GTA Online Auto Shop Guide: Best Location, Setup and Payouts

A GTA Online Auto Shop costs between $1,670,000 and $1,920,000 depending on which of the five locations you pick, and every single one runs the exact same Los Santos Tuners missions for the exact same money. Buy the cheapest shop, Mission Row, and you lose nothing over the most expensive one. Here is how to unlock the business, which shop to buy, whether the LS Car Meet membership is worth $50,000, and what each income stream actually pays in 2026.

The essentials:

• Auto Shop price: $1,670,000 (Mission Row) to $1,920,000 (La Mesa) - the interior, missions and payouts are identical everywhere
• Unlock: visit the LS Car Meet in Cypress Flats once, no membership required, and Auto Shops appear on the Maze Bank Foreclosures website
• LS Car Meet membership: a one-time $50,000 paid to Mimi, optional for owning a shop but worth it for Reputation rewards, weekly Prize Rides and mod discounts
• Income streams: Robbery Contracts pay $150,000 to $375,000, Exotic Exports customer jobs pay $20,000 to $30,000 each
• Realistic hourly rate: $350,000 to $500,000 solo, up to $900,000 during a 2X Money week

What Does the Auto Shop Actually Do?

The Auto Shop is the central property of the Los Santos Tuners update. Owning one gives you a 10-car garage, a full mod shop where you and NPC mechanics Sessanta and KDJ upgrade cars, and three separate ways to make money: Robbery Contracts, the daily Exotic Exports list, and one-off customer car jobs. It sits alongside the Nightclub, the Bunker and the MC businesses as one of the higher-return properties added since 2018, and it is the only one built specifically around car culture rather than drugs or weapons.

How to Unlock the GTA Online Auto Shop

1. Drive to the LS Car Meet in Cypress Flats, or set your GPS to it from the pause menu map.
2. Walk in and watch the introduction cutscene, where you meet Sessanta and KDJ.
3. Open the Maze Bank Foreclosures website on your in-game phone. Five Auto Shops now show up as purchasable properties.
4. Buy one. You do not need the LS Car Meet membership to purchase or run an Auto Shop, only to have visited the Car Meet once.
5. Visit your new Auto Shop, watch the cutscene, then walk upstairs to the whiteboard and start the first mission. Finishing it unlocks the full run of Contract Missions.

GTA Online Auto Shop Prices and Locations

Location	Price	Why you might pick it
Mission Row	$1,670,000	Cheapest option, central, next to the police station
Strawberry	$1,705,000	Central, close to the freeway on-ramp
Rancho	$1,750,000	Shortest drive to the LS Car Meet itself
Burton	$1,830,000	Most central address in the city, fast access to most jobs
La Mesa	$1,920,000	Instant highway access, most expensive

Which Auto Shop Should You Buy?

Since the interior, the Contract Missions and every payout are identical no matter which shop you own, the choice is purely about commute time and budget, not income. Mission Row is the pragmatic pick for anyone building up cash from the best GTA Online businesses, since the extra $250,000 that La Mesa costs buys nothing extra. Players who already run a Bunker or Nightclub nearby should pick whichever shop shortens the loop between properties, since Auto Shop Contracts often send you across the whole map.

Is the LS Car Meet Membership Worth $50,000?

Yes, for almost everyone. The one-time $50,000 fee from Mimi unlocks the Reputation system, the members-only Test Track, weekly Test Rides, exclusive Car Meet races, an in-house Mod Shop, and a free Prize Ride vehicle every single week. Several weekly Prize Rides are worth well over $50,000 on their own, so the membership typically pays for itself the first week. Owning both the membership and an Auto Shop also earns roughly a 5% discount on every vehicle modification, which adds up fast once you start building tuner cars.

How Much Money Does the Auto Shop Make?

Auto Shop income comes from three places, and they scale very differently:

• Robbery Contracts. There are eight in total. Seven pay between $170,000 and $185,000 to a solo host, while the Union Depository Contract pays $300,000 solo and up to $375,000 split across four players, making it the best one to prioritize. Sessanta and KDJ take a 10% cut of every payout, but you also get a one-time $75,000 bonus the first time you complete each contract as leader, and crew members who help someone else's contract earn $50,000 for the assist.
• Exotic Exports. Once you finish your first Contract Mission, a daily customer list unlocks on the Auto Shop whiteboard. Each delivery pays roughly $20,000 to $30,000 depending on the car, and the list refreshes daily, similar in spirit to the vehicle deliveries in Import/Export.
• Customer car jobs. Smaller repair and modification jobs that walk-in customers occasionally bring to your shop, paying less than a full Contract but requiring almost no setup time.

Put together, an experienced solo player rotating the higher-paying Contracts can realistically clear $350,000 to $500,000 an hour, and $700,000 to $900,000 an hour during a 2X Money week, numbers that compare well against a Cayo Perico run once you factor in setup time.

LS Car Meet Reputation, Explained

Reputation is a separate 1,000-level progression track tied to the LS Car Meet membership. You gain Rep by racing, completing Test Rides, buying modifications, and simply spending time inside the Car Meet building, which alone earns 10 Rep every 4 minutes, doubled to 20 Rep if you are wearing anything bought from the Car Meet merch shop. Every level pays out cash on top of unlocking clothing, wheels, liveries and vehicle trade prices: $5,000 per level up to level 100, $10,000 per level from 100 to 200, $20,000 per level from 200 to 250, and a flat $50,000 for every level after that, with reaching level 1,000 handing you a full $1,000,000 bonus.

Auto Shop vs Other GTA Online Businesses

The Auto Shop sits in the middle of the pack for setup cost but near the top for how quickly it starts paying back. A Nightclub or Bunker takes longer to turn a profit because product has to accumulate before you sell it, while Auto Shop Contracts pay out the moment you finish the mission, with no stock to manage and no risk of another player raiding your supply. That makes it a strong first purchase for players who have just cleared their first few heists and are deciding where to put their money next. The tradeoff is that Contracts require active play; unlike a Bunker's passive production, an Auto Shop earns nothing while you are offline.

Tips to Get the Most Out of Your Auto Shop

• Always buy the LS Car Meet membership before your Auto Shop's first Contract Mission, since the visit is free and the membership immediately starts earning weekly Prize Rides.
• Prioritize the Union Depository Contract whenever it is available, especially during a 2X Money week.
• Stack the Auto Shop with an existing business loop. Vehicle-focused players who already run Chop Shop or a Bunker can chain deliveries between properties without much downtime.
• Let the Exotic Exports list build up before clearing it in one trip if your Auto Shop garage has room, since each delivery is a short drive but the loading screens add up.
• Don't ignore passive Reputation. Parking in the Car Meet for a few minutes while trading on the stock market or waiting for a heist lobby to fill still ticks up your level for free.