Mechanic Job
Diagnose cars with the laptop, patch or replace worn parts, use the lift, build parts and level up your skill.
Every car in the city has seven parts that wear down as it is driven or crashed: engine, brakes, clutch / gearbox, tyres, suspension, radiator and battery, plus its bodywork. Mechanics read the car with a diagnostic laptop, then patch or replace the worn parts.
Mechanic shops are player-owned businesses, so you work for one of them. The shops in the city:
Ranks go Apprentice → Mechanic → Senior mechanic → Foreman → Owner. Your skill (level 1-10) belongs to your character and goes with you if you change shops.
Before you begin
- A job at a mechanic shop - see Employees & Hiring for how to apply.
- Be on duty (clock in at your shop). Off duty you have no mechanic options at all.
- A
Toolbox - every repair needs it.
- A
Diagnostic Laptop (Diagnostic Laptop) to read a car.
- The materials for patches or the part items you want to fit. These live in your shop's stock room - ask your boss what you may take.
Diagnosing a car
- Stand next to the car and use your third eye (hold Left Alt) → Diagnose (laptop). You can also use the laptop from your inventory next to the car.
- The laptop shows the car, plate, the seven parts with a bar each, their tier, the odometer, body % and the car's service log.
- Parts are marked from healthy to FAIR to a red FAIL.
- Press Open repair menu, or close with Esc.
Repairing
- Third eye on the car → Repair. Every part shows its %, its tier and how many fitting parts you carry.
- Click a part and pick an option:
- Fit [tier] part - swaps in a part item from your pockets. The car's part becomes that part's condition and tier.
- Quick patch → 60% - uses raw materials instead of a part. Brings the part up to about 60%; the tier doesn't change.
- Do the work: hood jobs (engine, radiator, battery) at the front, wheel jobs (tyres, brakes) at the nearest wheel, underbody jobs (clutch, suspension) on the lift, bodywork along the side.
- Each job is a few steps: a progress bar, then a skill bar. Pass them all and the part is done, with XP and a line in the car's service log.
When you fit a part, the old one comes out as a used part in your pockets with its condition. Used parts can be fitted on another car or sold. A completely dead part only gives Metal Scrap.
| Part | Patch materials |
|---|---|
| Engine | |
| Brakes | Steel, metal scrap |
| Clutch / gearbox | Steel, |
| Tyres | |
| Suspension | Steel, rubber |
| Radiator | Aluminium, |
| Battery | Copper, |
| Bodywork | Metal scrap, plastic, |
Using the car lift
- Drive the car into the middle of a lift bay and get out. Nobody may sit in it.
- Press E at the floating [E] Raise lift text. The car rises and stays up.
- Stand under it and do the repair (third eye → Repair).
- Press E at [E] Lower lift when you're done.
Building parts at the workbench
Parts are built from the shop's stock room and the finished part goes back into it.
- Make sure the materials are in the stock room, not your pockets.
- On duty, press E at the floating [E] Use workbench text.
- Pick a part. Four cards show Stock, Street, Sport, Race with level, time and every material as have / need.
- Set an amount (up to 5) and press Build. Progress bar, then a skill check.
- Pass: the part goes to the stock room. Fail: you get a rushed part at 70% instead of 100%.
| Tier | Level to build | Lasts | Extra materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stock | 1 | Normal | Base materials |
| Street | 3 | Longer | More base + aluminium + |
| Sport | 6 | A bit longer | More + |
| Race | 9 | Half as long | Lots more + electronics kits + |
A better tier also makes the car faster inside its class, but never past the class top speed. Under Other the bench builds Automotive Paint,
Body Panel,
Nitrous,
Turbo Kit and
Engine Swap Kit - see Tuning & Upgrades.
Work orders
Customers pay before you work:
- Third eye on the car → Work order → + New work order. The customer must be with you.
- Tick the jobs (for example Tyres - quick patch and Bodywork). Prices come from your shop's price list.
- Press Send to <customer>. They get an invoice on their phone.
- When they pay you get "Work order #N ... is PAID".
- Do the jobs through Repair as normal - each one ticks off its line. Customs lines are done with Do it now.
- After the last line the order completes and the customer gets an e-mail.
Can't do a line? Pick it and Refund this line.
Costs & rewards
- You earn mechanic XP for every repair, patch and part you build, plus breakdowns and dyno runs.
- What you're paid is up to your shop (salary or commission) - see Employees & Hiring.
- The further your level is above a part's level, the easier the skill bars and the faster you work.
| Part | Level to work on it |
|---|---|
| Tyres, battery, bodywork | 1 |
| Brakes, radiator | 2 |
| Suspension | 3 |
| Clutch / gearbox | 4 |
| Engine | 5 |
Fitting a better tier also needs a level: Street 2, Sport 4, Race 7 (or the part's own level if higher).
Common problems
- No mechanic options on the car - you are off duty. Clock in at your shop.
- A part shows a lock "needs level N" - your mechanic level is too low for that part or tier. Level up on tyres, batteries and bodywork first.
- "You slipped" - you failed a skill bar. The part loses 5% but nothing is used up; try again.
- Quick patch is greyed out - the part is already above 60%. Fit a new part instead.
- Can't do clutch or suspension - the car must be up on the lift.
- Workbench says materials are missing - they must be in the shop's stock room, not your pockets.
Thanks! Staff will look at it.