Red Dot Games released Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 through PlayWay on 11 August 2021 with 72 cars and more than 4,000 individual parts. You start with one lifter, a free repair bench and no money, and every piece of workshop equipment after that has a price: 2,000 credits for the Engine Crane, 5,000 for the Welder, 10,000 for the Test Path, 15,000 for the Paintshop and 20,000 for the Dyno. Base game cars carry fictional badges for licensing reasons, so the Bolt Reptilia is a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette, the Salem Spectre is a 2013 Ford Mustang and the Sakura Supa is a 1993 Toyota Supra. Only the licensed DLC packs, such as the Nissan and Electric Car sets, use real names.
This guide covers everything you need: core mechanics, the best builds, equipment worth investing in, location progression, and the tips that actually make a difference.
Core Mechanics
Fictional badges on real cars
Every base game car is modelled on a real vehicle but wears an invented badge because Red Dot Games did not license those brands. Bolt stands in for Chevrolet, Salem for Ford, Ribbsan for Nissan, Sakura for Toyota, FMW for BMW and DC for AC. The DC Typhoon is a 1964 AC Cobra, the FMW Panther MK1 is a 1990 BMW 3 Series and the Ribbsan Z530 is a 2003 Nissan 350Z. The paid DLC packs are the exception: the Nissan pack ships an actual Nissan Fairlady and GT-R R35, and the Electric Car pack ships a Tesla Roadster and Model 3.
Examine mode and part condition
Every one of the 4,000-plus parts carries a condition percentage, and examine mode is how you read it without pulling the part off the car. Ordering a job blind and replacing everything is the fastest way to lose money, because a part sitting at 80 percent condition costs a customer nothing and sells for something later. Learning to examine before you unbolt is the difference between a profitable garage and one that runs out of credits by level 10.
Garage levels and equipment costs
Two currencies run in parallel: experience points that raise your level and unlock content, and credits that buy physical equipment. The Junkyard opens at level 5. Equipment prices are fixed, running from 500 credits for the Tablet and 550 for the Battery Charger up through 1,500 for the parts Repair Table, 1,750 for the Brake Lathe and Car Wash, 2,000 for the Engine Crane, 2,500 for the body Repair Table and a second Lifter, 5,000 for the Welder, 10,000 for the Garage Expansion and Test Path, 15,000 for the Paintshop and 20,000 for the Dyno.
Test Path and Dyno diagnostics
The Test Path at 10,000 credits is the only reliable way to find suspension faults and to align wheels and headlights, because those problems do not show as a condition percentage on a part. The Dyno at 20,000 credits measures horsepower and torque and is what makes tuning orders available at all. Both are late purchases that pay for themselves by opening job types you cannot otherwise accept.
Barn maps and junkyard salvage
The Junkyard unlocks at level 5 and holds the cheapest cars and parts in the game, though most of what you pull out of it is close to worthless without repair. Barns are different: you need a map to reach one, and maps arrive randomly in the lootboxes handed out for finishing story orders. Inside a barn you search piles of junk that reveal sets of used parts you can then choose from. The Salvaging station at 2,500 credits extracts scrap from parts too broken to repair.
For a deeper dive into how these systems interact, see our Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 combat guide.
Builds Overview
| Build | Tier | Playstyle | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine rebuild specialist | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Body and paint specialist | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Suspension and alignment specialist | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Barn find restorer | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
| Auction flipper | A | Versatile approach | Balanced stats |
For full build breakdowns with gear and stat priorities, see our Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 builds guide. For rankings, check the tier list.
