Honda cars averages $6,550 over 10 years. About $5,050 of that amount is spent between the fifth and tenth year of the car’s life.
Cost of labor is going up
Meanwhile, the hourly cost of fixing a car, often called the “labor rate,’’ has risen by about 10 percent per year over the past four years, according to Tom Ham, founder of the Automotive Management Network, an online service for repair shop owners. The typical shop in Massachusetts charges around $150 per hour.
This charge mainly covers the total expenses of running the shop, including utilities, site maintenance, and many other costs.
According to federal data, the median wage for car technicians was about $48,000 in 2024. Ham said this figure covers everybody from entry-level oil-changers to experts who rebuild transmissions. Experienced technicians with advanced training can earn more than $100,000 a year.
And there’s a labor shortage. The National Automotive Dealers Association says the US needs about 76,000 new techs each year to break even as the baby boomer generation retires. The nation’s vocational schools are training only about 39,000 a year.
The news is worse for maintenance of electric vehicles. As of 2022, there were only about 3,100 technicians in the US trained to repair them, according to the National institute for Automotive Service Excellence, an organization that certifies skilled mechanics.
To be sure, EVs don’t need as much fixing. The US Department of Energy estimates annual maintenance costs for an electric vehicle are about 40 percent lower than for gas-powered rides.
But when a repair is needed, expect to spend a lot. Jesse Lore, founder of Green Wave Electric Vehicles, an EV dealership in Salem, said labor rates to repair gas-powered cars in New England are between $140 and $160 per hour.
“For highly trained technicians on these EVs,’’ Lore said, “you’re going to pay an extra $30 to $50 an hour.’’
Does car insurance help pay for auto repairs?
If your car is damaged in an accident, another dose of sticker shock awaits, even if you’re insured.
A survey of Massachusetts auto body shops found 58 percent routinely charge more for repairs than the insurance company will pay, leaving the car’s owner to pay the rest.
Bernard, from the Raynham shop, said this happens because insurance companies pay too little.
According to a state commission on auto body labor rates, insurers in Massachusetts pay an average of $49 per hour for body work and $55 per hour for mechanical repairs.
That’s less than the national averages of $67 for body repairs and $127 for mechanical work, reported by CCC Intelligent Solutions, an auto repair research group.
Bernard said his shop employs certified repair technicians and uses original parts from the manufacturer, rather than less expensive aftermarket parts. As a result, he often charges more than the insurance company will pay. Customers must cover the rest out of pocket.
Legislation sponsored by state Senator Michael Moore of Worcester and backed by auto repair shops would require insurers to cover at least $55 per hour for body repairs.
Insurers, however, say forcing them to pay more for repairs will also force them to charge higher premiums.
One way or another, the consumer gets the bill.