Guides
Sample tire shop quotes and the template behind them for new owners
A tire shop quote template you can copy: the line items, the wording for variable parts, the stop rule, and worked examples in your own variables.
What to take away
- A quote is a document that prevents an argument. Every line exists because something once went wrong without it.
- The variable items are the whole risksensors, seized hardware, damaged wheels. Name them on the quote, before the work.
- Carry a stop rule in writingyou pause, you show, you quote, they decide. Say it on the paper so it is not a surprise.
- No dollar figures appear below, because a price copied from a page is somebody else's rent and labor cost.
- Keep the quote and what was actually done. The pair is what settles a dispute months later.
The template
Copy this structure into whatever system you use. The headings matter more than the formatting.
Quote template sections
- Headershop, quote number, hold date
- What we will doone plain sentence
- Partssize, load, speed, model
- Laborper job or hourly basis
- Fees and suppliesnamed lines
- Total and what it covers
- Variable items and stop rule
- Condition notes and acceptance
Header. Shop name and contact. Quote number. Date and how long the quote holds. Customer name and contact. Vehicle year, make, model, and the size currently fitted, taken from the vehicle rather than from the customer's memory.
What we will do. One plain sentence per service. "Fit four tires, balance, new valve service, torque to the manufacturer's specification, and dispose of the old set." Not a code and not an abbreviation.
Parts. One line per item, with quantity and the specification. Tire line shows size, load and speed markings and the exact model, because a substitution later is a conversation.
Labor. One line per service, priced as you have decided to price it. If your basis is per job rather than hourly, say so.
Fees and supplies. Disposal and any required fee, shown exactly as the rules where you operate require. Shop supplies as a named line if you charge them separately.
Total, and what the total covers. State plainly that the total is for the work listed, and that anything outside it will be quoted before it is done.
Variable items and the stop rule. The block below.
Condition notes. What you observed before starting: wheel condition, existing damage, unusual fasteners, anything already worn.
Acceptance. Signature or recorded approval, with date and time.
The variable items block, in the words to use
This block does more to prevent disputes than any other part of the quote. Adapt the wording, keep the structure.
The stop rule in practice
Wheel off reveals seized, broken or damaged part?
stop, show the customer, quote before continuing
proceed within the quoted total
Some parts of this job cannot be priced until the wheel is off. If we find a tire pressure sensor that fails on removal, hardware that has seized or broken, or wheel damage that affects the fit or the seal, we will stop, show you what we found, and quote it before doing anything further. Nothing outside the total above will be added without your approval.
Three details make it work. It names the specific things that actually happen. It commits to stopping rather than deciding for the customer. And it is on the paper before the work, not read out at pickup.
Condition notes, and why they belong on the quote
Wheel damage is the most common damage claim in this trade, and much of it exists before the tire is touched. A curbed rim, a peeling finish or a corroded bead seat should be photographed and noted before the wheel comes off, and shown to the customer.
Write it as an observation, not an accusation. "Front left wheel shows existing curb damage on the outer lip, photographed before service." Then keep the photograph with the job record.
Worked example: a four-tire job in your own variables
Take the shop's cost per productive bay hour as C and the measured bay time for a four-tire fitment as T. Tire cost to you is P per tire.
Four-tire job variables
- Ccost per productive bay hour
- Tmeasured bay time for four-tire fitment
- Ptire cost to you per tire
- Total must exceed 4P + T x C
- Labor line is T times C, plus the margin you have decided to earn on labor.
- Parts line is four times P, plus your parts basis for that cost band.
- Fee lines are whatever your jurisdiction requires, at the rate it sets.
- Total is the sum, and it must sit above four times P plus T times C or the job loses money before anything else happens.
Substituting your own C, T and P takes minutes. Copying a stranger's total tells you nothing: their rent, bay count and supplier terms are not yours.
