Software for Auto Repair Business Leadership

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February 6, 2023

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Read time: 3 min

As much we like to think we’ve always been at the top, no one is born a boss. Before you became an auto repair shop owner, you probably held other positions and had someone else bossing you around. Think back to those bosses, and how you felt about those jobs.

You may have had some bosses who you didn’t like. Their leadership style might have been too aggressive, or maybe they didn’t take the time to show you the ropes.

But hopefully, you had at least one boss who helped you get to where you are today. Typically, good bosses:

  • Strongly support your career growth by encouraging you to gain new skills
  • Understand when you have to take some time off or shift your work hours
  • Trust you to get the job done instead of micromanaging you
  • Show you they value your contributions to the team
  • Effectively communicate instructions and priorities to you

If you had a supportive boss who championed you at work, you probably went above and beyond—you knew they valued your work. Your former boss’s great leadership qualities probably set an example for you, influencing how you run your own shop today.

We’re willing to bet you’re already an excellent leader, running your own shop in a way that inspires your team, just like how your previous bosses might have inspired you. But, just like you expect your employees to grow in their roles, your employees expect you to continue growing as a leader.

By fine-tuning your leadership skills, you can bring the absolute best out of yourself and your team.

The Impact of Strong Leadership

Reflecting on your own experience, you likely already know the impact of strong leadership in the workforce. But what do the numbers have to say about it?

According to Gallup, “70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager.”

You might be the main manager at your shop, or you might have a shop manager who reports to you. In addition to enhancing your own leadership skills, think about how you can help your shop manager—or anyone else on your team who is formally managing other employees—do so as well. When employees are led by strong leaders, they’re more likely to bring their best selves to work. Everyone benefits.

According to the same Gallup report, managers and employees who “apply their strengths” at work are:

  • Six times more likely to be engaged at work
  • Three times more likely to say they have an “excellent quality of life”
  • Six times more likely to strongly agree that they have the chance to “do what they do best every day”

Of course, you want your employees (and yourself!) to be productive, have a good life, and do what they do best. When your employees feel like they’re using and refining their strengths at work, your business can really grow. Also, according to Gallup, teams with highly engaged employees:

  • Are 17% more productive
  • Have 41% less absenteeism
  • Have 59% less turnover
  • Have a 10% increase in customer ratings
  • Have a 20% increase in sales

And what’s more, Gallup found that added together, “the behaviors of highly engaged business units result in 21% greater profitability.”

So, high employee engagement leads to better business results. You’ll save more money and time because you won’t have to regularly deal with the expensive, lengthy process of hiring and onboarding new employees. You’ll also make more money because your productive employees will lead to repairs getting finished faster, which translates to happier customers. So, let’s take a look at how to do these things.

Finding the Balance With Software for Auto Repair Business Leadership

You might be wondering: “What’s the line between good leadership and micromanagement?”

Micromanaging essentially comes down to over-focusing on small details and getting in the way of your employees doing their jobs. Leadership, on the other hand, is about focusing on the high-level aspects of running your business, trusting your employees, and only getting involved with minor details when necessary.

It can be tempting to fall into micromanaging mode during the day-to-day of running your shop, especially when you’re analyzing your shop’s metrics, talking with your employees, monitoring operations, and more in your path to become an even stronger leader.

However, according to experts cited in the Harvard Business Review, you can avoid turning into a micromanager by taking several steps, such as:

  • Telling your team what your expectations are for communication
  • Showing your team that you trust them
  • Knowing when it’s appropriate for you to be more hands-on (like in the case of having to make sure a new hire is properly trained)

Refining the chain of command at your shop can also help you avoid micromanaging. You can have a shop manager handle most of the on-the-ground elements of running your shop each day. Of course, be sure to get them up to speed on how to avoid becoming micromanagers themselves!

So, instead of you walking around the shop and asking service advisors and technicians for updates on repair orders once an hour, you can set expectations, show them you trust them to do their respective jobs, and only check in with them once a day, entrusting your shop manager with the rest. Or, instead of standing behind technicians while they work on repairs, you can stay at your desk and tackle high-level business tasks, trusting that they know how to get the job done and that your shop manager will step in as needed.

Not being a micromanager also benefits you as a shop owner in another way—it gives you more time to focus on the high-level aspects of running your business, like expanding your shop, planning to open a second location, or fine-tuning your five-year business plan. You’ll be able to function more like a visionary.

Of course, you don’t want to change course and become a boss who’s so hands-off, your employees forget you exist. That’s where software for auto repair business management can be super useful.

Tekmetric enables you or any other shop managers to keep an eye on your shop without getting in the way of employees. You can see exactly which service advisors and technicians are working on specific repair orders. And because Tekmetric is cloud-based, you can stay in the loop anywhere you have internet access, such as a networking event at ASA, an airport lounge, or even at home while you’re waiting for a plumber.

