The short answer
Build the plan around the visit your customers already make, usually the oil change, and price it so the included services cost you less than the dues. Offer monthly for an easy yes and annual for cash up front. Make joining and cancelling simple, and check your state's auto-renewal rules before the first card is charged.
What independent shops charge and include
Four programs from independent shops, as each shop lists it on its own site (October 20, 2026):
| Shop | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Green Drop Garage, Portland, OR | $21/mo for a car, up to $33 for heavy duty, $9 for an EV | Unlimited oil changes, rotations, air filters, wipers and bulbs, flat repairs, and inspections, plus $40 off a set of tires |
| Perfect Timing Auto Repair, Proctor, MN | $29.99 to $49.99/mo for 1 to 3 vehicles | Half-price oil changes, free rotations, brake inspections, a diagnostic, and 15 to 20% off repairs |
| Girls Auto Clinic, Upper Darby, PA | $65/mo or $780/yr for a small vehicle, plus a $35 sign-up fee | Oil changes, rotations, alignments, wipers, filters, inspections, and the state safety and emissions inspection, up to 18,000 miles a year |
| OOROO Auto, Tucson and Phoenix, AZ | $242/yr, or $539/yr for European luxury cars | Three oil changes, wipers and filters, inspections, rotations, 10% off repairs, and one tow within 10 miles |
Across these, the pattern is clear: an oil change benefit, tire rotations, inspections, and a percentage off repairs. Towing and roadside help are rare, and the plans that offer it put limits on it.
How to set up yours
- Start with your most common visit. Price the plan off what those services cost you, not what you charge for them.
- Offer two ways to pay. Monthly lowers the barrier to joining; annual puts cash in the bank before the work comes in.
- Add perks that cost little and bring cars back: a free rotation, a discount on repairs, member-only offers at slow times of year.
- Put limits in writing: how many oil changes, how many miles, which vehicles, and what happens if a member leaves early.
- Make the membership visible. Members should be able to see their plan and their perks without calling, and your counter should know who is a member the moment they walk in.
- Make cancelling as easy as joining. It keeps you on the right side of the rules below.
Rules to check before you charge a card
A membership that renews on its own is an automatic-renewal contract, and states regulate those. This is not legal advice; have your attorney check your terms. A few to know:
- Illinois requires clear terms before purchase, consent before charging, written notice ahead of renewal on contracts of 12 months or more, and online cancellation for anyone who signed up online.
- California requires express consent before charging, a yearly reminder of the terms, advance notice of price changes, and cancellation through the same channel used to sign up.
- The FTC's "click-to-cancel" rule was struck down by a federal appeals court in July 2025, and the FTC started the process over in March 2026. The federal online subscription law (ROSCA) is still enforced: disclose the terms, get consent, and make cancelling simple.
- Plans that go beyond scheduled maintenance, such as repair coverage or towing, can fall under service-contract rules in some states. Texas, for example, exempts plans that cover only scheduled maintenance.
What we built for Colonial Auto Repair
Colonial runs its program from its customer portal. Customers pick an annual plan paid once or a monthly plan billed to their card, and join online. Members carry a card in the portal with their plan and member ID, claim member-only offers there, and monthly members can cancel from the portal, effective at the end of the period they paid for. The counter sees every member by plan. Here is how the program works.
Sources
- Green Drop Garage memberships
- Perfect Timing Auto Repair membership
- Girls Auto Clinic memberships
- OOROO Auto Happy Car Club
- Illinois Automatic Contract Renewal Act, as amended (Public Act 103-0919)
- Fenwick: California tightens automatic-renewal requirements
- Morgan Lewis: FTC click-to-cancel rule vacated
- Gibson Dunn: FTC restarts negative option rulemaking
- Texas Occupations Code 1304.004