Price increase letter to auto repair customers
Copy it, replace the bracketed bits, send it. Below the letter: the text-message version, how much notice to give, and what to say when they push back.
Hi [NAME], As one of our regular [CUSTOMERS / FLEET ACCOUNTS], you are getting this before it goes on the board. From [DATE], our labour rate goes from [OLD RATE] to [NEW RATE] per hour. Any estimate you have already approved stays at the approved price. Where the money goes. Cars have changed faster than garages' prices. To work on modern vehicles properly, we now pay for manufacturer data and diagnostic subscriptions for [N] makes, calibration equipment for cameras and sensors after windscreen and bodywork jobs, and training so our technicians can safely work on hybrids and EVs. None of that existed at this scale when we last set our rate in [YEAR]. What does not change: written estimates before any work, a call before we go over them, and old parts kept for you to see. [FLEET ONLY: Your account rate stays [PERCENT]% under the posted rate.] [YOUR NAME] [BUSINESS NAME]
How many customers can this price rise lose?
10% ÷ (40% + 10%) = 20%
Open the full calculator, with your prices and customer count →post it at the counter and on estimates 30 days ahead; honour every estimate already signed
5–10% on the labour rate
The text-message version
For the customers whose entire relationship with you lives in a phone. Send it before the visit, never on the invoice.
[BUSINESS]: our labour rate changes to [NEW RATE]/hr from [DATE]. Anything you've already approved stays at the approved price. Questions? Call [PHONE].
Why it is going up, in words you can use
“Rising costs” persuades nobody because everyone says it. Name the actual driver in auto repair instead:
- diagnostic software and manufacturer data subscriptions are now a large annual cost per make
- driver-assistance (ADAS) calibration and hybrid or EV work need new equipment and trained technicians
- good technicians are hard to find and harder to keep
- parts prices went up and suppliers' delivery windows got longer
When they push back
You will hear these within a week. Having the answer ready is the difference between holding the price and folding on the phone.
- "Why am I paying for diagnostics? Just fix it."
- "The diagnosis is how we avoid charging you for parts you do not need." Offer to credit part of the diagnostic fee against the repair if they go ahead — it removes the objection without giving the work away.
- "The dealer is barely more than you now."
- Do not race the dealer on rate. Compete on what they cannot do: "You will speak to the person who worked on your car, and you will usually get it back the same day." If your rate really is near the dealer's, the other things have to be true.
- "Can I bring my own parts?"
- Have one policy and state it the same way every time: either no, or yes with no warranty on parts or labour. "If a part I supplied fails, I fix it free. If yours fails, it is a second job." Most people choose your parts once they hear that.
Is a price rise even the right move for you?
Sometimes it is not. Sometimes the money is in a service plan for customers you already have, or in the job you are quoting below cost without realising. Describe your business in one sentence and you will get three specific moves back — priced per month, with the arithmetic written out so you can put your own numbers in.
Free, no signup, about thirty seconds. If one of them is a price rise, you will get the number to put in the brackets above.
Give me three movesMore letters: trades and repairs
Other trades
A template, not legal advice. If you have a written contract with these customers, check what it says about notice periods and price changes before you send anything — the contract wins over any template, including this one.