Ways You Can Enhance Your Leadership Skills As a Shop Owner

There’s a wealth of opportunities in the auto repair industry to enhance your leadership skills as a shop owner:

  • Attend Conferences: Conferences like AAPEX and Shop Hackers offer opportunities for you to mingle with other shop owners and learn about their management tips and tricks.
  • Join Associations: Associations like MWACA and ASA provide great networking opportunities like webinars, workshops, and other events you can attend with fellow shop owners to enhance your leadership skills.
  • Read Industry Insights: Industry insights from sources like Auto Service World and Tekmetric’s own Shop Spotlights are a convenient way to gain leadership wisdom.
  • Use Software for Auto Repair Business Management: Software for auto repair business management enables you to fine-tune your leadership by giving you access to data and other tools.

You can, and should, encourage your shop manager or anyone else in a management role at your shop to explore these avenues, too. After all, when everyone in a management role at your shop enhances their leadership skills, the benefits will multiply.

Six Key Areas to Focus on to Strengthen Your Team

Leadership doesn’t just encompass one thing. If only it did, life would be easier! To be strong leaders for your team, there are six key areas you, your shop manager, and anyone else in a management role at your shop should focus on.

1. Employee Recruitment and Hiring

When it comes to recruitment and hiring, first impressions go both ways.

From the moment someone applies to work at your shop, they’re getting a sense of what it will be like to work there. And you’re giving them a first impression in terms of what your standards are for professionalism, teamwork, and growth.

If you have a straightforward, timely recruitment and hiring process, you’re more likely to leave a good first impression with candidates and effectively communicate your professional values.

Chances are you have a solid process for recruitment and hiring, but it’s always good to re-examine your methods and see where you can improve. A great way to get this information is to gather feedback from your current employees. Depending on your comfort level, you can gather this feedback anonymously, or just chat with employees on their breaks. Of course, you should let them know you won’t hold anything they say against them.

Maybe one of your team members suggests that you and your shop manager should follow up with candidates a bit more promptly. The life of a shop owner (and shop manager) is a busy one, and you two might not be able to respond to candidates within a day. But, you could achieve a balance and set a goal to respond to new candidates within three business days.

But before you even get to the actual steps involved in recruiting and hiring, you have to first determine if:

  1. You need to hire more employees
  2. You can afford to hire more employees

From there, you can figure out which roles you need to hire for, and how many employees you can afford to hire.

Tek-Tip: Sometimes, some shop owners decide it’s time to hire based on feeling out the day-to-day at their shop or asking their shop manager. But, there are situations that call for a more data-driven approach. That’s where software can step in.

Your shop’s metrics are a great way to determine if you need to hire more employees, if you can afford to hire more employees, which roles you need to hire for, and how many employees you can afford to hire.

With software for auto repair business management, you can analyze your shop’s metrics and get the answers you need before you hit “publish” on that job post. Tekmetric gives you quick access to your shop’s metrics in a given time range, including:

  • ARO
  • Car Count
  • Close Ratio
  • GP Dollars
  • Total Efficiency of Technicians

Once you review your shop’s data, you can make educated recruitment and hiring decisions. For example, if you see that your shop has had double the car count this year compared to last year and that your technicians’ total efficiency has been a bit lower over the same time period, you might conclude that your shop’s current repair levels are too high for your current technicians to manage, and you need to hire another technician or two.

2. Employee Management

It goes without saying—part of being a leader is, well, leading your team. How you lead your team makes a huge difference.

Take an objective look at how you and other managers at your shop have been leading employees. One great way to get this information is to send out an employee survey to identify your strengths and weaknesses.

Once you have the survey results, you can take action. Maybe more than half of your employees indicated that they don’t feel like you’re invested in their career development. To turn this around, one thing you can do is create an employee mentorship program. Or, maybe a quarter of your employees expressed that they don’t have a clear grasp of how their performance at the shop is measured. To improve the situation, you can have a chat with your shop manager and help them set clear expectations for employees.

Tek-Tip: Surveying your employees will give you a good understanding of where you and other managers at your shop stand with them, and what steps you all can take to enhance your leadership skills. Another piece of the employee management puzzle is knowing how well your employees are doing, so you can identify areas where you can help. That’s where software for auto repair business leadership can lend you insights.

Tekmetric’s Employee Reports give you detailed insights into your service advisors’ and technicians’ activity within a given time range. You can see information such as technicians’ total efficiency and service advisors’ total sales. Additionally, you can give your shop manager and other leaders at your shop access to these reports.

