Games like My Summer Car: 9 games where you build and fix a car

My Summer Car is two games in one. One half is a car build, part by part. The other half is a hard life sim with hunger, sleep, money, and permadeath. Below, we rate each game on both halves, so you can find the half that you want more of.

Why My Summer Car is hard to replace

My Summer Car comes from Amistech Games, a small independent team. It entered Early Access on Steam in 2016 and left Early Access in January 2025. You assemble a car and its engine from hundreds of loose parts. At the same time, you must eat, drink, and sleep. You take random paid jobs for money and order upgrade parts by mail. The car must pass an inspection, or the police cause problems. Death is permanent.

Few games put a detailed car build and a survival life sim in the same game. Most games on this list are strong on one side. The table shows which side.

Route 48 (our game)

Full disclosure: we made Route 48, so we put it first.

Developer: HOLY STUDIOS. Released: Early Access since 2026. Players: Single-player.

Car side: Route 48 is a survival game first, not a garage sim. You scavenge for fuel and parts, repair damaged parts, and keep your car in good condition. One screenshot shows the player who fits a steering wheel to a car in an abandoned garage.

Life side: You search abandoned buildings for food, medical supplies, and fuel. You fight zombies and armed hostile survivors in first person. Route 48 is in Early Access now.

My Winter Car

Developer: Amistech Games. Released: Early Access since 2025. Players: Single-player.

Car side: This is the sequel to My Summer Car, from the same team. You buy, assemble, repair, and tune an old project car. You can make it a daily driver, a rally or circuit race car, or a restored historical vehicle.

Life side: The setting is a cold, dark Finnish winter in 1999. You manage body temperature, money, and jobs, and permadeath is still in the game. The police react when you drive recklessly.

The developer says that the game is for players who already know My Summer Car. So if you finished the first game, this is the natural next step.

Mon Bazou

Developer: Santa Goat. Released: 2025, after Early Access from 2021. Players: Single-player.

Car side: You start with a worn-out vehicle and install the parts yourself. Over time, you make it a race car. A scrapyard gives you parts.

Life side: The game is set in a fictional town in Quebec. You earn money with side jobs, for example firewood, maple syrup, and pizza delivery. Many characters give you quests, and you can bet on street races.

Mon Bazou is the closest match to the full My Summer Car formula. It has more people and quests around you, so the world feels less lonely.

Wrench

Developer: Missing Digit. Released: Early Access since 2018. Players: Single-player or online co-op (beta branch).

Car side: Wrench is a mechanic simulator for motorsport. You take apart and repair a very detailed car, down to each fastener. There is no automatic inventory, so you must track every part yourself. The game has three chassis: one hatchback and two licensed kit cars.

Life side: None. You work in a race-car shop, and the job is the whole game.

Choose Wrench if the best moment in My Summer Car was the first time the engine started. It also has an optional VR mode.

Car Mechanic Simulator 2021

Developer: Red Dot Games. Released: 2021. Players: Single-player.

Car side: You repair, test, paint, tune, and rebuild cars for customers. You can also build a project car from a rusty shell. Cars come from auctions, barn finds, and junkyards.

Life side: None in the survival sense. You grow a garage business through random orders and story missions.

This game is calmer than My Summer Car. There is no hunger and no permadeath. It suits players who want the repair work without the stress. Our list of games like Car Mechanic Simulator has more garage games.

Car For Sale Simulator 2023

Developer: Red Axe Games. Released: 2024, after Early Access from 2023. Players: Single-player or multiplayer.

Car side: You buy used cars and motorcycles. Then you repair, maintain, repaint, and customize them before you sell them.

Life side: Business and people. Sellers do not always tell the truth about a car, so you can pay for an inspection report. You also manage the bank, taxes, and your dealership.

This one suits players who want to turn repair work into profit.

Jalopy

Developer: Minskworks. Released: 2018. Players: Single-player.

Car side: You keep an old Laika 601 Deluxe alive on the road. You repair the tires, the engine, and the carburettor, and you add upgrades.

Life side: A road trip through countries of the former Eastern Bloc, in a procedurally generated world. You earn money when you scavenge or when you smuggle goods past border patrols.

Jalopy takes car care out of the garage and onto a long trip. See games like Jalopy for more road trips of this type.

Pacific Drive

Developer: Ironwood Studios. Released: 2024. Players: Single-player.

Car side: You repair and customize an old station wagon in a garage. You also craft new equipment at a fabrication station.

Life side: Survival in a dangerous zone with anomalies, radiation, and storms. You leave the car to collect resources on foot.

The car work here is less detailed than My Summer Car, but the stakes are higher. A damaged car in the zone is a real danger.

The Long Drive

Developer: Genesz. Released: Early Access since 2019. Players: Single-player.

Car side: Light car maintenance on a long trip.

Life side: Light survival in a random desert that is almost endless.

The Long Drive is the most relaxed game here. Play it when you want a car and an open road, without a deadline.

How we picked these games

We split My Summer Car into car work and life sim. Every game here has a strong car side, a strong life or survival side, or both. We checked each fact on the store pages and other public sources. We left out games that you cannot play on PC now.

Which one should you play first?

• If you finished My Summer Car, play My Winter Car.
• If you want the same mix with more people around you, play Mon Bazou.
• If you want the most detailed mechanic work, play Wrench.
• If you want calm repairs without hunger or permadeath, play Car Mechanic Simulator 2021.
• If you want a car that keeps you alive in a hostile world, try Route 48 or Pacific Drive.

New to car parts? Our guide to car parts for gamers explains what each part does. For a wider list, see the best car repair games on PC.