vehicle restoration technician
Vehicle restoration technicians overhaul old and classic vehicles as cars.
vehicle restoration technician vehicle restoration technicians overhaul old and classic vehicles as cars. The role shows moderate AI exposure (0.50 on a 0-1 scale) — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. The most in-demand skills for the role include car controls, types of vehicles, types of vehicle engines, guarantee customer satisfaction, restore upholstery of classic cars.
Pay in the UK
UK: median £37,458 a year for Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians (ONS ASHE 2025, full-time)
Middle half of full-time jobs: £30,000 to £44,594 a year
UK jobs are grouped differently; this is the closest UK occupation group (ONS SOC 2020 5231). ONS rates this estimate precise. 2025 provisional figures; ONS revises them a year later. Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (Open Government Licence)
Pay in India (occupation group)
Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Craft and related trades workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only vehicle restoration technician, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.
Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 7. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report
Top skills
Knowledge you'll build
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Production and Processing
- Mathematics
- English Language
- Transportation
- Engineering and Technology
- Public Safety and Security
What you'd actually do
- File, grind, sand, and smooth filled or repaired surfaces, using power tools and hand tools.
- Inspect repaired vehicles for proper functioning, completion of work, dimensional accuracy, and overall appearance of paint job, and test-drive vehicles to ensure proper alignment and handling.
- Fit and weld replacement parts into place, using wrenches and welding equipment, and grind down welds to smooth them, using power grinders and other tools.
- Prime and paint repaired surfaces, using paint sprayguns and motorized sanders.
- Follow supervisors' instructions as to which parts to restore or replace and how much time the job should take.
- Sand body areas to be painted and cover bumpers, windows, and trim with masking tape or paper to protect them from the paint.
Tools & technology you'd use
Frequently asked questions
What does vehicle restoration technician do?
Vehicle restoration technicians overhaul old and classic vehicles as cars.
What skills does vehicle restoration technician need?
The most in-demand skills for this role include car controls, types of vehicles, types of vehicle engines, guarantee customer satisfaction, restore upholstery of classic cars, perform full leather conversions. These are the skills O*NET identifies as most important for competent performance.
Will AI replace vehicle restoration technician?
Our AI-durability model gives vehicle restoration technician a score of 0.50 on a 0-1 scale (higher = more exposure). That places it at moderate AI exposure — some tasks are being automated but the role adapts. Learning to work with AI tools rather than against them is the path forward.