AI answering service · Auto repair
An answering service
for auto repair shops,
24 hours a day.
An answering service built for shops, not a generic script. She knows the difference between a drop-off, an estimate, "is my car ready," and the fleet call that's worth ten of the others.
What she handles without pulling you out from under a hood.
Drop-offs
Takes the vehicle, the problem and the customer, and writes it into a real slot on your calendar instead of a callback list.
Status calls
Answers "is it ready yet" from your notes. That call is most of the volume and none of the revenue.
Estimates
Books the free estimate. She never quotes a repair price she wasn't given, and she says so plainly rather than guessing.
Fleet & commercial
Recognises it, captures the company and the vehicle count, and gets it in front of you while the caller still cares.
The calls you're losing are the ones after five.
A shop phone doesn't stop when the bay does. Somebody's alternator died in a parking lot at eight at night, and they are calling down the list until a human answers.
She picks up on the second ring, gets the vehicle and the problem down, and books the morning. You read the text with your coffee.
The honest comparison
Voicemail, a call center, or this.
Most shops are running one of the first two. Here's the difference, without pretending a call center is useless.
| Voicemail | Call center | OnCallAI Pro | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Somebody answers | No | Usually, after a hold | Second ring, every time |
| Knows your labour rate | — | No | Only what you told her |
| Books the drop-off | No | Takes a message | Into your real calendar |
| "Is my car ready?" | — | Can't answer it | Answers from your notes |
| Spots a fleet call | — | No | Flags it and texts you |
| Cost | Free, and it shows | Per minute, per call, or both | From $89 a month |
We've written the same comparison against Smith.ai Goodcall and RingCentral using their published prices.
The status call is the one that's costing you.
Ask any service writer what eats the day and it isn't new business. It's the fourth call from the same customer asking whether the Tahoe is done, and every one of those pulls somebody off a car.
She answers those from your notes. If a job is waiting on a part, she says so and tells them when you expect it. If she doesn't know, she says she doesn't know and gets you, rather than inventing a Thursday.
The other half is the call you never hear about at all. A water pump goes at eight on a Friday night and that customer works down the list until somebody picks up. That's not a lost call, it's a lost repair, and you have no record it happened.
What it costs
How much does an answering service for a shop cost?
From $89 a month. Most shops land on Standard at $300, which is 500 minutes, roughly 200 calls. One recovered brake job usually covers the month.
- Starter · 100 min, ~40 calls $89 /mo
- Small · 250 min, ~100 calls $175 /mo
- Standard · 500 min, ~200 calls $300 /mo
- Busy · 1,000 min, ~400 calls $500 /mo
- High Volume · 2,000 min, ~800 calls $850 /mo
A service writer runs three to four thousand a month and goes home at five. A traditional answering service bills per minute or per call, which means your busiest month is also your most expensive one.
- Answers 24/7, including nights, weekends and holidays
- English and Spanish on the same number
- Books drop-offs into your real calendar
- You keep your existing number
- Call summaries texted to you
- Warm transfer to you when it's needed
Asked by shop owners
Questions we get from shops.
How much does an answering service for an auto repair shop cost?
From $89 a month for about 40 calls, up to $850 for about 800. Most shops sit at $300 a month, which covers roughly 200 calls.
There's no contract and no per-call charge. If you outgrow a size you move up a rung rather than getting a surprise invoice.
Will it quote a repair price?
Only what you told it it can quote. Flat-rate items like a diagnostic fee, an oil change or a state inspection are fine if you give us the numbers.
Anything that depends on what's actually wrong becomes a free estimate and a call from you. No shop has ever been hurt by a receptionist that says "let me have him call you with a real number."
Can it tell a customer whether their car is ready?
Yes, from your notes. That call is most of your volume and none of your revenue, and it's the single biggest thing this takes off your service writer.
When a job is waiting on a part, it says so and gives the date you expect it rather than guessing at one.
What about fleet and commercial calls?
It recognises one, takes the company, the contact and the vehicle count, and texts you straight away instead of leaving it in a pile with the oil changes.
That's the call worth ten of the others, and it's usually the one that goes to voicemail because it comes in at four on a Friday.
Do I have to change my shop's phone number?
No. You keep the number on your trucks, your cards and your Google listing. We forward your existing line, so nothing about how customers reach you changes.
Does it answer in Spanish?
Yes, on the same number, with no menu and no transfer. It hears which language the caller opens in and answers in that one, and switches mid-call if the caller does.
For a lot of shops in South Texas that's half the phone.
Does it work with my shop management software?
It books into Google Calendar, Square Appointments, Calendly and Cal.com today. Most shops run the receptionist's calendar alongside whatever they write repair orders in.
If you're on Tekmetric, Shop-Ware, Mitchell or similar, tell us on the call. Some have an open door and some don't, and we'd rather tell you which yours is before you pay us than after.
How long before it's answering the shop phone?
About a week, and most of that is you testing it. We build in a couple of days, then you call it as a customer until you trust it. It goes live when you say so.
What she'll never quote.
Parts, labour, diagnostics, anything that depends on what's actually wrong. She's allowed to say what you told us she can say, and everything else becomes a free estimate and a call from you. No shop has ever been hurt by a receptionist who says "let me have him call you back with a real number."
The next call is already on its way.
Half an hour is enough to know whether she'd work for you.
Not ready for either? Leave us a note instead.