Car Mechanic Simulator 2021, which players also call CMS 2021 or CMS21, is a realistic single-player simulation about running a car repair shop. You start as the owner of a new garage and take on customer orders. Orders cover systems like the engine, timing, suspension, brakes, exhaust, gearbox, fluids, and body parts. Each job starts with a close look: you inspect the car, diagnose the faults on the order, and flag the parts you'll need on your shopping list so you know what to buy before you start the repair.
Once you have the list, you buy what's missing or repair what's needed, and any parts that block access come out first so you can reach the faulty components. Next you replace or service those components, refill any drained fluids, and put the car back together to finish the order. Finishing an order pays Credits and experience, and each experience level earns skill points for the Skills system. You spend Credits and skill points on better diagnostic and repair tools or more garage space, and that lets you widen the range of services you offer.
Along the way you can find or buy cars at barns, the junkyard, car auctions, and the car salon, and restore project cars to keep or sell. The game has more than 4,000 unique parts, and DLC packs and car variants keep adding to the car roster. In Career, customer orders are randomly generated and endless, handcrafted Story Orders add set challenges, and Sandbox mode lets you work on vehicles with no restrictions. Put together, all of that is how you build a garage into a service empire.
- Developer
- Red Dot Games
- Publisher
- PlayWay S.A.
- Release
- PlayStation 4: 2021-08-12 · PlayStation 5: 2022-05-02 · Windows (Steam): 2021-08-11 · Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S: 2021-08-12
- Platforms
- Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S
Game data
Engines
Engines in Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 cover inline, V, flat-six, rotary and electric layouts, and they come from the base game and released DLC. Each one is built on the Engine Stand from parts bought at the Electronic Shop and Tuning Shop, then fitted with the Engine Crane. Whether an engine can go into a given car depends on the Swap Options list shown in that car's status.
Collectibles
Cars
Cars in Car Mechanic Simulator 2021 are the vehicles you repair, restore, tune, and test, and you can buy them or keep them. Each version of a model is its own car, and every car has a stock engine from the factory along with a list of engines it can take through swaps. The base game and DLC packs add cars from made-up brands based on real models, licensed makers, and themed groups like Police and Taxi, and you can find them in barns, junkyards, Car Auctions, and the Car Salon.
CMS 2021 gameplay tips
- Accept regular repair orders before their timer runs out. The timer only applies until you accept the job. After that there is no time limit to finish it, so you can take the time the job needs.
- Run Examination Mode and your diagnostic tools before you flag any parts. Examination Mode can reveal visible damage on suspension, exhaust, and engine parts, and diagnostic tools help find faults that a simple inspection can't show. Checking first makes sure your parts list covers the whole problem.
- Check barns and the junkyard when a job calls for a part you don't have. Both can supply parts as well as cars, so they're another place to look besides buying.
- Keep leveling up to unlock more repair-order slots. Slots can be unlocked as level-up rewards, up to 8 in total, which lets you take on more repair orders at the same time.
- Match the test area to what you want to check. The Test Path is for checking vehicle systems such as suspension, the Test Track is for checking car condition, and the Race Track is for checking performance with time trials. Each one answers a different question, so you know whether a problem is in the systems, the condition, or the performance.
- Confirm the engine configuration before you start an engine swap. Swaps only work with the compatible setups listed for each car, and the engine crane and engine stand are the tools for engine work.