How Much Does a Mobile Mechanic Owner Make? $85k Pay Model
You’re estimating mobile mechanic owner income, not a guaranteed salary The provided model plans $85,000 per year for the owner/operations manager and tests whether revenue, service mix, parts costs, payroll, overhead, marketing, and reserves can support that pay This excludes personal taxes, financing terms, local licensing advice, and any claim that profit automatically becomes owner pay
Owner income$85kNet margin71.5%Revenue for target pay$119kBusiness difficultyHard
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Owner income calculator
Estimate owner take-home and target-pay gap from revenue, margin, costs, reserves, and target pay.
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Planning note: Research-based planning estimate only. It is not guaranteed salary, tax advice, or owner distribution advice.
Want to see the main mobile mechanic income drivers?
1
Billable Hours
0.8-10h
More booked calls and longer jobs lift revenue fastest because each repair adds paid labor hours.
2
Ticket Size
$88-$1.03K
Bigger jobs, especially fleet and repair work, push revenue per stop higher and make each route more profitable.
3
Labor Mix
$95-$132/hr
Hourly price and service mix decide how much revenue each labor hour produces, and the service shares are separate rows, not one clean 100% stack.
4
Parts Cost
21%-17%
Auto parts, supplies, and consumables take a big bite, and cutting that share from 21% to 17% drops straight to gross margin.
5
Route Density
5%-4%
Tighter service zones cut fuel and idle time, so more billable work fits into the same day.
6
Overhead Control
$4K/mo
Fixed costs run $4,000 a month, and month 19 break-even plus $453K minimum cash means reserve discipline protects owner income during the ramp.
Want to check owner income in the Mobile Mechanic model?
How much revenue does a mobile mechanic need to pay the owner?
A Mobile Mechanic needs about $392k in annual revenue, or $32.7k per month, to pay the owner $85k in Year 1. That math assumes a 71.5% contribution margin and covers $137.5k in non-owner payroll, $48k of fixed overhead, and $10k of marketing. Before owner pay, break-even is about $273k a year, and every extra $1 of owner pay needs about $1.40 of added revenue.
Owner pay math
$392k yearly revenue target
$32.7k monthly revenue target
$85k owner pay included
71.5% contribution margin used
What drives the target
$273k break-even before owner pay
$137.5k non-owner payroll
$48k fixed overhead
$10k marketing spend
What is the profit margin for a mobile mechanic?
A Mobile Mechanic can post strong margins if it keeps labor separate from parts pass-through and controls on-site costs. For the cost buildout, see How Much Does It Cost To Open, Start, And Launch Your Mobile Mechanic Business? On the provided Year 1 math, parts and supplies at 180%, specialized consumables at 30%, fuel and vehicle operating costs at 50%, and payment processing at 25% leave a 715% contribution margin before fixed costs, payroll, marketing, and owner pay; by Year 5, that improves to 770%.
What drives margin
Labor is the main profit pool.
Parts should pass through cleanly.
Year 1 contribution is 715%.
Year 5 contribution rises to 770%.
What to control
Use parts cost percentage, not markup.
Track sourcing quality and returns.
Limit warranty risk on repairs.
Cut unpaid pickup time and idle drive time.
Can a mobile mechanic business scale beyond one van?
Yes, Mobile Mechanic can scale beyond one van, but higher revenue does not automatically mean higher owner income. As the fleet grows, the owner shifts from technician to operator, and the real pressure moves to dispatch, quality control, insurance, tools, callbacks, scheduling gaps, and cash needs.
Scale adds people
Year 1: 1 senior, 1 junior, 05 dispatch FTE
Year 5: 5 senior, 3 junior, 1 dispatch FTE
Non-owner payroll changes from $1375k to $535k
Owner moves from wrenching to managing
Revenue still needs control
Marketing grows from $10k to $100k
CAC improves from $100 to $70
More vans mean more dispatch complexity
Callbacks and gaps can eat margin fast
Key Takeaways
Billable hours drive revenue, so protect paid time.
Travel and no-shows quietly drain completed jobs.
Parts, labor mix, and rates shape margin.
Overhead and reserves must be funded before distributions.
Compare lean, base, and high mobile mechanic income scenarios
Owner income scenarios
Owner pay moves with job mix, staffing, and overhead. A launch team, scaled team, and multi-van setup each need very different revenue to support the same $85k planned salary.
Compare owner pay support across launch, scale, and multi-van operations.
