Garage quote checker

Know what the repair quote adds up to.

Enter the figures a garage has given you. Signal will add them, show how the VAT choice changes the total, and help you ask what the quote covers before you agree to the work.

01 / Add your figures

Check one garage quote.

Copy the amounts exactly as shown. The calculation stays in this browser tab and is not saved to your vehicle record.

Parts and materialsUse the parts total shown on the garage quote.LabourEnter the labour total, including any fitting charge.Diagnostic feeEnter zero if the garage confirms this is included.

How does the quote treat VAT?

Not confirmed Amounts include VAT Add standard VAT Garage says no VAT is charged

Choose “Add standard VAT” only when the garage says these amounts exclude VAT and are all charged at the standard 20% rate. If lines mix VAT treatments, ask for an itemised final price. Check the current UK rates ↗

Before you approve

Six checks for a useful written quote.

Use the same questions with another garage so the scope and final payable price are comparable.

What work is included?

Ask for the test findings, proposed repair and parts list in writing. A fault code or symptom alone does not confirm which part needs replacing.

How is labour calculated?

Ask for the estimated hours and hourly rate. Check whether the diagnostic time is already included or is a separate charge.

Which parts will be fitted?

Confirm whether parts are manufacturer, equivalent, reconditioned or used, and ask what parts and labour cover applies afterward.

Is this a quote or an estimate?

Check whether the price is agreed for a defined job or is an estimate that may change after inspection. Ask which items are provisional.

What is the final price to pay?

Confirm VAT, diagnostic fees, fluids, consumables, disposal fees and any other charges. Compare written totals on the same basis.

What if more work is found?

Ask the garage to contact you with the revised work and price before proceeding, and agree a spending limit and expected completion date.

If the diagnosis is still open

Pay for a clear next test before pricing a guessed part.

Ask what the garage has measured or inspected, what remains uncertain, and what the diagnostic fee covers. If the work changes, request a revised written price before authorising it. A warning affecting brakes, steering, overheating or vehicle control needs a safety decision first.

Review a code or symptom

How future estimates should work

A code is not a priced repair.

A trustworthy UK price comparison would first need a confirmed repair operation, the exact vehicle derivative, region and date, plus comparable garage quotes or completed invoices with parts, labour and VAT shown separately. Until that evidence exists for the job in question, this page only checks the figures you enter.

UK reference points

Check the terms behind the total.

These sources explain VAT and consumer-service terms. The consumer-rights references apply to private consumers; trade contracts can differ. None provides a price for your particular repair.

GOV.UK · VAT ratesThe current standard rate and the warning that treatment depends on the goods and services.HMRC · Adding or removing VATHow a standard-rate VAT-inclusive or VAT-exclusive amount is worked out.Citizens Advice · Car repairs in EnglandEngland-specific advice on quotes, estimates, disputed bills and work that changes.nidirect · Car repairs in Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland government guidance on written quotations, estimates and authorising extra work.Consumer Rights Act 2015 · Consumer servicesThe statutory provisions on reasonable care and skill, and price or time where they were not fixed.