RepairPal, the two-year-old free online estimate site for auto repairs, recently inked a deal with AoL. Autos to offer estimates on its auto listing site.

RepairPal offers a directory of 173,000 auto dealerships and auto repair shops, categorized by type of repair and zip code. The forecasting model for costs of repairs is based on research with thousands of repair service firm, and the expertise of its own auto technician consultants.

“We really want to become the trusted source in automotive repair information for consumers,” RepairPal CEO and co-founder David Sturtz recently told Automotive News. With this deal it surely has a good start  - adding 7 million Aol. Autos visitors to its current 750,000 monthly users.

“Our goal is to be as ubiquitous as Kelley Blue Book and Carfax,” said Sturtz.  You see their widgets all over the place. They are the trusted sources for the types of information that they provide.”

Along with repair estimates, Aol.Autos.com/auto-repair offers Hot Tips on caring for your vehicle. We viewed articles on the type of oil you should put in your car, the truth behind the Runaway Toyotas acceleration issue, and the improved reliability of Ford trucks. The search for local repair shops is easy. We chose, as an example, a need to fix our 2002 Kia Rio in Phoenix. We checked Water Pump Replacement and clicked on Get Estimates. We learned the cost would be $367-$474, and read some tips on what parts might have to be replaced to get the job done right. We then clicked on the AoL. Yellow Pages icon for auto repair shops to find the list of dealers in the specified zip code. There we found contact information, ratings, reviews, videos of each, and a Mapquest mapping system.

RepairPal has also partnered with Gabriels Technology Solutions to provide content for its automotive platform, and AIM Group covered that as well.