"How much for front brakes?" Three answers.
A lot of your jobs start with a phone call asking for a price you can't give without the vehicle. Redline turns the year, make, model and your labor hours into a quote with three parts grades side by side, then holds the job with a parts deposit before you order anything.
From the phone call to parts on order
Get the vehicle right
Year, make, model, engine and mileage, plus the VIN if they'll read it off the dash. Snap or forward a photo of the door jamb sticker and Redline reads it, ready to add to their contact notes.
Say the job and your hours
"Front pads and rotors, 1.5 hours at $110, $45 call-out." The hours come from your labor guide or your own experience. Redline doesn't have book times.
Price the parts three ways
Economy, mid-grade and OEM as good, better and best, one draft each. Ask Redline to look up current part prices on the web as a starting point, then put in what your supplier actually charges.
Send it from your Gmail
Redline drafts the email laying out the three options and it goes from your own address when you approve it. The quote stays on the customer's file.
Take a parts deposit
When they pick one, move the job to Accepted and invoice the deposit (Solo and up). They pay by card on the pay link, and you order the parts once it lands.
A brake quote over the phone
The listings I found put a pair of front rotors for that car between about $80 and $190 depending on brand. Check your supplier.
Three drafts for Dan Reilly with your numbers:
Good, economy pads and rotors: $395
Better, ceramic pads, coated rotors: $480
Best, OEM pads and rotors: $575
Each includes call-out $45, labor 1.5 hrs $165, shop supplies $15. Look right?
Approve the better draft to save it, and confirm moving the job to Accepted. Deposit invoice drafted for Dan: $240, "Parts deposit, 50% of front brakes (better option)." Approve it and the pay link goes live.
Quotes by chat work on every plan. Deposits and pay links are on Solo and up. Web lookups use AI credits. Example prices only.
What's on a mobile mechanic estimate
| Line | How it's priced | Why it's there |
|---|---|---|
| Call-out or travel fee | Flat | You drove to them, not the other way around |
| Diagnostic scan | Flat, credited if they go ahead (your call) | So a no-start that becomes nothing still pays for the trip |
| Parts by grade | Each, per axle or per set, three options | The customer picks the price and you aren't guessing what they'd pay |
| Labor | Hours from your guide times your rate | Shows the work separately from the parts |
| Shop supplies and disposal | Flat | Brake cleaner, fluids, old parts |
| Core charge | Each, refunded when the core goes back | Batteries, alternators and starters |
Redline puts one sales tax rate on the whole invoice. If your state taxes parts and labor differently, check how that fits before you rely on it.
The parts you ordered for a customer who changed their mind
Every mobile mechanic has a shelf of parts for a car they never worked on: the customer found a cheaper shop, sold the car, or just stopped answering. A parts deposit fixes that. It's a small ask once the customer has picked an option, and it turns a maybe into a booked job before you spend your own money.
Options do the other half. When you quote one number, the customer compares it to a shop's price. When you quote three, they compare your options to each other and pick one. The economy line also keeps you honest with the customer who just needs the car to pass inspection this month.
If you find more once the wheel's off, that's a new conversation. Call them, log what they approved on their file, and add it to the job. The mobile mechanic software page covers that part, and invoicing from the lot.
Straight answers on mechanic estimates
Redline does
- Quote economy, mid-grade and OEM parts side by side
- Look up part prices on the web when you ask
- Remember your labor rate, call-out fee and shop supplies
- Keep the VIN and mileage on the customer from a photo
- Bill a parts deposit by card (Solo and up)
Redline doesn't
- Look up labor times or book hours
- Decode a VIN or check part fitment
- Order parts or connect to a parts supplier
- Let the customer approve the quote online
- Tax parts and labor at different rates
Questions contractors ask
How does the customer say yes?
On the phone or by replying to your email. There's no approve button or online signature, so log the call or keep the email on their file and move the job to Accepted.
Are the web part prices reliable?
They're a starting point from whatever listings Redline finds, and they cost AI credits to look up. Put in your supplier's real price before you save the quote.
Can I quote a fleet customer several vehicles?
Yes. Keep the fleet as one contact and quote each vehicle as its own job, or put several vehicles on one quote as separate lines.
Is quoting free?
Yes. Quotes by chat are on every plan, Free included. Deposits, invoices and card pay links start on Solo at $29 a month, with a 7-day free trial on the web. See pricing.
More for mobile mechanics
- Mobile mechanic softwareThe whole mobile mechanic workflow in Redline
- Mobile mechanic estimate templateFree, with parts, labor and call-out
- Mobile mechanic invoice templateFree, with core charge and parts deposit
- Quotes and estimatesOptions, tax and deposits
- Markup vs margin calculatorWhat your parts markup actually earns
Quote the next brake job before you hang up.
Redline is free to start. Give it the car and your hours, and it builds the options.
Keep reading
- Mobile mechanic softwareRecord the OK on added work, take parts deposits and invoice from the lot.
- Quotes and estimatesItemized quotes by chat or from a photo, with a deposit. Options and tax in the composer.
- Appliance repair softwareDiagnose, order the part, come back: keep two-visit repairs from slipping.
- Mobile detailing invoice appPackage plus add-ons, paid by card in the driveway, next wash booked.