AI for car businesses and body shops
A customer sending a photo of a dent, someone calling at half past six to ask whether the car can still come in tomorrow, an enquiry about a used car sitting in the inbox: in a car business the work comes from every direction at once. AI takes over the preparation, so the workshop keeps going and the customer gets an answer sooner.
What does AI cost for a car business?
Why so much ends up at the front desk
The mechanics are in the workshop, reception answers the phone, looks at damage photos on WhatsApp, books appointments and writes quotes in between. Every question is small, but together they add up to hours a day nobody planned for. Outside opening hours the phone does not ring and the customer calls the next garage.
Three places where AI helps right away
Assessing damage photos in the chat
The customer sends a photo through your website or WhatsApp. The assistant sees which part it is, how serious the damage looks and asks for a second photo when needed. The first assessment and the appointment are ready before anyone has opened the photo.
The phone outside opening hours
An assistant answers, books an MOT or service into the free slots, handles the everyday questions (opening hours, pick-up and delivery, courtesy car) and records the rest neatly for the morning. The caller is always told they are speaking to an assistant.
Quotes and enquiries from the inbox
Enquiries about a used car, a set of tyres or a repair are read and prepared as a draft in your own template, with the right customer details and prices. You check and send.
Situations from daily practice
What an assistant takes over differs per business. Four situations that come up in almost every car business:
Body shop: from photo to appointment
Dent in the door, scratch on the bumper, chip in the windscreen. The customer sends a photo, the assistant assesses whether it is panel work, paint work or glass repair and prepares an appointment or a draft quote. Doubtful cases go to the damage assessor.
Workshop: booking MOTs and services
The assistant knows your schedule and books an MOT, service or tyre change into a free slot, evenings included. The customer gets an immediate confirmation, you see a filled diary in the morning.
Used cars: questions about stock
Is that car still available, what is the mileage, can I test drive it on Saturday? The assistant answers from your current stock and puts the test drive in the diary.
Parts and tyres: the right size first time
A photo of the type plate or tyre size is enough to complete the enquiry. No three emails back and forth about which exact version it is.
Try it with a photo
Send a photo of damage or a part in the chat on this site. You will see straight away what the assistant picks up and which next step it suggests.
For example
A Tuesday evening at a body shop
Picture this: at a quarter past eight in the evening a customer sends two photos of a rear bumper with a deep scratch through the website, asking whether it can be repaired. The assistant recognises the damage as paint work without panel work, asks for a photo from a bit further away to gauge the extent, and offers an appointment for Thursday morning. The customer confirms. On Wednesday morning the planner sees the appointment with the photos and the first assessment attached, and finishes the quote in five minutes. Without an assistant that customer would have emailed another business at a quarter past eight.
What does AI cost for a car business?
Fixed price up front, after a free introductory call
Every solution gets a fixed price up front. It depends on what the assistant needs to do (assess photos, schedule, quote) and which systems it has to talk to: your planning package, your stock, WhatsApp. After a free introductory call it is in writing: what will and will not be built, what it costs and when it is ready.
- A first version with one clearly scoped process, for example damage photos or the phone
- Integration with what you already use, no new system on top
- Maintenance and updates optional from €195 per month, cancellable monthly
Want to know first where it pays off most in your business? The Work Scan (€495 excluding VAT) maps that out in a concrete report. If you then have us build it, that amount is credited in full.
More about the Work ScanWhat a Work Scan report looks like
A fictional example report for a car business, so you know what you get.
Frequently asked questions
How well does AI assess a damage photo?
Well enough for a first assessment: which part, what kind of damage, and whether a second photo is needed. The final assessment and the price stay with your damage assessor. The assistant makes sure only complete cases land on their desk.
Does this work with my planning package?
Usually, yes. Many workshop and planning packages have an integration; if not, the assistant works with a shared calendar or your mailbox. The integrations page lists what is possible per type of system.
Can the assistant handle WhatsApp?
Yes. In the automotive trade customers mainly send photos through WhatsApp, so that is often the first channel we connect, next to the chat on your website.
What happens to customers' photos?
Photos are used to answer the question and only kept afterwards if you want that, for example with the appointment. The quote states what is and is not stored.
Will the customer notice they are talking to an assistant?
Yes, always. On the phone the assistant says so immediately, in the chat it is stated. Customers are fine with that as long as they are helped quickly and well.
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Curious what this means for your business?
Tell us in a short introductory call how customer questions, damage photos and appointments reach you today. You will hear straight away where AI pays off most.
Request an introductory call