Tekmetric’s Employee Profiles can give you baseline information about your employees, such as their phone numbers, addresses, payroll types, and more. So, if you need to look up an employee’s address to send them a gift basket congratulating them on their new child, you can do so in a flash. Or, if you want to clarify if one of your employees is salaried or hourly, you can easily look it up.

3. Employee Motivation

Think back to a time you felt motivated, like when you were starting your auto repair shop. You probably spent countless hours saving up money, putting together a business plan, finding technicians and service advisors, and more. You were driven to succeed; that motivation fueled you.

Chances are that one of the key things that kept you going was seeing, in real time, how everything was coming together. You found the right building to lease, finished your business plan, started recruiting, etc. You were seeing your hard work pay off in front of your eyes.

And now, as a shop owner, seeing your team work hard probably motivates you to work hard, too. When people work together on a task and are treated as partners, their motivation rises.

Two ways you can keep your employees motivated are by:

  1. Showing them how their hard work is paying off
  2. Making it easy for them to collaborate with each other, even if they aren’t in the same part of the shop

To show your team how their hard work is paying off, one thing you could do is send out a daily email with your shop’s key stats, such as the Car Count and ARO of the day. This will help your technicians and service advisors see that they’re working toward a common goal and that they’re the ones making those stellar stats happen.

To make it easy for your technicians and service advisors to collaborate with each other no matter where they are in the shop, you can use a digital workflow management tool that shows everyone which repair orders are currently open, which technician is responsible for each repair, and more.

Tek-Tip: Make motivating your employees a breeze. Tekmetric gives you access to your shop’s key stats, such as Car Count, ARO, and GP Dollars, which you can share with your employees, showing them how their hard work is benefiting everyone, and that they’re all part of something bigger.

Tekmetric also offers two digital workflow management tools. With the Job Board, you, your shop manager, and your service advisors can get a bird’s eye view into the different stages of the repair process for every repair order at your shop. And with the Tech Board, technicians can see exactly which repairs are on their plate and can time themselves as they work on tasks—and service advisors can know who to assign upcoming repairs to, and how far along each repair is.

4. Employee Pay

People are motivated by their teammates, feeling like they’re a part of something bigger, and knowing that people in their professional lives care about them. But there’s no denying it—everyone loves money.

As a business owner, you’re always balancing investing your money between your shop and your team. There’s a fine line between the two—if you never give employees raises, they’ll leave. But if you constantly give them raises, you won’t be able to afford other business priorities, like getting a new bay or adding a second location.

By finding the right balance and setting up a process for employees to get paid more, you can financially motivate your team. How you set up your process for raises depends on various factors unique to your shop, such as how you pay your employees (hourly or salary) and how much profit your shop is generating.

Based on your shop’s unique circumstances, you might decide to bump up the hourly rate or the salaries of employees by a certain percentage with each year of tenure at your shop. If your shop is doing exceptionally well in a particular year, you can give your employees holiday bonuses, too. Or, you might decide to take on a commission-based approach, where the more work service advisors sell, and the more issues technicians uncover during inspections, the more money they make.

Setting up a commission-based payment structure doesn’t have to be complicated.

Tek-Tip: Tekmetric’s commission tracking tools make it easy for you to set up a commission-based payment structure at your shop, so everyone can be motivated to work toward a shared goal.

You can create individual pay structures for individual job categories based on various factors—hours sold, gross profit, percentage of parts, and percentage of labor. You can set up a fixed commission structure, too. And, you can do all of this while keeping the details confidential between employees.

5. Employee Mentorship

We know, we know—we keep making you recall memories. But, bear with us for another trip down memory lane.

As you were rising through the ranks of the auto repair industry, did you have a mentor who was invested in your professional development? If you did, you know how big of a difference that mentorship made.

And that’s not just the nostalgia talking. Research backs up the advantages of mentorship. A 2019 CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workplace Happiness Survey found that:

  • 91% of workers with a mentor were satisfied with their jobs
  • 71% of employees with a mentor said their company gave them excellent or good career advancement opportunities
  • 40% of workers without a mentor said they’d thought about leaving their jobs in the past three months

By mentoring your service advisors, technicians, and other employees, and encouraging your shop’s other managers to mentor their direct reports, you can empower everyone to grow in their careers, and make your shop a better place than ever to work.

Tek-Tip: Good mentorship starts with you and your managers getting to know your employees and their strengths and weaknesses and learning where they want to go in their careers.

Like we mentioned in our “Employee Management” section, Tekmetric’s Employee Reports make it easy for you and your managers to get a good understanding of your employees’ current progress at work before you sit down with them to talk about their goals. By using Tekmetric’s Employee Reports, you all can gather key information about how your employees are doing in a given time range, such as technicians’ total efficiency and the sales service advisors have made.

