1 On average, a basic tune up can cost anywhere from $55 to $200 if you do it yourself. 2  For a professional mechanic, a tune up can range anywhere from $20 to $95 per hour, not including parts.3  Changing the oil, spark plugs, air filters and more can range anywhere from $150 to as much as $1,000 for older cars. Cars should come in for a tune up every 30,000 to 45,000 miles. 2  By getting a tune-up, this can help improve your gas mileage by more than 4%. 3  That can almost save you close to $0.15 per gallon.