Guide to repairs, earning money, strategies etc. (WIP)

Which parts can be repaired? Which garage upgrades to go for first? Which skills to unlock? Which cars are good for profits? This is very much a WIP, but should become quite comprehensive over time.

Tactics for repairs

Repairs are a key element to making money in CMS21. The more you improve the condition of a part, the bigger the profit, so the primary hunting ground for spare parts should be the junkyard. The parts found in barns are generally in better condition, so the potential for profit is smaller - on the other hand, it's less risky to try repairing a part in 52% condition than one on 15%.

Repairing takes quick reactions as you need to stop the cursor at the right moment in the mini game. If fast reactions are not your strongest side, you may want to create an extra profile in sandbox mode and use it for repair practice. Even if you do very poorly at first, do not give up: it can be learned and if you try not to take too big risks, you'll soon start to see good results.

The cursor moves from left to right and back again, and for parts in minimum repairable condition (15%) you'll only get two green slots (success) surrounded by a lot of reds (failure), but since the cursor moves back and forth, you can effectively increase the number of neighbouring green slots from 2 to 3 if you make sure to only attempt repairs when the green slots are on the extreme edges, either left or right. For many, it will also be easier to hit the mark in either the left or right side. You will soon find out if this is the case for you.

Once you initiate a repair, check the position of the green slots - if they are not in a good position, DO NOT START THE REPAIR, instead hit "Escape" and move the cursor on to the next part on the list. If you try again later, the slots will be in a new - and hopefully better - position.

Sometimes it's tempting to give it a shot even if conditions are not 100% favorable (like if the green slots are surrounded or neighboured by blank ones (these won't break the part, but you'll waste money by landing on them)) Whether or not you want to take this risk, is your decision - the faster your reactions, the more daring you can afford to be. Keep in mind, though, that some parts are very expensive - stuff like engine blocks, gear boxes, engine heads and body parts in special materials like gold or carbon fibre. Some of the gold parts for the DeLorean (mod) cost up to 20.000 credits - you do absolutely NOT want to reduce such a part to worthless junk by taking an unnecessary risk at the repair bench. Personally I've wrecked quite a few parts by taking stupid risks, thinking that I could "probably" hit the mark. It's also easy to get nervous when attempting repairs on really expensive parts - being nervous increases the risk of failure!

Each repair attempt costs you money, the amount depends upon the value of the part in question, from 1 credit up to several hundred, which is another reason not to take risks on the expensive parts - even if you land on a blank slot (and do no damage), you may still have wasted 500 credits on the attempt.

Which parts can be repaired?

Not all parts can be repaired. Knowing which items to buy from the junkyard and which to leave behind, is important. Below is a basic (and quite incomplete) list to help you decide.

CONDITION:
No part with a condition BELOW 15% can ever be repaired, with one exception: standard car batteries can be "repaired" in the charging station (if you have one) no matter how low their condition is. All other parts below 15% (marked red) are simply junk and can only be used in the scrapping container (if you have it), but ideally you'd only want to scrap really inexpensive parts like spark plugs, bushings, push rods etc. since these give you the same amount of scrap points as more expensive parts, so if you have a junk engine block or gearbox, you're better off selling it instead of scrapping it.
update: following the latest game patch, you no longer earn the same amount of scrap points from a 1% regular push rod as from a 99% 3-star engine block. The potential gain now depends upon both the condition of the part scrapped, and whether or not the part has been upgraded or not. From what I've heard, an almost mint 3-star engine block can now potentially yield around 50 points or thereabout, but only if you manage to stop the cursor at single the "big bonus" field. For most parts, you will still be looking at 1, 2 and 3 scrap points. Since you can find upgraded parts at the scrapyard, you may want to keep an eye open for these, even if they are below the 15% repairable limit - a 10% 3-star engine may be worth getting, if you are trying to save up scrap points.

BODY:
All metal body parts can be repaired (this also includes mirrors)
Windows can never be repaired
Lights on vanilla and dlc cars can NOT be repaired
Lights on mod cars CAN be repaired (at least on the cars I've tested so far, like the Ferrari 458, BMW M3, Land Rover, DeLorean and Holden)
Extras like police lights, taxi signs, pizza signs etc. CAN be repaired

EXHAUST:
The only exhaust parts that can be repaired are intake manifolds. So you can safely leave all mufflers and pipes behind when hunting for parts.

ENGINE:
Repairable: engine block, engine header, oil pan, engine header cover, starter, carburettor, camshaft cover, camshaft, rod cap, oil pump, timing cover, drive shaft
Non-repairable: spark plug, any filter, ignition wire, push rod, piston, piston ring, rocker arm, brackets and arms, idle roller, belt tensioner, serpentine belt, timing chain, fuses and circuits of any kind
Batteries can ALWAYS be recharged to 100 on the battery charger, no matter what initial condition they´re in.

