Know what your repair should cost before you hear it.

Repair costs are calculable - labour hours, rates, parts. Kwoute runs the maths so you walk in informed, not guessing.

UK industry benchmarks
·Labour Rate Index
·Itemised breakdowns
kwoute · benchmark estimate
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Repair

Brake Pads — Front Axle

Ford Focus 1.6 · London SW1

Mid-range
Labour
Book time1.5 hrs
London rate£98 / hr
Labour cost£147

Parts

Budget£28 – £45
Mid-rangeselected£45 – £85
OEM£90 – £140

Benchmark total

Labour £147 + Parts £45–£85

£192–£232
UK industry data · Q1 2026Get yours →

Data sources

3 independent · updated weekly

Why we built this
Opacity creates suspicion. Transparency creates trust.

The car repair industry has a trust problem — but it isn't caused by dishonest garages. It's caused by invisible pricing. We fix the visibility, not the garages.

01

Garages aren't the problem.

Most mechanics are skilled professionals charging a fair price. But because car repair pricing is invisible to consumers, any large invoice can feel like extortion — even when it isn't.

02

Complexity is.

A timing chain replacement at £1,400 sounds suspicious until you see 8+ hours of skilled labour, a £340 parts kit, mandatory oil changes, and 20 years of experience required to do it without engine damage. The work is real. It just isn't visible.

03

Show the working. End the doubt.

When you can see exactly what a repair involves — hours, rate, parts at trade price — the number makes sense. Kwoute breaks down every job so you understand what you're paying for, not just what you're paying.

The full repair journey

Pricing intelligence at every stage.

Most people only check pricing after they've already said yes. There's a better way. Kwoute gives you the right data at every stage — before you call, before you commit, and after you pay.

01Symptom

Something's wrong

Describe what your car is doing. Get likely causes and cost ranges before you call anyone.

Symptom checker
02Estimate

Before the garage

Select your repair. Get a full itemised breakdown — hours, rate, parts — before you commit.

Get an estimate
03Validate

Got a quote?

Upload your repair quote. See exactly where every line sits against the UK benchmark.

Check a quote
04History

Over time

Track every repair against your vehicle's profile. Know what you've spent and what to expect.

Coming soon
Labour Rate Index

Book time and parts are standardised. The hourly rate isn't.

Book time and parts pricing are largely consistent across garages. But the labour rate is set by each garage independently — and it can vary by up to £50 per hour. On a 5-hour job, that's £250 before parts are even counted. Most drivers have never seen it.

The Kwoute Labour Rate Index maps verified hourly rates from garages across the UK. Search your postcode to see what local garages charge against the regional benchmark — before you book anything.

Every invoice submitted to Kwoute adds a verified data point to the index. The more data, the more accurate the benchmark — and the more useful it becomes for every driver who searches after you.
RegionAvg/hr

London

£85–£141

£110/hr

South East

£70–£110

£90/hr

North West

£65–£90

£78/hr

Yorkshire & The Humber

£55–£85

£70/hr

North East

£45–£70

£60/hr
UK national average
£76/hr

Benchmark averages. Actual rates vary by garage — search your postcode for verified local data.

70+repair types covered
£400avg data gap surfaced
60sanalysis turnaround
3independent data sources
The problem

Repair pricing is opaque. We make it transparent.

What you receive

Labour (3.0 hrs @ £85/hr)£255.00
Front brake pad set£189.00
Sundries£6.00
Total£450.00

Looks reasonable… doesn't it?

What Kwoute surfaces

Benchmark time for this job1.5 hrs
Labour above benchmark+£127.50
Typical parts range£45–£80
Parts above typical+£109.00
Data gap surfacedup to £197
Emergency Repairs

Two shocks
of a breakdown.

The first shock is the breakdown itself. The second is when the garage calls with a quote you don't understand — and you need to decide fast.

We eliminate the second shock. Upload the quote, get independent context, approve with confidence.

< 60s
Analysis time
No account
Required to start
3 sources
Cross-referenced

The unexpected add-on

The only thing worse than an emergency bill is a follow-up call adding "extra things they missed". We surface the full picture so you can push back before work begins.

Missing parts flagged

If a garage quotes a timing belt but omits the water pump, we flag the omission — so you don't get a surprise bill three weeks later.

What you get

Every report.
Six checks.

The same verification a specialist vehicle engineer would run — automated against real UK data.

Book Time Audit

Checks quoted labour hours against benchmark data to identify hours outside typical ranges for that repair.

Parts Price Check

Reveals wholesale cost of parts across budget, mid-range, and OEM tiers.

Garage Verification

Checks business registration and surfaces review data.

Regional Benchmark

Localises labour rates based on your specific postcode.

Quality Match

Ensures you aren't paying dealer prices for budget parts.

Plain English Assessment

A clear, data-backed summary you can actually act on.

How it works

We show the working. Not just a number.

Most pricing references give you a total and ask you to trust it. Kwoute breaks down the hours, the rate, and the parts — every line, itemised. And because repair work is complex, we explain what each job actually involves in plain language, so you're not just informed on cost — you understand the work.

Step 01

Upload your quote

Photo, screenshot, or PDF from any garage. Takes 5 seconds — no account needed to start.

Supports JPG · PNG · HEIC · PDF · up to 10 MB

quote-ford-focus.jpgready
invoice_scan.pdf
repair-quote.png
Step 02

Every line gets checked

Labour hours, parts prices, shop details — each one cross-referenced against UK industry data.

3 independent data sources · updated quarterly

Labour hours⚠ Above benchmark
Parts pricing✓ Within range
Garage registration✓ Verified
Regional rate⚠ High for RG1
Step 03

See how it compares

A clear breakdown showing where your quote sits vs. typical ranges — with specific data for each line item.

Localised to your postcode area

Quote total£450.00
Regional low £136Your quoteRegional high £280
Above regional average

Don't have a quote yet? Get a full benchmark estimate first — hours, rate, and parts, itemised.

Get a benchmark estimate →
Repair costs

Know the price
before the quote.

Browse all 70+ repairs →
Symptom checker

Don't have
a quote yet?

Describe what your car is doing. We'll tell you what it likely means, which repairs to expect, and what typical costs look like — so you're informed before you speak to a garage.

Grinding noise when braking
Engine warning light on
Steering pulls to the left
Car won't start in the morning
Check your symptoms
symptom-checker

$ describe symptom

Grinding noise when braking

Analysis output

Likely causeWorn brake pads / discs
Expected repairBrake pads + discs (front)
Typical cost (UK)£150 – £320
UrgencyHigh — book soon

Based on 847 similar cases in UK garages

Common questions

You're probably wondering...

*The information provided here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consumer rights may vary by situation.
Get started

Know what your repair
should cost.

Get a benchmark estimate before you visit the garage, or upload a quote to see how every line compares against UK market data.

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