From there, you or your shop manager can have one-on-ones with your employees to review how they’ve been doing, discuss their career goals, and develop an action plan to help them get there.

You might notice that one of your newest technicians needs some help becoming a more efficient worker, and you can have them work alongside your most tenured technician so they can fine-tune their skills. Or, your shop manager might see that one of your service advisors hasn’t been making as many sales lately; they can meet with them to see where they’re at emotionally and support them in their role.

6. Employee Work-Life Balance

Which of these two situations would you rather be in?

  1. You spend 90% of your time at work, or dealing with work-related matters once you’re home. You’re lucky if you can sit down at the dinner table with your family once a week.
  2. You spend a pretty even amount of time between work and home. Sure, sometimes you have to deal with work-related matters once you’re home, but it’s once in a blue moon, and you’re able to spend quality time with your family at dinner each day.

We’re guessing you picked option two—the choice where you have a great work-life balance. Work-life balance is important for you and your team because it keeps your stress low and enables you to tend to all areas of your life, not just work.

One way you and other managers can nurture work-life balance at your shop is to enable employees to take time off, both in the short term and the long term. Some ways you can go about this include:

  • Encouraging your employees to actually take their lunch breaks (and other short breaks during the day), so employees can take a breather and refresh
  • Creating a PTO and sick day program, so employees can take time off when they need it
  • Focusing on employees’ productivity during the day, versus the hours they work

When you and your managers help your employees achieve work-life balance, they’ll be more energized and productive. They’ll also be happier and less likely to quit.

Tek-Tip: You know what they say—knowledge is power. You can get a pulse on how your employees are doing in terms of work-life balance with the help of some data.

You can use Tekmetric’s Employee Reports for work-life balance purposes, too. Specifically, you can view Employee Timesheets and see how much each employee has been working and whether or not they’ve been taking breaks. And with the Technician Hours Report, you can see your technicians’ total billed time, total actual time, total efficiency, and Car Count.

Growing Your Business Is About Growing Your People  

At the end of the day, growing your business is about growing your people.

Attending industry conferences, joining associations, reading publications, and using software for auto repair business management are all great ways to enhance your leadership skills and become a more well-rounded leader. However, in the midst of doing all these things, don’t forget about connecting with your employees on a human level. You don’t always have to pull up a metric or discuss a workflow tip when you touch base with them—nor should you.

Instead, make it a point to check in with your team members for the sake of checking in with them. Ask them how they’re doing, how their families are doing, if they ended up adopting that new pet, etc. Be invested in them as human beings, not just as employees.

After all, they have goals outside of work, too, and by knowing what those goals are, you can help them achieve them, even if they aren’t related to auto repair! Maybe they want to adopt a dog, and you know the perfect animal shelter to refer them to. Or, maybe they’re thinking about buying a new home, and you have a friend who happens to be putting their home up for sale.

Maintain a culture where every employee feels supported and valued. You can throw some fun in the mix as well, like attending baseball games together, hosting movie nights, having employee-family picnics, and more.

Here are some of the creative ways some of the shops that use Tekmetric celebrate their employees:

  • Tim Suggs, Co-owner of Turbo Tim’s Anything Automotive: “The employees that we’ve attracted and retained over the years are a part of our community. We’re always hanging out at the shop after hours and on the weekends. A few of our employees have even formed their own band.”
  • Bryan Jewett, Owner of Casey’s Automotive: “Every January, we do a goal-poster day. Every employee that works for us writes down their goals, no matter what they are—professional or personal—and then I go out and buy a hundred different magazines. They get poster boards, cut out pictures that represent their goals, and they glue them to their poster board. That way they can track their goals.”
  • Aaron Smith, Owner of S&S Auto Repair: “We started an apprentice program here, where we’re training up the next generation of automotive staff. They’re growing in their knowledge and their experience. But I know that if I want to retain those individuals, then I need to grow myself.”

When you grow your business by growing your people, things will fall into place. Your employees will be happy to show up to work each day, knowing that they’re working toward not only their own goals but the common goals of the entire team.

That happiness will shine through to customers; they’ll notice your smiling, energetic technicians and service advisors. Customers will walk away happy, ready to refer your shop to everyone they know. And before you know it, your shop will be one of the best places for people to work—and get their cars repaired.

FAQ

similar articles

Mechanic interviews are challenging for both the employer and candidate because the right candidate has to be a fit in personality and technical ability. Plus, the numerous certification types, manufacturer nuances, and shop needs make it even more challenging.

This guide can be used to help repair shops/dealerships ask the right questions and also help technicians be prepared for questions they will likely encounter. Below you will find the most common car mechanic interview questions broken down by mechanic and service advisor level plus tips to ace your next interview.