SUSPENSION:
Repairable: crossmember, suspension arm, brake disc (on the brake lathe), rim, leaf spring, drive axle, brake caliber, u-bolt, u-bolt plate, axle hub, fuel pump
Non-repairable: bushing (both sizes), spring, spring cap, spring base, hub bearing, hub cap, tire, tie rod (inner and outer), brake pad, gas tank, shock absorber


NOTE. The QOL mod makes it possible to repair ALL parts without exception - this setting is off by default, and personally I do not want to use it, since I feel it would take away important aspects of gameplay. Another, much more useful (imo), feature is, that the mod wlll show a spanner next to all repairable parts in your inventory and when visiting barns and scrapyards. This means you won't have to keep remembering the long list of what can and what can't be repaired. It is also possible to auto-repair everything with a single click (default is F7), auto-balance wheels, auto-scrap, auto.upgrade, auto-lathe brakes.

Unlocks and workshop purchases

When you start the game, all you can do is take customer orders and replace any faulty parts on their cars. At this stage, you can't repair anything, so initial profits will be very low.

Try to do at least the first few story missions early on, as these will give you reasonable profits as well as xp. Also keep an eye on any job offering a bonus in either cash or xp.

You may consider unlocking the 5% parts discount early on, since at this tage, you'll be buying every single part for every job and the discount will also be useful later on.

You can get free xp from every job by examining the cars of the customers, both manually and by using the tools you can buy. Most of these testing tools are relatively cheap.

The early goal should be to reach the stage where you can start visiting the junkyard, but you need to be prepared for that by investing your xp points in skills that will allow you to improve the value of anything you buy at the junkyard...

In my opinion, the single most important item to buy for your workshop is the welder. Once you have it, you'll be able to make instant profits from almost any wreck you buy at the junkyard. Each use of the welder costs 500 credits, but it's almost guaranteed to vastly improve the value of any used car. The welder instantly repairs the main body shell of the car from any condition up to 100% - there's no risk of failure, it only takes 5 seconds and you don't need to unlock any skills to perform this miraculous instant restoration. The profit will depend upon the percentual improvement of the body shell condition as well as the overall mass of the body, so an open top car or a four-door sedan will generally be less profitable than a 2-door, a van or a pickup.

Another good investment is the car wash. Unfortunately the value of the cars tend to not improve with a wash, but you get an interior detailing station included with the car wash. There's such a station inside the garage as well, but unlike the one you get with the car wash, you pay a small fee for using it, and because interior detailing also improves the value of the cars, you'll be using it a lot - and, like the welder, it doesn't need any skill unlocks and takes only 5 seconds to complete.

Other machinery worth considering is the brake lathe (repairs any brake disc with a condition of 15% or higher to 100%) and also the battery charger (fully restores a standard battery from ANY condition to 100%)

Unlocking the ability to do body part repairs takes a LOT of XP, so you might as well start investing those points early on. The first few unlocks on this route allows you to do basic repairs, but the good profits only come at the end, with the penultimate stage unlocking the repair of rims, and the last one finally allows you to fix body parts. Rims, by the way, can be a very good source of income: while some only cost around 100 credits others can be extremely expensive, so if you manage to repair one of these luxury rims from 15% to 100%, you could be looking at a profit of several hundred credits from just that rim alone!

Cars (not) worth investing in

All vanilla cars of the brand Ribbsan (Nissan) tend to be vastly overpriced, no matter if you find them at the junkyard, in barns or at auctions. Unlike most other cars, you'll need to do a lot of work just to break even with a Ribbsan, so if you're trying to make money, don't bother with these.

The best early to mid-game moneymakers I've found so far tend to be the Ferrari 458 and Audi RS Avant (both mods) - you can find them everywhere and there are plenty of spare parts to find in the junkyards as well. Unlike the vanilla and dlc cars, the LIGHTS on mod cars like the Ferrari can be repaired. Because the car is so expensive, even a small repair can increase the value a lot! Or even simpler: just get a Ferrari in ANY condition, weld it and give it an interior detailing, then flip it for a huge profit.

In fact, most cars will earn you a profit simply by giving them a round with the welder and the interior detailing kit... with the Ribbsans as the big exception to this rule.

The McLaren F1 mod added in September 2021 offers an extremely expensive mid- to endgame challenge. Even as a total wreck with tons of parts missing, it will cost you nearly a million credits and the spare parts are equally expensive - you will find lots of these parts in the junkyard, so if you dream of one day building a pristine McLaren, you could start by hoarding spare parts for repair, once your financial situation allows. Beware, though, that botching the repair of a McLaren part will give you an even bigger loss than the Ferrari parts, so only try this if you're really confident of success. If you ever manage to build a McLaren, you will be able to flip it for millions, literally.

