AI RECEPTIONIST · AUTO REPAIR

The AI receptionist that catches every check-engine-light call.

Your service writer is on the phone with the customer whose transmission you just pulled. Three more calls roll to voicemail — and two of them dial the shop down the street before your callback goes out. InstaNexus picks up in 1–2 rings, captures year, make, model, mileage, and the exact symptom, and books the drop-off while your writer is still at the counter.

45%
of inbound service calls go unanswered during peak mid-week drop-off hours
$385
average repair order lost when the caller hangs up and dials the next shop
3 rings
is how long a check-engine-light caller waits before trying someone else

What InstaNexus does for auto repair shops.

01

Picks up every call, including Saturday 7 AM

Tow-in at 2 AM Sunday, a check-engine-light panic on the commute, a status-update call at 4:55 PM on Friday — every one gets answered live. No voicemail, no service writer pulled off a lift.

02

Captures the 5 diagnostic fields up front

Year, make, model, mileage, and the exact symptom — "grinding on left turns," "dashboard light on since Tuesday" — logged before the car hits the bay. Tow-ins get flagged urgent; schedulable diagnostics go in the book.

03

Books drop-offs and loaners into your schedule

Writes the appointment straight onto your calendar with the right bay time for the job code. Texts the customer a confirmation with drop-off instructions and loaner availability.

04

Trained on your shop in under an hour

Your labor rate, diagnostic fee, brands you service, which jobs you refer out, your tow partner — all wired in. Calls sound like your service writer, not a generic phone tree.

How it handles a auto repair call.

Three real scenarios your shop sees every week — and exactly how the AI receptionist runs each one, start to finish.

The 7:42 AM check-engine-light commute call

A customer on the freeway sees the check-engine light flash, pulls off, and calls the shop while your writer is walking a drop-off out to the waiting room.

View transcript
Caller
Yeah, hi — my check engine light just started flashing. I'm on the 405, I don't know if I should keep driving.
AI
Flashing light usually means a misfire, so pulling over was the right call. Can I grab the year, make, model, and rough mileage so I can get you into a diagnostic slot?
Caller
It's a 2019 Honda Civic, about 78,000 miles. It was hesitating under throttle for the last couple days too.
AI
Got it — 2019 Civic, 78K, flashing CEL with hesitation under throttle. I've got a diagnostic bay open at 9:30 this morning or 2 PM today. Which works better?
Caller
9:30 if you can take it. Do you have a loaner?
AI
One loaner comes back at 10, so I'll hold it for you after drop-off. The diagnostic fee from your shop menu gets applied to the repair if you approve the work — I'll text you the address, the drop-off link, and the confirmation right now.
Outcome 2019 Civic booked into the 9:30 diagnostic slot on the shop calendar with year/make/model/mileage/symptom pre-filled; loaner reserved; confirmation text sent before the caller merges back onto the freeway.

A 6:30 AM tow-in before the shop is open

A customer broke down overnight, the tow truck is ready to roll, and the driver is calling 90 minutes before the doors open.

View transcript
Caller
Hey, this is Mike at Ramos Towing. I've got a 2017 F-150 on the hook, customer broke down on the I-10, wants to drop it at your shop. You guys open?
AI
Not till 7:30, but we can take the tow-in — I'll reserve a parking spot and flag it urgent so it's first in the queue. What's the customer's name and the complaint?
Caller
Customer is Dan Ortiz, his number is 555-0142. He said it just died on him, won't restart, cranks but no catch.
AI
Cranks-no-start on a 2017 F-150 — I've tagged that as a priority diagnostic for the first bay that opens. Do you know the mileage so we can pre-build the ticket?
Caller
Odometer is reading 112,430.
AI
Perfect. Drop it in spot 4 by the fence, leave the key in the dropbox. I'll text Dan now that his truck is arriving, we'll call him by 8 AM with the diagnostic ETA, and our after-hours drop-off fee is waived for tow-ins.
Outcome Tow-in logged on the shop calendar as priority with complaint, mileage, and owner contact; drop-box spot assigned; customer auto-texted an arrival confirmation and a callback window before the first tech clocks in.

