Quick answer
A workshop assistant on WhatsApp quotes routine service prices by model, tyre sizes and stock, job durations and the slots you keep in its notes, then logs each booking to a Google Sheet with the plate number and the reason for the visit. Noises, warning lights, breakdowns and warranty disputes always reach a mechanic, never a guessed cause.
- It quotes only from your service and tyre lists, and says so when an item is missing.
- Every booking becomes a sheet row with plate number, model and reason for the visit.
- Diagnosis is off limits: symptoms and warning lights go straight to a mechanic.
- Pairs to the number on your signboard by QR; new conversations only by default.
At a glance
It answers
- Service prices and packages
- Tyre sizes and stock
- Slots and waiting time
- Location and pickup options
It hands to you
- Breakdowns and towing
- Diagnosis of noises and warning lights
- Warranty claims
10 min
to set up
New chats
only, by default
Any
language
Car workshops
answered by Replai, after hours
- How much is the 20,000 km service on a Corolla? Can I come tomorrow?21:14
- Corolla 20,000 km service is $120 with semi-synthetic oil, $150 fully synthetic. Tomorrow we have 9am and 2pm, about 1.5 hours. Shall I book it?21:14
- 9am. There's a noise when I brake21:16
- 9am requested; the service advisor confirms the bay from the diary shortly. I'll note the brake noise for the mechanic to check first. Plate number please, and is it safe to drive in or do you need a tow?21:16
Illustrative exchange. Your bot answers from your own prices, hours and rules.
The workshop WhatsApp is the one phone nobody can answer. The mechanic is under a car, the front desk is quoting a walk-in, and the number on the signboard keeps buzzing: "how much is a service?", "do you have 185/55 R15 tyres?", "can I come this afternoon?". By the time someone wipes their hands and replies, half of those customers have booked with the workshop down the road.
Why the workshop's WhatsApp never stops
The window is short. The MIT lead response study found that calling a web lead within five minutes rather than thirty makes contact 100 times more likely, and qualification 21 times more likely (InsideSales.com/MIT Lead Response Management Study, 2007). A driver asking for a service price is comparing two or three workshops in the same ten minutes, and the fastest accurate quote usually wins the job.
Cars break at inconvenient times, and the questions come in the language the customer speaks, often as a voice note recorded in a car park. Most of them are the same twenty questions: price for a routine service by model, whether a tyre size is in stock, how long the job takes, whether you do pickup, whether you take card. None of them need a mechanic, but every one of them needs an answer within minutes or the customer moves on.
What can a WhatsApp bot handle for a car workshop?
Paste your service menu, tyre list and rules into the knowledge base once. The assistant answers from that, on the number you already use, in whatever language the customer writes in, voice notes included.
| Customer asks | Answered from |
|---|---|
| Service price for their model | Your package list by model or engine size |
| Tyre size in stock and price | Your tyre list, updated when you edit it |
| How long the job takes | Your estimates per job |
| Slots today or tomorrow | The times you keep in its notes |
| Pickup, towing, courtesy car | Your rules and charges |
| Payment methods | What you accept |
When a customer gives a plate number, model and a preferred time, the assistant confirms the booking back to them and logs it to your Google Sheet with the reason for the visit. Your front desk works through the sheet each morning instead of scrolling the chat history.
What should stay with the mechanic?
A workshop bot must know what it does not know. Replai is told, in plain words, that it never diagnoses. A noise, a warning light, a car that will not start: it takes the symptom down, asks whether the car is safe to drive, and passes the thread to a person. Warranty disputes and insurance claims go the same way. The customer gets a fast, honest "a mechanic will call you", not a guessed cause.
You can take over any conversation from the dashboard at any moment, and the assistant steps back on that thread until you release it.
An evening with it switched on
Nine at night. A customer sends a voice note: her hatchback is due for service, can she come tomorrow, and what does it cost. The assistant answers in her language with the price for her model, offers the 9am and 2pm slots, and asks for the plate number. She takes 9am. Her name, plate, model and "service 40k" are in your sheet before you have finished dinner. The next message is a man asking why his dashboard shows a red battery light. The assistant tells him not to drive far, asks where he is, and hands the chat to you. That one you answer yourself, because it matters.
Set up in 10 minutes
Pair your workshop number by scanning a QR from the dashboard. Paste your service menu, tyre list, slots, location and payment methods. Set the language to auto. Send a test message from another phone and read the answer. Adjust the notes where it was wrong or vague. It is answering new customers from that point on, and your existing chats stay exactly as they were.
Related
- A starter WhatsApp assistant for any small business
- WhatsApp for used car dealers
- WhatsApp for aircond, plumbing and home services
- How to set up a WhatsApp auto-reply bot for a small business
- A WhatsApp chatbot without the Business API
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Frequently asked questions
Can a WhatsApp bot quote a car service price?
- Yes, for the prices you give it. Paste your service packages by model or engine size, tyre prices by size, and labour rates, and it quotes from that list. Anything not on the list, such as an unusual part, it says it will check and asks for the plate number so your team can call back.
Will it try to diagnose a fault?
- No. It is told to take the symptom down, tell the customer to bring the car in or stop driving if the symptom sounds unsafe, and pass the message to a person. Noises, warning lights and breakdowns always reach a mechanic, never a guessed answer.
Can it book slots?
- It can offer the slots you keep in its notes, take the request, collect the plate number and model, and log it to a Google Sheet for the front desk to confirm. Those slots are a note you keep current, not a live view of your diary, and nothing is written into a workshop management system: the front desk still owns the calendar.
Does it work on the workshop number I already use?
- Yes. Replai pairs to your existing WhatsApp number by QR, like WhatsApp Web, so customers keep messaging the number on your signboard. By default it answers new conversations only, so your regular customers and suppliers are not touched until you decide.
Sources
- About WhatsApp, WhatsApp, 2026-09-07
- Lead Response Management Study, InsideSales.com and MIT, 2007
- Making voice messages better, WhatsApp blog, 2022-03-30