Automobile Collision Repairers

Salary ranges of collision repairers vary depending on level of experience, type of shop, and geographic location. The median annual salary for automotive body and related repairers was $48,740 in May 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). At the lower end of the pay scale, repairers with less experience and repairers who were employed by smaller shops tended to earn less; experienced repairers with management positions earned more. The lowest paid 10 percent earned $35,250 or less, and the top 10 percent $80,380 or more.

Automotive glass installers and repairers earned salaries that ranged from $31,370 to $62,000 or more in May 2023, according to the DOL. Fifty percent of these workers earned between $37,180 and $51,970.

In many repair shops and dealerships, collision repairers can make more by working on commission, typically earning 40 to 50 percent of the labor costs charged to customers. Employers often guarantee a minimum level of pay in addition to commissions.

Trainees and apprentices are usually paid by the hour, earning between 30 and 60 percent of skilled workers' pay, until they gain enough experience to receive incentive-based payments.

Benefits packages vary from business to business. Most repair technicians can expect health insurance and a paid vacation from employers. Other benefits may include dental and eye care, life and disability insurance, and a pension plan. Employers usually cover a technician's work clothes and may pay a percentage of the cost of hand tools they purchase. An increasing number of employers pay all or most of an employee's certification training, dependent on the employee passing the test. A technician's salary can increase through yearly bonuses or profit sharing if the business does well.