AI Receptionist for Auto Repair Shops
An AI receptionist that answers while you're under a car, books the diagnostic and takes down the year, make, model and symptoms.
An AI receptionist for auto repair shops.
An independent repair shop runs on the phone, and the phone rings when everyone is busy. The service writer is checking in a customer at the counter, the techs are under cars, and a driver with a check-engine light is listening to it ring. They call the next shop on the map. Other calls are simpler but still pile up: whether a car is ready, whether you work on diesels, whether there is room on Thursday, what the warranty on last month's brakes covers.
An AI receptionist answers those calls in your shop's name. It never diagnoses a car and never quotes a repair. It does the part that keeps the job: it takes the year, make, model, mileage and what the car is doing, offers real openings for a diagnostic from your calendar, books one and texts the driver a confirmation. Status checks, warranty questions and fleet calls go to the right person with the details already written down, and you get a summary of every call.
A driver with a problem car calls the shop that answers. They have a warning light, a noise that is getting worse or a car that will not start, and they want to know when someone can look at it. If your line rings out, the next shop is one search away. Drivers in that spot rarely leave a voicemail and wait. They book with whoever picks up and gives them a time.
The first visit is rarely the whole story. A diagnostic often leads to a repair, and a driver who is treated well comes back for oil changes, tires and brakes for as long as they own the car, and sometimes brings the next car too. A missed call on a Tuesday afternoon can mean losing a customer for years, not just one repair order.
Calls from customers you already have matter as well. A driver checking on their car, or a fleet manager trying to book a van, who cannot get through calls again and again while your service writer is busy at the counter. Answering, taking the details and passing them on keeps those relationships calm and the counter clear.
The calls it handles.
In a repair shop, urgent means a driver who is stranded, a car that is overheating or smoking, or brakes that do not feel safe. The agent sends those to the person or number you choose, gives your towing contact if you have one, and tells anyone in danger to call 911.
- Check-engine light came on
The driver wants to know what is wrong and what it will cost. The agent does not guess, asks whether the light is steady or flashing and how the car is driving, and books a diagnostic.
- Brakes grinding or a soft pedal
Grinding, squealing or a pedal that sinks further than it should. The agent takes the symptoms and books the soonest inspection, and if the driver says the car will not stop properly it follows your rule for safety calls.
- Car will not start
A driver with a no-start in a driveway or a parking lot. The agent asks where the car is and what happens when they turn the key, then books a tow-in slot or gives the towing number you approved.
- Overheating or smoke on the road
A driver has pulled over with steam coming from under the hood. The agent gives the towing or roadside number you chose and sends you an urgent alert with the location and vehicle.
- Booking a diagnostic or service
A noise, a vibration, a fluid leak or a car that is due for service. The agent collects year, make, model, mileage and symptoms, offers real openings and books the one the driver picks.
- Is my car ready
The car is already in your bay. The agent cannot see your repair orders, so it takes the name and vehicle and passes the request to the service writer by text, or transfers if that is your rule.
- Warranty on an earlier repair
A customer says the part you replaced last month is making the same noise. The agent takes the details calmly, promises nothing, books a recheck if that is your policy and flags the call in your summary.
- Fleet and commercial vehicles
A fleet manager needs two vans in for service this week. The agent takes the company, unit numbers and what each vehicle needs, books what your calendar shows open and sends the rest to you.
On every call
- Picks up when the counter is busyForwarding sends the call to the agent when it rings out during the day, and straight away in the evening and on days you are closed.
- Answers in your shop's name and asks what is going onA new problem, a car already in the shop, a warranty question or a fleet booking. Each gets its own short set of questions.
- Collects the vehicle and the symptomsYear, make, model and mileage, then what the car is doing, when it started and which warning lights are on. It writes this down for the tech and never offers a diagnosis.
- Checks for anything urgentSmoke, overheating, brakes that will not stop the car, or a driver stranded somewhere. Those go to a person, an urgent alert or your towing number, as you decided.
- Books the diagnosticIt offers real openings from your calendar or shop software, books the one the driver picks and asks whether they will wait or drop the car off.
- Texts the confirmationDate, time, the shop address, your drop-off hours and what to bring, plus your diagnostic fee if you are happy to state it.
- Sends the service writer a summaryVehicle, symptoms, booking and the transcript, by text, email or Slack, so the car can be checked in without asking the same questions twice.
What missed calls cost.
The estimate uses cautious numbers for a small repair shop. Change any of them to match yours.
Tools it connects to
It can connect to tools like Shopmonkey, Tekmetric, Shop-Ware and Mitchell 1.
Connecting means diagnostic bookings land in the same schedule your service writer already works from, with the vehicle and symptoms in the notes where the system allows it. Each shop system connects a little differently, so setup confirms exactly how bookings land in yours.
Counts only calls from drivers who want work done, leaves out parts vendors and status checks on cars already in the bays, and stays below what a busy shop with several lifts takes.
The service writer is often on another line or at the counter and techs do not answer from under a car, so assuming 15% go unanswered, evenings and Saturdays included, is a modest figure.
Many callers are price shopping or want a phone quote the shop will not give, so assuming only 30% book a diagnostic or service is cautious.
Covers a diagnostic fee and a small first repair only, below what many first visits come to once a car is in the bay, and ignores the years of maintenance a new customer brings.
Estimated revenue in missed calls for a auto repair shop
$1,220 a month
About 16 unanswered calls a month, of which about 4.9 would have become a repair order.