Top mechanic job interview questions

While every auto repair shop differs in how they run their job interview process, these are some of the most common questions you can expect. Ranging from technical questions to customer service, be prepared to answer these common questions before your next interview.

An image highlighting the top job interview questions for mechanics.

General interview questions for car mechanics

These common questions cover basic automotive repair experience and relevant work history.

  • Tell me about yourself and your experience as an automotive technician.
  • Why do you want to work for our company/shop?
  • How do you stay up to date with new automotive technologies and repair techniques?
  • What certifications do you currently hold (ASE, manufacturer-specific, etc.)?
  • Are you comfortable working weekends, evenings, or overtime if needed?

Technical interview questions for mechanics

These technical interview questions cover more specific hand-on experience and tools/equipment.

  • Which repairs are you best at?
  • How much would you estimate your tool inventory to be worth?
  • What steps do you take when diagnosing a check engine light?
  • What tools and diagnostic equipment are you most familiar with?
  • Have you worked with hybrid or electric vehicles?
  • Do you believe in factory recommended vehicle maintenance intervals?
  • How comfortable are you with OEM scan/diagnostic tools?

Experience & situational questions for mechanics

These questions help employers understand how you would handle various shop situations and also helps them understand your communication skills.

  • Can you describe a time when you had to work under a tight deadline?
  • How do you deal with angry customers?
  • How do you prioritize tasks when you have multiple vehicles to work on?
  • What would you do if you made a mistake on a repair? How do you handle accountability?
  • What do you do if you encounter a vehicle with an issue you've never seen before?

Additional questions to expect

  • Are you comfortable serving those in need once a month?
  • Are you comfortable doing a DVI on the majority of vehicles you touch?
  • How do you handle a high-pressure environment when the shop is busy?
  • How do you handle a situation where you're unsure about how to fix a problem?
  • Tell me about a time you went above and beyond for a customer?

Top interview questions for service advisors

While the interview questions for service advisors will be similar to mechanics, there will be small differences. Typically, service advisors will be more customer facing and shops will tailor their questions to focus more on customer service and communication style.

General interview questions for service advisors

  • Are you comfortable selling repair services?
  • Are you comfortable working on a commission based salary structure?
  • Who do you believe has the best after market products?
  • Which shop management software is your favorite?
  • How do you deal with a customer saying that you are more expensive than their last shop?
  • How do you win back angry customers?
  • How do you handle over the phone quotes?

Technical interview questions for service advisors

  • What are your greatest strengths as a service advisor?
  • Who do you trust for moving electrical parts?
  • How do you handle working in a fast-paced environment?
  • Are you comfortable meeting sales goals and upselling services?
  • How do you stay up to date with new automotive technology and service trends?
  • How do you handle stress during busy hours?

Experience & situational questions for service advisors

  • How do you explain complex vehicle repairs to a customer who doesn’t understand cars?
  • What steps do you take to build trust with customers?
  • Have you ever had to deal with a miscommunication between a technician and a customer? How did you resolve it?
  • Can you describe a time when you turned a dissatisfied customer into a repeat customer?
  • How do you handle multiple customers needing assistance at the same time?

Additional questions to expect

  • How do you explain the importance of routine maintenance to a customer?
  • What experience do you have with automotive service software or point-of-sale systems?
  • How do you prioritize repair orders and schedule work efficiently?
  • How do you explain repair estimates to customers?
  • How would you respond to 1-star reviews?

Job interview tips for mechanics

  • Research: Not all shops are created equal so make sure to research before applying to make sure they are a good fit. You can also look at online reviews to see what their customers are saying.
  • Preparation: Use the commonly used questions above to help you prepare for the interview. Practice how you would answer each question and ways you can present yourself well.
  • Attire: You have 7 seconds to make your first impression and attire is a big part of that. Dress to showcase your professionalism and experience.
  • Highlight your experience/certifications: Showcasing your certifications and experience can go a long way to in making sure you land the job.
  • Ask thoughtful questions: Some interviewers will allow you to ask questions during the conversation. Make sure you have a few questions to ask that help you learn more about the shop.
  • Follow up: if you haven’t heard back from the shop and you are still interested, give them a call and remind them of your interest in the position.

Final thoughts

Interviews are challenging in any industry but mechanic interviews can be even more challenging with the shortage of talent available. This guide will help you either prepare for your next interview or provide you with common questions to ask your next hire. Lastly, always hire for culture fit and talent second. Culture problems are a lot harder to correct than technical car knowledge.

