“Locked” means the shop cannot charge more than the figure you approved without asking you first, in the app, and getting a yes. It does not mean a number pulled from a price list: every total on Otopair is built in the app for the car you added and the shop you picked.
What is inside the total
- Parts, chosen for your exact year, make, model and engine.
- Labor, based on the time the job takes on your exact car.
- Sales tax.
- Otopair’s service fee, which is inside the figure you see rather than added on top at checkout.
The shop confirms the final price without seeing the figure you approved, so there is nothing for it to anchor to.
What happens after the inspection
The shop inspects the car and confirms the final price in the app. Within what you approved, it is confirmed without another tap and the $20 hold is raised to it. Above what you approved, you get an approval request with the breakdown and 24 hours to answer. A pre-job estimate left unanswered is treated as declined and the $20 deposit is kept; see approving or declining extra work.
Otopair does not publish price lists, ranges or averages, and Oto will not quote a number in chat either. The real total appears when you pick a shop, before you pay.