Equipment Guide
| Equipment | Why It Matters | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Crane | Costs 2,000 credits and lifts the whole engine block out of the bay so it can be stripped and rebuilt on the stand. | Full engine rebuilds, barn find restorations, any job touching the block |
| Welder | Costs 5,000 credits to install and 500 credits per use, and takes a damaged or rusted body shell back to 100 percent condition. | Rusted shells, barn finds, crash damage on auction cars |
| Paintshop | The 15,000 credit spray booth, and the second most expensive thing in the garage. | Finishing restorations, raising resale value before an auction listing |
| Test Path | Costs 10,000 credits and is the only tool that finds suspension faults, since those do not display as a part condition percentage. | Suspension diagnosis, wheel alignment, headlight alignment |
| Dyno | The 20,000 credit dynamometer. | Performance tuning jobs, verifying gains after fitting upgraded parts |
Engine Crane: Costs 2,000 credits and lifts the whole engine block out of the bay so it can be stripped and rebuilt on the stand. Without it, engine work means fighting the bay geometry for every bolt, and full rebuilds are effectively off the table.
Welder: Costs 5,000 credits to install and 500 credits per use, and takes a damaged or rusted body shell back to 100 percent condition. Barn cars and rough auction buys both need it, and no amount of part replacement substitutes for it.
Paintshop: The 15,000 credit spray booth, and the second most expensive thing in the garage. It repaints individual panels or the whole car and is the last step in a restoration, because paint applied before bodywork just gets damaged again.
Test Path: Costs 10,000 credits and is the only tool that finds suspension faults, since those do not display as a part condition percentage. It also aligns wheels and headlights, which are both common fail points on customer orders.
Dyno: The 20,000 credit dynamometer. It reads horsepower and torque and is the requirement for tuning orders to appear at all. Buy it once the rest of the garage is complete, not before, because it does nothing for ordinary repair work.
Full breakdowns in our Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 weapons guide.
Location Progression
| Location | Level Range | Key Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Garage | From the first order onward | Equipment slots, second Lifter at 2,500, Garage Expansion at 10,000 |
| Junkyard | Level 5 onward | Cheap donor cars, low cost parts, salvage material |
| Barn | Mid game, once story orders start dropping maps | Project cars, used part sets, rare finds |
| Car Auction | Once you can hold several thousand credits in reserve | Most of the 72 base game cars, flip opportunities |
| Car Salon | Late game, once credits stop being the constraint | Perfect condition cars, exclusive models |
Garage: The open plan workshop where everything happens. It starts with one free Lifter, a free Tire Changer, Wheel Balancer, Spring Puller, Oil Drain and Interior Detailing Toolkit, plus a PC and radio for browsing orders. The 10,000 credit Garage Expansion adds the floor space for the rest of the equipment.
Junkyard: Unlocks at level 5 and is the cheapest source of both cars and parts. Most vehicles here are scrapped shells whose parts are close to unusable, so bring the Repair Table and Salvaging station into the plan before you start hauling things back.
Barn: Reached only with a map, and maps drop randomly from the lootboxes awarded for finishing story orders. Inside, you search piles of junk that reveal sets of used parts to pick from, and the cars themselves are among the better project vehicles in the game.
Car Auction: Where most of the 72 cars can eventually be bought. Prices scale with condition, so the same model can be a bargain or a waste depending on what it needs. It requires real working capital, which makes it a mid to late game activity.
Car Salon: The showroom, selling cars in perfect condition for a set price including models you will not find rotting in a junkyard or a barn. It is the expensive option and the right one when you want a specific car for tuning rather than a restoration project.
See our maps & locations guide for detailed area breakdowns and our walkthrough for the optimal progression path.
Tips That Actually Matter
- Examine before you unbolt. Every part shows a condition percentage in examine mode, and replacing parts sitting at 80 percent burns credits the customer will not reimburse.
- Push story orders early rather than random ones. They pay better, they raise your level faster toward the Junkyard at level 5, and they are the only source of the lootboxes that contain barn maps.
- Buy the Engine Crane at 2,000 credits before anything cosmetic. Engine work without it is slow and full rebuilds are effectively impossible.
- Do not buy the Dyno at 20,000 credits until tuning orders are actually in your queue. It reads horsepower and torque and unlocks tuning jobs, but it does nothing at all for ordinary repair work.