Top Interview Questions for Automotive Mechanics

March 25, 2025

Read time: 3 min

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If you're running an auto repair shop, investing in a car lift is essential. A high-quality vehicle lift makes it easier to work on cars, increases efficiency, and ensures safety. But how much does it actually cost to install a car lift? That depends on the type of lift, installation costs, and other factors such as weight capacity and safety features. Let’s break it all down so you can pick the best automotive lift for your needs.

Do you need a car lift?

Car lifts are essential in auto repair shops because they provide mechanics with better access to a vehicle’s undercarriage, making inspections, repairs, and maintenance tasks safer, more efficient, and more comfortable. Unlike floor jacks, lifts offer a stable and elevated workspace, reducing the risk of injuries and improving workflow.

With a car lift, technicians can quickly perform tasks such as oil changes, brake repairs, exhaust system work, and suspension adjustments without having to crawl under the vehicle. This efficiency leads to faster turnaround times and higher shop productivity.

Additionally, lifts help maximize shop space by allowing vertical storage for vehicles, which is especially useful in high-volume repair shops. Overall, car hoists are a fundamental investment for any auto repair shop looking to enhance efficiency, safety, and the quality of service provided to customers.

Types of car lifts and their costs

Each type of lift has its pros and cons. Some lifts are better for oil change shops and some are better for tire or repair shops. In general, car lifts can cost between $1,000 and $20,000 depending on brand, lift capacity, lift height, and features. Here’s a comprehensive look at the most common lift options for your shop.

An image comparing the cost of car lift types.

Two-Post car lifts

A two-post car lift is one of the most popular choices for auto repair shops. They are popular because they take up less space and can be affordable depending on features. Make sure to plan out your shop layout as these lifts are permanent and cannot be easily moved. These hoists come in asymmetric and symmetric configurations, allowing flexibility based on vehicle type.

  • Price: $3,000 - $10,000
  • Best For: General repair shops working on SUVs and smaller cars.
  • Lift capacity: 5,000 - 10,000 lbs.
  • Popular brands: BendPak, Rotary, Tuxedo.
  • Advantages: High lifting capacity while saving space for smaller shops.

Four-Post lifts

A four-post lift provides greater stability and weight capacity, making it ideal for heavier vehicles. If your shop works on a lot of trucks or heavy-duty vehicles, the four-post lift might be the best lift for you. Tire and brake shops should avoid these lifts as the tires sit on the lift making it difficult to work on these areas.

  • Price: $5,000 - $25,000
  • Best For: Dealerships and professional shops.
  • Lift capacity: 7,000 - 14,000 lbs.
  • Popular brands: BendPak, Titan, Tuxedo, Rotary.
  • Advantages: Heavier lifting capacity for larger vehicles.

Scissor lifts

If saving space is your top priority, the scissor lift may be your best option. They are almost invisible when not in use and lie flat on the ground to optimize garage space. Double check the lift capacity and height to make sure it can accommodate the types of vehicles you work on.

  • Price: $1,500 - $10,000
  • Best For: Quick repair shops where space is limited.
  • Lift capacity: 5,000 - 15,000 lbs.
  • Brands: QuickJack, BendPak, MaxJax
  • Advantages: Compact and cheaper.

In-Ground lifts

In-ground car lifts are a great choice for shops that work on heavier vehicles and want to save space. These lifts are the perfect balance of the space saving capabilities of a scissor lift while also providing optimal strength for large vehicles.

  • Price: $10,000 - $25,000
  • Best For: Repair shops and dealerships.
  • Lift capacity: 5,000 - 20,000 lbs.
  • Brands: BendPak, Rotary, Atlas
  • Advantages: Compact while also offering enough muscle.

Portable car lifts

If your shop layout frequently changes or you are a mobile mechanic, a portable lift may be the best option. These lifts can be easily moved around a garage or taken to a job site and are often the cheapest option. However, they can be less reliable and don’t provide the same level of strength as a stationary lift.

  • Price: $500 - $5,000
  • Best For: Home garages, mobile mechanics, DIY enthusiasts.
  • Lift capacity: 5,000 - 10,000 lbs.
  • Brands: QuickJack, MaxJax
  • Advantages: Affordable, compact, mobile.

Installation prices for car lifts

Installing a vehicle lift is not just about purchasing the unit. You also need to consider the installation costs, which can vary depending on the type of lift and garage setup. Here are the main factors affecting installation costs:

1. Concrete requirements

Most lifts, especially two-post car lifts and four-post lifts, require a thick concrete base. If your floor isn’t thick enough, you may need reinforcement, which adds to the cost.

2. Electrical setup

Lifts need power, and if your garage isn’t wired for it, you’ll need an electrician.

3. Air compressors & accessories

Some lifts require compressors and additional balancer tools for operation.

4. Professional installation

Hiring a pro ensures the lift is ALI-certified and meets safety regulations.