Note that there is now another McLaren mod available, McLaren P11. This one is also great for making money, but not NEARLY as dramatic as the F1 mod. Fortunately this also means, that the parts and unrestored cars are far easier to afford, so can be restored from an earlier stage of the game.

In my savegame I'd collected tons of McLaren parts from junkyards. Financial progress had been a bit slow, but steady. The big jump came after I'd fully restored an Audi RS Avant and sold it for a profit of hundreds of thousands. After selling a couple of other less expensive cars from my garage, I decided to try going for a McLaren from the salvage auction. Meanwhile I kept quick flipping 4- and 5-star Audi RS and Ferraris. With absolute minimum effort it was possible to earn between 50k and 90k per car as long as I was careful not to overpay at the auctions (the car value estimate perk is extremely important here, and the same goes for the purchase discount perks) - in a few hours I went from 150k cash to over a million, but still had not been able to afford even the worst McLaren wrecks. Finally it happened and I was able to win one in atrocious condition for just under 700.000. Took it back to the garage, washed it, cleaned the inerior, welded, removed all body parts and tried to fix them (most were beyond repair), got my McLaren spare parts out from the warehouse and used only those that belonged on the exact car configuration... 3-4 parts in total. Then sold the car with a profit of over 2 million.

Went back to the auction and bought another McLaren wreck and did exactly the same as with the previous one, this time I earned over 3 million, so two cars flipped with minimum of effort invested and a combined profit of over 5 million! So once you manage to get a McLaren, your financial worries will be over, but when just starting the game, earning over ½ mill to get the first McLaren wreck seems like an impossible dream - using other big earners like the Ferrari and Audi, though, is the way to get there,



Barns are interesting to visit, but the cars are often overpriced and if you're not careful, you risk taking big losses on barnfinds. The thing is, with these cars, that they're sort of inbetween conditionwise. A junkyard car can easily be improved a lot, simply with welding and interior detailing, then flipped for a good profit, while 5-star auction cars are often already in condition bonus territory, so each small repair you make will earn you an extra bonus. Barnfinds, however, are incomplete with many parts in really poor, unrepairable (red) condition, but because they are more complete than junkyard cars, and in slightly better overall condition, they cost a lot more and offer significantly worse value for money. In order to make a proper profit from a barnfind, you should be prepared to do a full restoration - for quick flips, junkyards and 5-star auctions are better choices. Always bear in mind, that you pay for every part on a car, including those that can't be fixed!

My latest barn visit brought 3 cars, all of them overpriced. One was a Katagiri, the other a Chieftain TBX and the third one a Ferrari 458 Italia. None of them were anywhere near yielding a profit from a quick flip - on the Chieftain I had to weld, interior detail, fix all body parts and repair the engine (having to buy many missing parts) in order to even get the value above what I paid at the barn (and that was with a 15% discount) - the Ferrari was even worse: I'd overpaid by a whopping 46.000 credits.

Other - more affordable - cars that tend to give good profits include the Mayen M8, the Bizzarini, the electric cars (DLC), the Holden (mod) and the BMW M3 (mod)

Different ways to make money

1. Get the welder, the car wash and save up 10.000 credits (just to be on the safe side), then visit the junkyard and buy a wreck or two, return to the garage, weld, wash and do interior detailing. Check if this is enough to earn a profit, if not, you can improve the condition a bit until you're in the green. Then flip it and return to the junkyard for another haul.

2. Unlock the repair skills as soon as possible, the go to the junkyard and buy all the repairable spare parts you can afford. Return to your garage and fix them and sell for a good profit.

3. You can also choose to keep the parts you repair, either all parts, or just concentrate on a single car model. With a good stack of 100% parts, you can then make a cheap car resto - engine blocks, gearboxes and engine heads tend to be the most expensive parts, so if you have all of these, you'll be in a good position to make a nice profit. Personally I tend to hoard the repaired parts and only sell if I really need a cash injection - I once made over 100k in one single sale. I visit the junkyard and buy absolutely everything that can be repaired, meticulously going through the piles from a to z. I usually also bring home most of the wrecks and sometimes keep one for myself, while the others get flipped.

4. Unlock the skill that allows you to predict the real value of any car. Then go to the auction house and visit the section for premium cars. Look for any cars that are 5-star condition, then bid on them after checking their real value. If you manage to buy a car for less than its value, you'll be 100% sure of a profit, but mostly you can afford to bid slightly over the value and still make a profit without even doing anything to the car - all you have to do is return home to the garage with the car and check if you have a profit in hand. If not, a go with the welder and interior detailing will do it. If you have body repairs unlocked, you might as well repair all body parts for an even bigger profit. The thing with the 5 star cars is, that they're in such good condition, that they are often in the "condition bonus"-territory right from the start, so ANY improvement you make, will count even more than on cars in less pristine condition. Buying 5-star cars sounds expensive, but it doesn't have to be - there are many smaller cars like the Salem Fiano etc. to be found in this condition, and they are not too expensive.

