Mobile Mechanic Travel Fee Calculator
A defensible travel fee, based on your real vehicle cost and drive time — not a number you picked because it sounded reasonable.
Your numbers
$
Fuel + wear/depreciation. The IRS standard mileage rate is a common starting point.
Free service radius
10 mi
Jobs within this distance of your base pay no extra travel fee.
min
A rough average — doesn't need to be exact
$
Use your own rate — or the output from the Labor Rate Calculator
Example: miles beyond the free radius
5 mi
Suggested base travel fee
$44
covers jobs within your 10-mile free radius
Vehicle cost (round trip)
$14.00
Time cost (round trip)
$30.00
Per extra mile beyond free radius
$1.40
Example total (5 mi beyond)
$51
A starting point — adjust for your market and how much travel you're willing to absorb.
How this is calculated
Your base fee covers the round-trip vehicle cost and drive time to the edge of your free radius — vehicle cost per mile (fuel plus wear) times round-trip miles, plus your hourly rate applied to round-trip drive time. Jobs beyond that radius add a per-mile charge on top.
Want the fuller picture on pricing mobile mechanic work overall? Read the pricing guide, or try the Labor Rate Calculator to set your baseline hourly rate first.
Common questions
Should I even charge a travel fee?
Driving to a job is a real cost — fuel, wear on your vehicle, and time you're not billing. A travel fee (or building it into your base labor rate) accounts for that instead of eating the cost yourself on every job.
What's a 'free service radius'?
A distance from your home base where you don't charge a separate travel fee — it's baked into your normal pricing. Jobs beyond that radius get the per-mile add-on.
Should I tell customers about the fee up front?
Yes — being upfront about a travel fee in the quote avoids an awkward conversation later. Customers generally accept fees they see coming and push back on ones that show up as a surprise on the invoice.