Choosing the right car lift for your auto repair shop

Each type of lift comes with its own advantages, making it important to choose the right one based on your needs. Here are some things to consider when making your decision:

  • How big is your shop?
  • Which repair services do you offer?
  • What is your budget?
  • Does the lift offer a warranty?
  • Will you garage layout change over time?
  • How important is a car lift warranty to you?
  • How heavy will the vehicles you work on be?
  • What is the average review rating of the lift?
  • How easy or hard is the lift to install?
  • How much will the maintenance cost?

Final thoughts

Installing a vehicle lift in your auto repair shop is a smart investment. Whether you choose a two-post car lift, scissor lifts, or portable lift, knowing the lift cost and installation costs upfront can help you budget wisely. Whatever you choose, ensure it’s ALI-certified for safety and performance. Lastly, don’t forget about regular maintenance and safety inspections to ensure your lift continues to run for many years.

How Much Does a Car Lift Cost + Installation Prices

March 21, 2025

Read time: 3 min

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Ever wonder how you could make your auto repair shop website rank in Google for “Mechanic near me” or “Best auto repair shop”? Look no further, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know about search engine optimization for automotive repair shops.

Search engines play a large role in today’s buyer journey and the auto repair shop industry is no different. Shop owners are recognizing this and starting to emphasize SEO (search engine optimization) as part of their overall digital marketing strategy.

Auto Repair SEO 101

SEO for automotive repair shops is a marketing tactic designed to influence how your website ranks in Google and other search engines. When done correctly, SEO efforts can create more website traffic and ultimately, generate more customers for your auto repair shop.

However, search traffic is becoming more competitive and other shops are likely aiming for the same keywords as you are. Utilize this guide to see how you can improve your website traffic and search engine rankings for your auto shop.

Tek-Tip: Curious how you rank for important keywords? Simply open an incognito tab and search for keywords you want to rank for. Incognito tabs remove location and search history bias from your search.

Image showing 5 steps to better SEO for auto repair shops.

Why is SEO important for Auto Repair Shops?

More traffic equals more customers

Search traffic is high-intent traffic which means that people who are searching for “mechanic near me” and similar queries are indicating that they are ready to make a decision. Social media and other traffic forms may bring in traffic but rarely are they ready to make a decision that day. Capturing more search traffic almost always leads to more conversions. Think about it, when you start looking for a service where do you start your search?

Brand awareness

Even if the customer is not ready to make a decision that day, being visible for relevant keywords is important (and free) brand awareness. Ranking well will help your shop stay top of mind for future automotive repair needs and build your online presence. Just like we remember a billboard or business logo weeks later, being visible in search engine results leads to better brand awareness and online visibility.

Cost effective

Unlike paid advertising, SEO efforts are free if you do them in-house. All you need to get started is this guide + a few YouTube videos and you can make a big difference in your website traffic and online conversions.

Local search

Search engines can use mobile device locations to help match customers with a shop that is nearby. Part of this guide will walk you through how you can indicate to Google where your auto repair shop is located and capitalize on local search traffic.

5 Steps to Improve your Rankings and Website Traffic

1. Quality content

Helpful content: Google loves fresh content and companies who regularly publish helpful content. Strategize what type of content will resonate with your audience and don’t be afraid to test new ideas. Consider removing or updating out-of-date content that is no longer relevant for your audience.

Content calendar: Creating a content calendar for your shop can help you strategize which topics you want to cover each month and who will be responsible for the project timeline.

2. On-page SEO

URLs: Did you know that Google uses the words in your url to help understand what your content is about? Avoid generic URLs like www.Yourshopname.com/blog/23trk and start using keyword-rich URLs like www.Yourshopname.com/blog/houston-tire-store. A simple optimization that can lead to better rankings.

Keyword research: Organic search is no longer about stuffing your content with every keyword you can find but keywords still play a part in how Google ranks content. Keywords are the terms searchers type into Google like “Tire shop near me” or “Brake service shop in Houston”. Other common auto repair keywords include “auto repair shop near me”, “best mechanic in (insert city)”, or "(insert service type) near me”.

You can use a free tool like Google Search Console (more info on tools later on) to explore which keywords you are ranking for and strategize how you can include those terms in your content/website. You will also want to research keywords that you do not currently rank for but want to in the future. Don’t forget to look at competitors and see what they are ranking for to help you locate your target keywords and form your overall strategy.

Internal linking: If you think of the internet as a spider web, each piece of content has internal and external links that help connect related content. These internal links help search engines crawl your website and find all the other content your website has to offer. Aim for at least one internal link in each article you write.

