How to Price a Roadside Battery Install

Pricing a roadside battery install is simpler than pricing a tow. There are four pieces, and most operators settle them once and put them on a rate card.

The four pieces

1. The battery. Priced to the customer at a normal retail level, the same range they would see at a parts store. The convenience of a roadside install justifies the upper end of that range; it does not justify a surprise.
2. The install. A flat labor charge for testing, removing the old battery, cleaning the terminals and fitting the new one. Most installs take 15 to 30 minutes; a flat fee is easier to quote than time.
3. The service call. Your existing roadside or dispatch fee for showing up. This does not go away because the customer bought a battery.
4. The core. The old battery has value. Commercial pricing is usually quoted as exchange pricing, meaning you return the old core to the counter. Take the core every time, and decide whether you charge the customer a core fee if they want to keep it (almost nobody does).

What the margin looks like

The margin comes from the gap between the battery's commercial price and its retail price, plus the install fee. Operators buying through a partner account typically see 40 to 50 percent gross margin on a roadside battery installation, before the service-call fee, which was there anyway.

Worked example, one call. A customer with a five-year-old Honda calls with a no-start. The driver tests the battery, confirms it is done, and installs a Group 35 picked up on the way.

• Battery to the customer: retail price for a Group 35
• Install fee: your flat labor charge
• Service call: your standard call fee
• Core: returned to the counter against the exchange price

Compare that to the same call as a jump-start: the service call fee alone, and a customer who buys the battery from someone else tomorrow.

Setting the numbers for your market

• Check local retail. Price the battery in line with the parts stores in your area. Customers know roughly what a battery costs; being far above it costs you the sale, being far below it costs you the margin.
• Set one install fee. Flat, printed on the rate card, quoted on the phone. Charge more for hard installs (batteries under seats or in trunks with trim to remove) only if you tell the customer before you start.
• Keep the service call separate. Bundling it into the battery price makes the battery look expensive and hides the value of the visit.
• Quote the whole ticket. "Battery, install and the service call comes to X" closes better than three separate numbers.

Motor-club and account calls

If a motor club dispatched the call, its rules decide whether you can sell the battery and at what price; many clubs allow a member-pay battery sale at a set price. Fleet and account customers usually get a negotiated battery price with the install rolled in, billed monthly. Keep those rate cards separate from the cash rate card.

Where the battery price comes from

The retail-versus-commercial gap only exists if you buy at commercial pricing. The partner program gives operators partner pricing on Continental and Deka batteries, pickup at 1,300+ locations, and one monthly invoice with no minimums, which is what turns the install into a margin line instead of a favor.

Related: what group sizes to carry and how towing companies make money on battery replacements.