How C is derived is set out in the step-by-step approach to pricing a service. Published local wage information in the Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational tables is a reasonable reference for testing the labor assumption inside it.
Worked example: a repair assessment quote
This one is different because the outcome is not known when you quote it.
Repair assessment quote path
- Quote the assessment, not the repair
- Assess against manufacturer and industry guidance
- Repairable -> repair quoted and approved
- Not repairable -> assessment still chargeable
- Replacement quoted separately
Quote the assessment, not the repair. The assessment determines whether the tire can be repaired at all; the decision follows the tire manufacturer's own instructions and published industry repair guidance.
If the answer is no, the assessment is still chargeable, and a replacement will be quoted separately.
Customers accept this readily when it is on the quote in advance. They resent it when they hear it for the first time after the tire is off, which is the same information delivered at the worst possible moment.
Wording that causes disputes
Use instead
- "Plus parts as needed"
- The named variable items and the stop rule
- "Standard fitting charges apply"
- The actual line items
- "Approximate" with no bound
- "Quoted before we proceed"
- "We are not responsible for wheel damage"
- A photographed condition note
- "Subject to availability" alone
- A stated date, or a call before ordering
Why
- "Plus parts as needed"
- The first is open-ended; the second is specific
- "Standard fitting charges apply"
- A charge nobody can see is a charge nobody agreed to
- "Approximate" with no bound
- An approximation is heard as a price
- "We are not responsible for wheel damage"
- A disclaimer does not survive a photograph you never took
- "Subject to availability" alone
- Availability language hides a delay the customer will discover on their own
Anything on a quote, sign, or website is a claim.
Dispute wording: avoid vs use
Avoid
- Parts
- Plus parts as needed
- Charges
- Standard fitting charges
- Price bound
- Approximate, no bound
- Wheel damage
- We are not responsible
- Availability
- Subject to availability
Use instead
- Parts
- Named variable items and stop rule
- Charges
- The actual line items
- Price bound
- Quoted before we proceed
- Wheel damage
- Photographed condition note
- Availability
- Stated date or call before ordering
The FTC's advertising guidance for small businesses sets the expectation: a price implying a finished job must deliver a finished job, and required disclosures cannot hide in wording nobody reads.
Keep the pair
Keep the quote and the record of what was actually done, together, for every job. When they differ, the record should show the approval that authorized the difference.
These are ordinary business records and the IRS guidance on the records a business should keep covers holding them in a form that survives. In practice the pair settles almost every dispute that arrives months later, because it shows what was agreed and when.
What the template assumes you have already decided
The quote is the visible end of decisions made elsewhere. The parts basis, the labor basis and how fees are handled come from the pricing and profit guide. Whether the quoted price clears the shop's own bar is the arithmetic in the break-even material.
Two template lines also depend on capability, not policy. Whether you can quote sensor service depends on your tooling and coverage. That coverage is on the buying list in the equipment checklist for new owners.
Bay time T drives the labor line, and it depends partly on layout and machine choice. See the equipment and setup guide.
Common questions
Why are there no example prices on this page?
Because a price is the output of your rent, bay count, labor cost and supplier terms. Publishing a number here would give you a false anchor, and a false anchor is worse than none. The variables above take an afternoon to fill in and produce an answer that is actually yours.
How long should a quote be valid?
Long enough to be useful and short enough that tire cost movement does not hurt you. State the period on the quote rather than leaving it open, and honor it when a customer returns inside it.
Should the quote include the disposal fee?
It should include or disclose it exactly as your local rules require, and the rules differ. Ask your state, then build the invoice format around the answer rather than adding it later.
What if the customer declines the extra work we found?
Document that they were shown it and declined, put it on the job record, and complete only what was authorized. If declining makes the vehicle unsafe to release, say so plainly and record that you said it.
Can a verbal quote be enough?
For a small job with a familiar customer it often is in practice, and it is also where most disputes come from. A short written quote costs a minute and removes the entire category of argument about what was said.