Meta Descriptions: As the name suggests, meta descriptions inform readers on what they can expect your content to cover. This is a great place to highlight keywords you think searchers might use to find your content.

Avoid click-bait strategies but try to make your meta description attractive and keyword dense. This will lead to better click-through-rates and better rankings. Aim to use 150 characters or less in your meta description so Google doesn’t cut it off.

Meta Titles: Think of a meta title as the headline or title tag for your content. This is a great place to showcase what your content offers and what it covers. You also want to feature your top priority keyword in the title to make sure Google (and users) know that it matches what they are searching for.

A picture showing how title and meta description tags appear in Google search.

3. Technical SEO

Tek-Tip: Warning: this section is more technical and may require the assistance of a website professional. We recommend Shopgenie to help with all of your website/SEO needs.

Page speed: Search engines have started to prioritize websites that provide a better user experience and part of that is having fast page speed. You can test your website speed using this free tool. Some quick ways to improve your page speed would be to minimize image file sizes and reduce the number of third-party scripts you have on your website. You may need to contact a website developer if you want to make bigger adjustments to your website.

Link building: Search engines use backlinks as a way to identify which websites are trustworthy and authoritative. For example, if your website has a link from Forbes pointing to your blog article, it indicates that your blog has value. The more links you can gather (especially from high-quality websites) the more reasons search engines have to believe your website has value.

SEO and PR agencies can help you build your link profile. You can also contact other websites directly and do manual outreach. The best practice is to create content that people want to link to and the links will accumulate naturally. Content that typically performs well for link-building in the automotive industry includes how-to videos, guides, and tutorials.

Mobile friendly/UX: Have you ever been frustrated by a website on your phone that you can’t use because the buttons are too close together or it loads slowly? With the majority of your target audience using their phones to search for services, your SEO strategy needs to include a user and mobile-friendly website design.

Sitemaps: A sitemap is a file that you can add to your website to help guide search engine crawlers to your content. Think of it as a crawler roadmap for your website. This file can be useful if you don’t want certain parts of your website crawled or if you recently added new content and want it to be crawled quickly.

4. Local SEO

Google My Business: Google My Business (GMB) is a free Google business profile that showcases your company, services, contact info, logo, and more. An easy way to improve your local SEO is to keep this platform up-to-date with your contact information, website, and hours of operation. If a potential customer searches “auto repair shop near me” your GMB listing indicates to Google if you service that area and helps you rank for their search.

Bonus tip: Make it easy for customers to leave reviews on your GMB profile as extra proof that you run a quality automotive repair shop. Some auto shops add a QR code on the front desk or on receipts directing customers on how to leave reviews. Make sure to respond to negative and positive reviews with professionalism. First impressions matter; potential clients often research reviews before selecting a shop.

Directories: Directories are popular aggregation review platforms like Yelp, Consumer Reports, BBB, and Yellow Pages. Claiming your business profiles and updating them with your relevant information can help some potential clients find your auto repair business. Make sure your phone number, address and website are all up to date within each directory.

Location pages: Adding your address and directions to your website can help search engines understand where you are located and aid in pairing you with appropriate local queries. Another tactic is to make sure your website content mentions your city to further boost this effort.

5. SEO tools

Paid tools: There is no shortage of SEO software/tools to help you upgrade your auto repair SEO strategy. These tools typically have a free version but they are limited in functionality and you will need to upgrade if you have larger websites. Some of the top options include Ahrefs, Semrush, and seoClarity.

Free tools: If you have a smaller website you may be able to get by with these free tools. Some of the top free SEO tools include Google Search Console, PageSpeed Insights, and free versions of Ahrefs and Semrush.

Tracking/monitoring: After making updates to your website and overall SEO strategy it is important to track your progress and KPIs like clicks, traffic, impressions, CTR and others that may be relevant to your auto repair business. You can build free tracking dashboards in Google Analytics or Google Looker Studio.

Bonus tip: Google and other search engines regularly update their algorithms so keep an eye out for volatility during these updates.

How long does it take for search engine optimization to work?

While some SEO tactics will start working immediately, larger and more consistent progress will be seen within 3-6 months if implemented correctly. Typically, this progress is seen as part of a “snowball” effect where multiple small optimizations will snowball into larger results over time.

Ranking on the first page of Google can take time but it often depends on how many competitors are in your area. All worthwhile marketing strategies take time and SEO is no different.

Final thoughts

Search engine optimization is an important tactic to drive more traffic and customers for your auto repair business. Keep in mind that SEO is one of many marketing tactics and should be part of a larger marketing strategy. To be successful in automotive shop marketing you will also need to explore other channels like social media, email, paid advertising, and traditional marketing.

Auto Repair SEO: The Complete Guide for 2025

March 18, 2025

Read time: 3 min

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