The 3:15 PM "is my car ready yet" status call

A customer whose brake job was dropped off this morning wants to know the ETA, and your service writer is already on two other lines.

View transcript
Caller
Hi, I dropped off my Subaru this morning for brakes — just checking if it's ready for pickup yet.
AI
Happy to check. Can I get the last name on the ticket and the last four of the license plate?
Caller
Last name is Chen, plate ends in 7K2R.
AI
Found it — 2020 Outback, front pads and rotors. The schedule shows the car is on the alignment rack now, coming off at 4:15, then a final road test. Your writer Dave has it slotted for pickup by 5.
Caller
Okay great. Did the final number come in higher than the estimate? He mentioned maybe needing a caliper.
AI
The caliper wasn't needed after inspection, so the ticket is tracking right at the original $640 estimate. I'll flag Dave to call you personally in the next 15 minutes if anything changes, and I'll text you the minute it's road-tested and ready.
Outcome Status pulled live from the shop calendar; customer got a real ETA and a real number without pulling the service writer off the counter; pickup-ready text auto-fires the moment the road test closes.

Works with the tools your auto repair shop already runs.

Books straight into the calendar your auto shop already runs on — no new numbers, no port-outs, no learning curve for your service writer at 7 AM Monday. Custom integrations with Tekmetric or Shop-Boss can be scoped during onboarding for shops that want drop-offs and DVIs flowing straight into their shop-management stack.

Answers to the questions auto repair shops ask most.

Does it integrate with Tekmetric or Shop-Boss, or do we have to key everything twice?
Out of the box it books directly onto your calendar — Google Calendar, Outlook, Microsoft 365, or iCal — with year, make, model, mileage, and complaint captured in the event. Custom integrations with Tekmetric, Shop-Boss, ShopMonkey, or Mitchell1 ProDemand so tickets land in your shop-management system can be scoped during onboarding. No, your writers should not have to key everything twice — but today that deeper integration is a custom build, not an out-of-box feature.
How long does setup take for an auto shop?
Setup runs under an hour once we have your labor rate, diagnostic fee, service menu, brand list, and tow partner. You can pilot it on one forwarded line before cutting the main number over. A quote depends on your monthly call volume — including status-update traffic and after-hours tow-ins — and whether you want a custom shop-management integration, so the demo is where we scope it.
Won't it just route my status-update callers in circles like a phone tree?
No — that is exactly the call type it is built to resolve, not punt. When a customer calls to check on their car, it reads the live status off the shop calendar, quotes the estimate, and gives a real ETA. It only hands off to a service writer if the customer asks a question the schedule can't answer or wants to approve new work.
How does it handle a 2 AM tow-in when nobody is at the shop?
Tow-ins get flagged urgent the moment the driver or customer calls. It captures the complaint, mileage, and owner contact, drops a priority slot onto the shop calendar, tells the tow driver which drop spot to use, and texts the customer a confirmation. First tech in the next morning sees it at the top of the board.
Will it quote my diagnostic fee and labor rate correctly?
Yes. Your diagnostic fee, labor rate, shop supplies policy, and which jobs you refer out are configured during setup. It quotes the same numbers your service writer would — including whether the diagnostic fee rolls into an approved repair — and it never improvises a price it does not have.
What happens if a caller asks for a human or gets frustrated?
Any time the caller asks for a person, asks a question outside the configured scope, or sounds escalated, it warm-transfers to the service writer or the cell you designate — with a one-line summary of what has already been captured so your writer does not start from scratch.
Can it book drop-offs with a loaner when one is available?
Yes. It reads loaner availability from your calendar, reserves the car at the time of booking, and texts the customer the loaner policy and any deposit requirement. If no loaner is open at the requested drop time, it offers the next slot when one returns rather than overbooking.

Latest auto repair posts

All field notes →

See InstaNexus answer your shop's calls.

Fifteen minutes. We'll call your business line live and show you what your AI receptionist sounds like picking up.

Book a free 15-min demo →