All About Auto Shops in GTA Online

Unlocking Auto Shops

Auto Shops will not automatically be available to you. First you need to visit the LS Car Meet and watch a short cutscene. After you have met Sessanta and KDJ, Auto Shops appear on the Maze Bank Foreclosures website. You do not need the GTA$ 50,000 LS Car Meet membership to buy or run an Auto Shop: one visit is enough.

Auto Shop Locations

Every Auto Shop is identical on the inside, with the same missions, upgrades, and payouts, so the decision comes down to location and price.

All five are in central or south Los Santos, so no pick is bad. The best Auto Shop location for most players is whichever sits closest to your other businesses. If you have no preference, Burton is the most central with good main-road connections, Rancho is the closest to the LS Car Meet, La Mesa has instant highway access, and Mission Row is the cheapest and perfectly serviceable. You can compare all five on our Auto Shops hub or see them on the interactive map.

Here are all the Auto Shop locations and their prices:

• Mission Row - GTA$ 1,670,000

• Strawberry - GTA$ 1,705,000

• Rancho - GTA$ 1,750,000

• Burton - GTA$ 1,830,000

• La Mesa - GTA$ 1,920,000

Auto Shop Upgrades

Like most properties, Auto Shops offer plenty of customization, but almost none of it changes your earning potential. Our short verdict: skip the cosmetics, consider the Car Lift, and only buy staff for convenience.

Style

Purely aesthetic. If you have spare cash, make the place look good:

• Flawless - GTA$ 265,000

• Polished - GTA$ 275,000

• Concrete Chic - GTA$ 285,000

• Nostalgia Trip - GTA$ 325,000

• Route 68 - GTA$ 340,000

• Super Chibi - GTA$ 360,000

• Wildstyle - GTA$ 425,000

• Race and Chase - GTA$ 450,000

Tint

Also aesthetic. The tint is the accent color used on things like railings, and changing it costs GTA$ 187,500. There are 9 colors: Yellow (default), White, Black, Green, Orange, Red, Fuschia, Blue, and Purple.

Emblem

The emblem appears on the front of your shop and in a few places inside. Again, aesthetics only:

• Hot Rod - GTA$ 25,000

• Americana - GTA$ 62,000

• Euro - GTA$ 68,500

• Modern - GTA$ 75,500

• JPN - GTA$ 85,000

• Wildstyle - GTA$ 94,500

• Joystick - GTA$ 104,500

Staff

Staff actually affect gameplay. When a customer car comes in, a staff member can handle the customization and the delivery for you. The catch: staff drive carelessly, and any damage on the way is deducted from the payment, so deliver the car yourself when you want the full payout. Buy staff for convenience, not profit.

• Staff Member 1 - GTA$ 385,000

• Staff Member 2 - GTA$ 385,000

Extras

The Personal Quarters (GTA$ 340,000) let you spawn at the Auto Shop and store weapons or outfits there. The Car Lift (GTA$ 650,000) is the one upgrade with a real income effect: it adds a second customer car slot, so two customer vehicles can be in the shop at once and new ones show up more often. It still takes a while to pay for itself, but if you plan to keep the shop long-term it is the upgrade to buy.

• Personal Quarters - GTA$ 340,000

• Car Lift - GTA$ 650,000

Membership

The GTA$ 50,000 LS Car Meet membership is optional and has no effect on Auto Shop income. It unlocks Car Meet perks (trade prices, reputation, test rides), and the purchase menu here is just a convenient place to grab it if you have not already.

Auto Shop Setup Mission

After purchasing your Auto Shop you will have to complete an initial mission before gaining access to the Contract Missions. Visit your shop for the first time and watch the cutscene, then start the mission from the white board upstairs. Like other business missions, you need to be registered as a VIP, CEO, or MC President.

Sessanta asks you to recover her impounded car from the police station. The car is guarded by several officers: take them out, grab the car before reinforcements arrive, then lose your wanted level and drive back to the Auto Shop. The mission is quietly timed, and Sessanta warns you when only five minutes remain.

Auto Shop Contract Missions

Once you complete the setup mission, Robbery Contracts are added to the white board in your Auto Shop. Each contract is a mini-heist: two free-roam setup steps and a finale, all of it playable solo or with up to three friends.

The board offers 3 contracts at a time, and a completed contract goes on a roughly one-hour cooldown, so rotating between different contracts is the fastest way to grind them. Sessanta and KDJ take a 10% cut of each payout, and you earn a one-time GTA$ 75,000 bonus the first time you complete each contract as leader. Crew members helping someone else's contract earn GTA$ 50,000 (a little more on the Union Depository job).

Here is every Robbery Contract and what it pays:

The best Auto Shop contract is the Union Depository Contract by a wide margin: nearly double any other payout, and comfortably soloable in 20 to 30 minutes once you know the route.

The Exotic Exports List

Once you complete your first contract mission you unlock the Exotic Exports list, found on the blackboard in your Auto Shop.

Similar to Simeon Export Requests, you steal cars from the list and deliver them to Sessanta's partner at the docks. Each delivered vehicle pays GTA$ 20,000, and completing all 10 on the list earns a GTA$ 100,000 bonus on top, for a total of GTA$ 300,000. The list resets every real-time day, making this one of the best daily routines in the game.

The 10 target vehicles spawn across roughly 100 possible locations, so it is a matter of working through them methodically. Our guide on How to Find All 10 Exotic Exports covers every spawn.

Legit Auto Shop Customer Business

Your Auto Shop also works as a legitimate business, customizing customer vehicles. Roughly once per in-game day Sessanta texts you that a new customer car is in, and the mod fees you pay are refunded on delivery.

Head to your shop, customize the vehicle per the checklist, then deliver it. You can also ignore the requests and mod it your way; sometimes the customer loves it anyway and pays a bonus.

Both the customization and delivery can be delegated to staff, but any damage they cause on the drive is deducted from the payment, so deliver yourself when you can. Expect around GTA$ 20,000 to GTA$ 30,000 per job depending on the vehicle, which beats VIP Missions with similar payouts if you drive well. Deliveries are also a good excuse to cruise Los Santos with an eye out for Exotic Exports.

Auto Shop FAQ

Is the Auto Shop worth it in GTA Online?

Yes, if you like active grinding. There is no passive income, but contracts, Exotic Exports, and customer cars together return the purchase price in well under a dozen hours of play, and you get a 10-car garage and mod shop on top. Buy it during a Tuners bonus week or a weekly discount and it pays for itself even faster.

What is the best Auto Shop location?

They are all identical inside, so buy for convenience. Burton is the most central, Rancho is closest to the LS Car Meet, and Mission Row is the cheapest at GTA$ 1,670,000.

Which Auto Shop contract pays the most?

The Union Depository Contract: GTA$ 300,000 solo, up to GTA$ 375,000 with a full crew, before the 10% cut. Every other contract pays GTA$ 170,000 to GTA$ 185,000.

Can you do Auto Shop contracts solo?

Yes. All eight contracts are fully soloable, and most take 10 to 30 minutes once practiced. The only downside of soloing the Union Depository Contract is leaving a little gold behind that a second player could carry.

Do you need the LS Car Meet membership for the Auto Shop?

No. You only need to visit the LS Car Meet once to unlock the purchase. The GTA$ 50,000 membership is a separate perk for trade prices and Car Meet features.

Should I buy the Auto Shop or the Agency first?

The Agency first: the Dr. Dre VIP Contract pays GTA$ 900,000 and the Agency adds passive safe income the Auto Shop lacks. The Auto Shop is a great second buy, and the two complement each other well.