5. The battery charging station and the brake lathe are free to use (once you've bought them), and unlike the repair benches, there's no risk of failure. Batteries can be fully recharged, even if below the normal 15% condition limit, and the brake lathe works on all disc brakes with a condition of 15% or more. The only problem is, that you rarely find batteries or brake discs at the junk yard.

6. If you find the game slow going early on, there's a quick and easy way to get a good cash injection to get you going, although it's morally wrong. Just take a customer job - look for the most expensive car on the list, then once the customer has left you alone with the car, completely strip it of every part and sell everything! Now get the welder and find a car at the junkyard. Weld it and repair it as much as you can before reselling. You should easily be able to make a profit, as long as you don't spend ALL the cash from the customer car on buying the wreck at the junkyard - leave a bit for spare parts, just in case the welding and interior detailing turns out not to be enough for a profit. Now you can go back to the junkyard for another car and things should be rolling from here. The customer car? Well, you'll probably want to repair it and return it sometime in the future, but there's no hurry.

7. Make sure you subscribe to mods of cars that are real money makers, even if you don't personally care about them. Remember that lights on modded cars are repairable, unlike vanilla and dlc cars, so this alone means an extra potential for income. Some mods have extremely exclusive variants, like the DeLorean golden body version or the all-carbon-fibre one, not to mention the Back To The Future version, while the Ferrari 458 also have some very valuable parts. Repairing such a part can earn you a lot of cash or you can save the most expensive parts to allow you to later build one of these millionaire vehicles and really get a profit. Just remember to be VERY careful when repairing these parts!!!

Earning XP

Doing customer jobs is of course the standard way to earn xp, but this can be really slow and the real fun only starts once you're able to do repairs, so you can restore cars without having to buy evey single part from the store.

But you can also earn xp by examing cars, either by using tools you purchase or by simple visual inspection. Each and every part you examine gives you one xp.

The tools include a compression tester, an obd scanner, a tire tester, a compression tester and an electronics tester. These tools can only be used at your garage, not in barns, at auctions or the junkyard. Old cars don't have obd ports, so that tool is useless on them. This, and the compression tester only works on cars with complete engines, so not on cars from barns, junkyards or the salvage auction. If you have a car that is complete, the compression tester and the electronics tester are the ones I've found most useful, since they test a lot of parts each.

Unlike the tools, visual inspection can be done anywhere, including junkyards. The best parts to examine are the engines (up to +25 parts) and suspensions (10-15 parts each) These inspections are not very exciting to perform, but at least they work a lot faster than the alternative; installing and removing parts, and you WILL need these points to progress, so maybe it's worth it to bite the bullet and start inspecting everything you come across? Your decision, of course.

Should I install every mod and dlc I possibly can?

For the sake of diversity and variation, yes, but you may just want to consider one thing before installing everything:

The more different car models you have in your game, the more difficult it will get to find any specific spare part at the junkyard and in barns, this of course because there will be more different parts for the game to choose between for the junk piles.

So you may want to consider limiting your number of mods and dlcs early on, so that you can hoard a ton of parts for this limited number of cars and get off to a good start in restoring. Then, once you have built a nice stockpile, you can start adding more cars.

If you only install mods for very exclusive high-profit cars like the McLaren, Ferrari, Audi RS Avant and BMW M3 you will finds lots of parts for them, but you may find the game a bit boring this way - it's your decision if you want to go for optimal diversity or optimal profit.

[dave's games]

wow this is very helpful thanks

[LvlySpacerLady]

After Dino Testing a vehicle, how do you make changes to up the Horse Power and Newton meters?

[arturo_s89]

faltan piezas y no puedo jugar, se queda pillado

[arturo_s89]

no hay piezas no puedo jugar. si lo se no me gasto el dinero

[Tomzeras]

Musica não parar de tocar mesmo deixando sem volume, isso incômoda muito.

[astrofelix59]

Alas the Mclaren is no longer drivable, so it's only good as a cash cow. Changes to the physics a patch or two ago I expect.

[Ninja Cop]

It seems that the "good judgement" perk only shows you the price in barns and junkyards, not in the auction. Has there been a patch to change that since this guide came out?

[wicked lester]

I find the Bugatti EB110 a real good mod vehicle once you have about 100-200 grand. I bought one for about 65k, cost about 20k to renovate, and sold it for 900k. One got me to affording my first McLaren.

[Fred]

Great stuff, I especially liked the repairable items list was very useful, did notice fuel pump being in the not repairable section however they can be repaired. Anyway, thanks for the nice post.

[hartbreak1]

@teebodk thank you! that was really helpful, answered all my questions.