An estimate under the assumptions shown, not a measurement. Change any number to match your business; your phone records hold the real ones.
Pages by city.
Each city page adds that city's public data: population, the county's auto repair shops count, and the places nearby. W3BOps works remotely, so you do not need to be on this list to work with us.
California
- Los Angeles
- San Diego
- San Jose
- San Francisco
- Fresno
- Sacramento
- Long Beach
- Oakland
- Bakersfield
- Anaheim
- Stockton
- Riverside
- Irvine
- Santa Ana
- Chula Vista
- Santa Clarita
- Fremont
- San Bernardino
- Fontana
- Modesto
- Moreno Valley
- Oxnard
- Huntington Beach
- Glendale
- Ontario
- Elk Grove
- Santa Rosa
- Rancho Cucamonga
- Oceanside
- Garden Grove
- Lancaster
- Roseville
- Palmdale
- Corona
- Salinas
- Hayward
- Sunnyvale
- Pomona
- Visalia
- Escondido
- Victorville
- Fullerton
- Torrance
- Orange
- Pasadena
- Santa Clara
- Clovis
- Simi Valley
- Vallejo
- Concord
- Fairfield
- Thousand Oaks
- Berkeley
- Antioch
- Menifee
- Temecula
- Richmond
- Murrieta
- Carlsbad
- Santa Maria
- Ventura
- Costa Mesa
- Downey
- Jurupa Valley
- Rialto
- West Covina
- Chico
- El Monte
- Vacaville
- San Mateo
- Burbank
- Hesperia
- Tracy
- El Cajon
- Inglewood
- Daly City
- Merced
- Vista
- Norwalk
- Chino
- Manteca
- San Marcos
- Indio
- Redding
- Hemet
- Folsom
- Carson
- Compton
- Mission Viejo
- Santa Monica
- South Gate
- Westminster
- Rancho Cordova
- Santa Barbara
Florida
- Jacksonville
- Miami
- Tampa
- Orlando
- Port St. Lucie
- St. Petersburg
- Cape Coral
- Hialeah
- Tallahassee
- Fort Lauderdale
- Pembroke Pines
- Hollywood
- Gainesville
- Palm Bay
- Miramar
- Coral Springs
- West Palm Beach
- Lakeland
- Pompano Beach
- Clearwater
- Miami Gardens
- Davie
- Palm Coast
- Boca Raton
- Fort Myers
- Deltona
- Plantation
- Sunrise
- North Port
- Deerfield Beach
- Daytona Beach
- Melbourne
Texas
- Houston
- San Antonio
- Dallas
- Fort Worth
- Austin
- El Paso
- Arlington
- Corpus Christi
- Plano
- Lubbock
- Laredo
- Irving
- Garland
- Frisco
- McKinney
- Grand Prairie
- Amarillo
- Brownsville
- Denton
- Killeen
- Mesquite
- McAllen
- Pasadena
- Waco
- Midland
- Round Rock
- Lewisville
- Carrollton
- Abilene
- Pearland
- College Station
- Odessa
- New Braunfels
- League City
- Conroe
- Richardson
- Tyler
- Allen
- Beaumont
- Edinburg
- Sugar Land
- Georgetown
- Wichita Falls
- San Angelo
- Temple
- Bryan
- Leander
- Mission
- Baytown
Questions, answered
Will it tell a driver what is wrong with their car?
No. It never diagnoses and never guesses. It asks what the car is doing, when it started and which warning lights are on, writes that down for your tech and books a diagnostic. If a caller pushes for an answer, it explains that the shop needs to see the car and offers the next opening.
Can it quote repair prices?
It does not quote repairs. It can state prices you are happy to give out, such as your diagnostic fee, an oil change or a tire rotation, if you put them on your answers page. Anything that depends on inspecting the car gets a plain answer that the shop prices it after the diagnostic.
What does it do when someone calls to check on their car?
It cannot see your repair orders, so it does not guess at progress. It takes the customer's name, the vehicle and the best number, then passes the request to your service writer by text or transfers the call, whichever you choose. The customer hears that someone from the shop will call back.
How does it handle warranty and comeback calls?
Calmly, and without promising anything. It takes the details of the earlier repair and what the car is doing now, books a recheck if that is your policy, and flags the call in your summary so you can handle the warranty conversation yourself. It does not argue or decide what is covered.
Can it book fleet vehicles?
Yes, within your rules. It takes the company name, the contact, unit or plate numbers and what each vehicle needs, then books the openings your calendar shows. Larger requests, like a run of vans over several days, come to you as a request so you can plan the bays yourself.
What counts as urgent, and who decides?
You do. A typical setup treats a stranded driver, an overheating car, smoke or brakes that feel unsafe as urgent. Those calls can transfer to a person, send you an urgent alert or get your towing contact, and anyone in immediate danger is told to call 911. Everything else is booked or passed on in the summary.
Will drivers know they are talking to an AI?
It says it is an AI assistant if asked, and it does not pretend to be your service writer. A driver calling about a problem car mostly wants a time booked and to know someone has the details. The confirmation text and the summary to your team take care of both.
Talk it through in 15 minutes.
Tell us about your repair shop. We reply within 48 hours (Mon–Fri).
- Reply
- Within 48 hours, Mon–Fri
- Where
- Remote, from Miami
- Or email
- hello@w3bops.com