Scenario
Low CaseLaunch team
Base CaseScaled team
High CaseMulti-van operator
Launch model
A lean launch case with limited volume and the smallest cost stack supporting the owner's planned pay.
A modeled mid-scale case with steadier volume and enough throughput to support planned owner pay.
A stronger upside case with higher volume and a larger team supporting the same owner pay target.
Typical setup
Uses the Year 1 cost stack, 71.5% contribution margin, $48k fixed overhead, $10k marketing, and $137.5k non-owner payroll.
Uses the Year 3 scale point, 74.7% contribution margin, $50k marketing, and $345k non-owner payroll.
Uses the Year 5 scale point, 77.0% contribution margin, $100k marketing, and $535k non-owner payroll across a multi-van setup.
Cost drivers
71.5% contribution margin
$48k fixed overhead
$10k marketing
$137.5k non-owner payroll
$392k revenue needed
74.7% contribution margin
$50k marketing
$345k non-owner payroll
Year 3 scale
$707k revenue needed
77.0% contribution margin
$100k marketing
$535k non-owner payroll
Year 5 scale
$997k revenue needed
Owner income rangeBefore owner reserves
$85,000Launch case
$85,000Base case
$85,000Upside case
Best fit
Best for a first-year owner stress test where work volume is still uneven and hiring stays light.
Best for a steady operating plan once the team has repeat work and the dispatch load is more stable.
Best for testing a larger fleet model where repeat work and fleet contracts support higher throughput.
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Planning note: These scenario figures are researched planning assumptions, not guaranteed earnings, salary promises, tax advice, or distribution forecasts.
Mobile Mechanic Core Six Income Drivers
Completed Jobs And Billable Hours
Completed Jobs and Billable Hours
This driver is the share of on-site time that turns into paid diagnostics, maintenance, repairs, and fleet work. More completed jobs and more billable hours lift revenue fast, because this model has strong margin, but it still has to cover $4k/month fixed overhead and payroll before the owner sees real take-home pay.
The leak is unpaid drive time, no-shows, admin work, parts delays, and rework. Billable work can range from 8 diagnostic hours to 80 fleet hours in Year 1, then 10 to 100 hours in Year 5, so the owner income swing is mostly a volume and utilization problem.
Protect Paid Hours
Track booked jobs, completed jobs, billable hours per day, cancellation rate, and travel time per job. Here’s the quick math: if the van is driving, waiting, or fixing the same job twice, those hours do not pay, and owner profit gets squeezed even when the schedule looks full.
Cluster jobs by area.
Pre-screen before dispatch.
Cut no-shows fast.
Track rework hours weekly.
Parts Markup And Sourcing
Parts Markup And Sourcing
Parts revenue is only helpful if the part cost, returns, and rework stay under control. In this model, parts and supplies cost runs at 180% of parts revenue in Year 1 and eases to 150% by Year 5, so a $10,000 parts sale can still carry $18,000 of cost early on. That means owner pay depends on sourcing quality, not just higher invoices.
Specialized consumables also drop from 30% to 20%, but warranty and comeback risk can wipe out the gain. The key inputs are parts billed, supplier price, return credits, unpaid pickup time, and rework hours. If the business keeps buying wrong parts or eating pickup time, cash flow gets tight fast.
Control Parts Cost
Good sourcing shows up as lower rework, not bigger invoices. Track parts cost percentage, supplier return rate, parts-related delays, and rework hours by job. If those numbers rise, the owner is paying for avoidable labor and lost time, which cuts the cash left for draws and payroll.
Match parts to the repair before dispatch.
Log every return and credit.
Separate pickup time from billable work.
Flag jobs with comeback risk early.
The model does not give a markup rate, so price around target contribution after supplier cost and expected returns. Keep a tight approved-parts list, and measure which vendors create delays or wrong-fit orders. That is where owner income leaks, even when sales look strong.
Fixed Overhead And Reserves
Fixed Overhead And Reserves
Fixed overhead is $4k/month, or $48k/year, before you pay for labor or growth. It includes insurance, storage rent, utilities, dispatch software, website, accounting and legal, licenses, and tool maintenance. That cost hits every month, so owner income only shows up after the business clears this base load.
Reserves protect pay. Vans, scan tools, emergency repairs, slow weeks, and rework all need cash. Year 1 marketing adds $10k, and the model grows that to $100k by Year 5. With $85k owner salary plus $1,375k non-owner payroll listed for Year 1, the business has to fund overhead and payroll first, then set reserves before any owner draw.