- Remember the badges are fictional. The Bolt Reptilia is a 1970 Chevrolet Corvette, the Salem Spectre is a 2013 Ford Mustang, the Ribbsan Z530 is a 2003 Nissan 350Z and the DC Typhoon is a 1964 AC Cobra, so searching for real names in the base game finds nothing.
- The Welder costs 500 credits every time you use it on top of the 5,000 to install. Budget for that on any rusted barn car, because a full shell is several uses rather than one.
- Paint last. The Paintshop is the final step of a restoration, because welding and panel work after painting undoes the finish you just paid for.
- Use the Test Path for anything that feels wrong but reads fine. Suspension faults and wheel or headlight misalignment never show up as a condition percentage, so the 10,000 credit path is the only diagnosis available.
- Keep the 750 credit Warehouse tidy. With more than 4,000 parts in the game, a disorganised stock means jobs stall while you hunt for one component you already own.
- Salvage instead of discarding. The 2,500 credit Salvaging station pulls scrap from parts too far gone to repair, which turns junkyard waste into usable material.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Replacing every part on a customer car. Condition percentages exist so you can repair what is serviceable, and blanket replacement loses money on every single order.
- Buying equipment in the wrong order. The 15,000 credit Paintshop and 20,000 credit Dyno look impressive but do nothing for the early job queue, while the 2,000 credit Engine Crane and 1,500 credit Repair Table are used constantly.
- Hunting for real car brands in the base game. Only DLC packs such as the Nissan and Electric Car sets carry licensed names, and the 72 base cars all wear invented badges over real bodywork.
- Ignoring the Junkyard once it opens at level 5. Parts there are cheap enough that repairing them beats buying new, provided you have the Repair Table to make them serviceable.
- Painting or detailing before the bodywork is finished. Welding the shell back to 100 percent after a respray means paying for the paint twice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do the cars have names I do not recognise?
Licensing. The 72 base game cars are modelled on real vehicles but wear invented badges, so Bolt stands for Chevrolet, Salem for Ford, Ribbsan for Nissan, Sakura for Toyota, FMW for BMW and DC for AC. The Bolt Reptilia is a 1970 Corvette, the Salem Spectre is a 2013 Mustang and the Sakura Supa is a 1993 Supra. The licensed DLC packs are the exception and use real names, including a Nissan Fairlady, a GT-R R35, a Tesla Roadster and a Model 3.
What should I buy first with my credits?
The 2,000 credit Engine Crane and the 1,500 credit parts Repair Table, in that order. Both are used on almost every job. The 500 credit Tablet and 750 credit Warehouse are cheap quality-of-life additions worth grabbing early. Hold off on the 15,000 credit Paintshop and 20,000 credit Dyno until the job queue actually demands them.
How do I unlock the Junkyard and the barns?
The Junkyard opens at level 5, so completing story orders for experience is the fastest route to it. Barns work differently: each one needs a map, and maps drop randomly from the lootboxes awarded for finishing story orders. There is no way to buy a barn map, so story progress is the only supply.
Is the Dyno worth 20,000 credits?
Only once you want tuning work. The Dyno measures horsepower and torque and is what makes tuning orders available in the first place, so without it that whole job category stays closed. For a garage running ordinary repair orders it is dead weight, which is why most players buy it last after the Test Path, Welder and Paintshop.
How do I find a fault that does not show on any part?
Use the 10,000 credit Test Path. Suspension problems and wheel or headlight misalignment do not display as a condition percentage on any component, so examine mode will never surface them. Driving the car on the Test Path is the only diagnosis the game offers, and it doubles as the alignment tool once you have found the problem.
More Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Guides
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Best Builds
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Tier List
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Walkthrough
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Beginner's Guide
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Tips & Tricks
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Weapons Guide
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Combat Guide
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Boss Guide
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Maps & Locations
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Crafting Guide
- Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 Classes & Characters
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