Track cash before distributions
Measure monthly fixed costs, marketing spend, payroll, and repair reserve funding separately. Here’s the quick math: cash left for owner pay equals revenue minus variable costs, fixed overhead, marketing, payroll, and reserve deposits. If reserve percentage is not set, model it explicitly so distributions don’t starve the business of repair cash.
Track fixed cost per month.
Separate marketing from overhead.
Set a reserve target first.
Delay draws until cash stays positive.
What this estimate hides is timing. Tool failures, warranty rework, and slow weeks can hit before monthly revenue catches up. If overhead stays at $4k/month but marketing rises and payroll stays heavy, owner pay becomes more sensitive to cash timing than to booked revenue alone.
Labor Rate And Service Mix
Labor Rate And Service Mix
This driver is the blend of labor sold by service type. Year 1 rates are $110 diagnostic, $100 maintenance, $120 repair, and $95 fleet; by Year 5 they rise to $120, $110, $132, and $103. Labor-heavy jobs usually hold margin better than parts-heavy work, so the mix directly shapes gross profit and owner pay.
Repair work brings more revenue per job because hours rise from 30 to 40 across the model. Fleet work pays less per hour, but longer billable blocks can raise scheduling density and cut dead travel time. The risk is callbacks, difficult jobs, warranty exposure, and jobs that need shop equipment, which can turn paid hours into unpaid rework.
Price and schedule for labor quality
Track booked hours, completed jobs, billable hours by service type, and callback rate. Compare labor revenue against parts-heavy jobs, because a busy day with weak labor mix can still miss cash goals. The owner’s take-home income improves when more time is sold at the higher-rate services and less time is lost to rework.
Price by hour and job type.
Pre-screen difficult repairs before dispatch.
Reserve equipment-heavy work for premium rates.
Watch warranty and comeback hours closely.
If the mix shifts toward diagnostics, maintenance, and fleet work, margin and cash flow usually improve faster than revenue alone. If repair hours climb but callbacks rise, owner draw gets squeezed even when top line looks strong.
Average Repair Ticket
Average Repair Ticket
Average repair ticket is the average revenue per completed visit. In this model, Year 1 examples are $88 diagnostics, $150 maintenance, $360 repairs, and $760 fleet work. By Year 5, those tickets rise to $120, $187, $528, and $1,030. Bigger tickets lift revenue and gross profit without adding more stops.
The key math is service revenue ÷ completed jobs. If low-value visits fill the calendar, drive time, setup time, and customer acquisition cost can swallow the margin. Higher-value diagnostics, bundled maintenance, approved repairs, and fleet work improve owner pay because each stop produces more cash.
Raise Ticket Size
Track ticket size by job type, not just total sales. Watch completed jobs, revenue per visit, travel minutes per job, and cancellation rate so you can see which visits actually pay for the route. Low tickets with long drive times are a red flag, even when the schedule looks full.
Price diagnostics to find real repairs
Bundle maintenance into one visit
Approve repairs before rolling out
Push fleet work on clustered routes
What this estimate hides: if a visit does not cover travel and setup, it can look busy and still hurt cash flow. The owner wins when each stop clears those costs and leaves room for payroll, overhead, and draw.
Travel Efficiency And Service Area Density
Service Area Density
Travel is an income constraint, not just a fuel cost. In Year 1, fuel and vehicle operating costs are 50% of revenue, improving to 40% by Year 5, so every unpaid mile cuts profit twice: it burns cash and lowers completed jobs. Long routes also raise cancellations and slow the pace needed to hit the $392k Year 1 revenue hurdle.
The key inputs are miles per job, drive minutes per paid hour, same-area bookings, and jobs completed per route. If route time rises, billable hours fall, and owner pay drops even when the schedule looks full. One clean rule: fewer dead miles, more paid minutes.
Cluster Jobs to Protect Margin
Set a tight service area, then stack same-neighborhood visits. Use trip fees for long dispatches and diagnostic pre-screening so you do not send a van to low-value jobs that fail on arrival. When travel stays tight, more of the day becomes paid work, which lifts gross margin and speeds cash collection.
Track miles per job.
Track drive minutes per paid hour.
Track same-area booking rate.
Track jobs completed per route.
Price remote calls higher or bundle them into fleet routes. If one route adds unpaid drive time, it can wipe out the margin from several small jobs, so route density should guide scheduling before calendar fill does.
