Industries Auto Repair Shops
Business texting and a shared inbox for auto repair shops
The workshop phone rings all day with the same question ("is my car ready yet?") and every time it does, someone puts down a tool, wipes their hands and walks to the counter to answer it. Multiply that by a dozen cars on the hoists and it is a serious drag on the day. HiveThread lets you text customers a quick "your Corolla is on the hoist now, ready by 3" instead, so the workshop keeps moving and the phone stops being an interruption machine.
The bigger money is in the approval. You pull a wheel and find a brake rotor worn past spec, or a perished CV boot, and you cannot legally or safely proceed until the customer says yes. Ringing them means voicemail, phone tag, and a car sitting idle on a hoist you need. HiveThread lets you text a photo of the worn part with the price to fix it, get a "yep, go ahead" in writing, and keep the job moving, all from one inbox your service advisor, workshop and office share.
Sound familiar?
Status calls pull mechanics off the tools all day
Every "is it ready yet?" call means someone stops work, walks to the phone and breaks concentration on the car in front of them. It is dead time repeated twenty times a day. A text update ("brakes done, just doing the road test, ready by 2:30") answers the question before the customer even rings, so the workshop stays productive and the customer stays informed without anyone downing tools.
Getting approval to proceed becomes phone tag
You find a worn rotor or a leaking water pump mid-job and need a yes before you touch it. You ring: voicemail. They ring back while you are under another car. The hoist is tied up, the day's schedule slips, and the customer feels ambushed by a surprise at pickup. Texting a photo of the actual part with the price gets you a clear written approval fast, so the job keeps moving and there are no disputes at the counter later.
Bookings and enquiries scatter while the workshop is heads-down
A service enquiry lands on Facebook, a "do you do roadworthy certificates?" question hits the website chat, a regular texts to book their logbook service. When the team is heads-down on cars, those messages sit unanswered on phones nobody is watching, and the booking goes to the shop up the road that replied. One shared inbox means the front counter catches every channel between jobs.
A day with HiveThread
Wednesday, 11:20am: logbook service on a hoist
Marko has a Hyundai up on the hoist for a logbook service and finds the front brake pads down to the backing plates and a rotor lipped past spec. In the old routine he would walk to the office, ask reception to ring the owner, and hope they picked up before the next car was due on that hoist. Instead he snaps a photo of the worn pad against a new one, and the service advisor drops it into HiveThread.
The AI drafts the message in the shop's voice: the photo, a plain-English line about why the brakes need doing now, and the price for pads and machining the rotors. The advisor reads it, adds "we can have it done today if you are happy to go ahead", and sends. Eight minutes later the owner texts back "yes please, thanks for the photo": a written approval, timestamped, no phone tag, and the hoist keeps earning.
Meanwhile the front counter is fielding the rest of the day from the same inbox: a Facebook message asking about a roadworthy, a website enquiry about a timing-belt quote, and a regular booking their next service. Each conversation carries the car's history and private notes ("customer prefers a call before any extras over $200") so whoever picks it up already knows the vehicle and the customer without digging through a folder.
How auto repair shops use HiveThread
Send status updates instead of fielding "is it ready?" calls
Text customers a quick progress line ("on the hoist now", "waiting on a part, ready tomorrow morning", "done and road-tested, ready for pickup") so they never need to ring the workshop to find out. Saved replies make the common updates a one-tap job for the front counter, and the workshop stays on the tools instead of stopping to answer the same question a dozen times a day.
Get repair approvals from a photo of the worn part
When you find a worn rotor, a perished CV boot or a leaking hose mid-service, text the customer a photo of the actual part with the price to fix it. They can see exactly what you are looking at and reply "go ahead" in writing, so you get a clear, timestamped approval fast, the hoist keeps earning, and there is no dispute about surprise charges at pickup.
Turn website and social enquiries into booked jobs
The chat widget on your website turns "how much for a major service on a Golf?" into an SMS conversation that follows the customer onto their phone, where they actually book. Facebook and Instagram messages about roadworthies, tyres and log-book servicing land in the same inbox as your texts, so the front counter catches every enquiry between jobs instead of losing it to the shop that answered first.
Send service and rego reminders that fill quiet weeks
Schedule a friendly reminder for when a customer's next logbook service or roadworthy is due, so your bays stay booked through the slow patches. Because it is a text in a thread they already know, replies come straight back into the same inbox and turn into a booking: no printed reminder card that ends up in the glovebox and never gets read.
The features doing the work
One inbox for the counter and the workshop
Texts, website chat, Facebook and Instagram messages all land in a single shared inbox. The service advisor and front counter answer every channel between jobs, so no booking or approval sits unseen on a phone nobody is watching.
The car's whole history beside the chat
Past services, the photo of the worn part, the approval, and private notes like "call before any extras over $200" sit next to the conversation. Anyone at the counter knows the vehicle and the customer without digging through a job folder.
Approval messages drafted in your shop's voice
The AI learns your services and pricing from your website, then drafts clear approval and quote messages for the advisor to review and send. You control every price and every word before it reaches the customer.
One-tap answers for the daily questions
"Ready for pickup", "waiting on a part", opening hours, roadworthy pricing: the same lines every day. Saved replies fire them off in a tap so the counter keeps the workshop moving instead of retyping the same update.
Service reminders sent at the right time
Line up a next-service or rego reminder to send when the car is actually due, so your bays stay booked through the quiet weeks. Replies land back in the same inbox and turn straight into a booking.
Frequently asked questions
Can the front counter and workshop share one number?
Yes. Every text to your HiveThread number lands in one shared inbox the service advisor, front counter and workshop can all see. Assignments, private notes and typing indicators keep it clear who is handling which car, so an approval or a booking is never answered twice or left sitting while everyone assumes someone else has it.
Can customers approve repairs by text with a photo?
Yes. You can text a photo of the worn part with the price, and the customer replies with their approval in writing. It gives you a clear, timestamped yes before you proceed, keeps the hoist moving instead of waiting on phone tag, and means no dispute about surprise charges when they come in to pay.
Will the AI message customers on its own?
No. HiveThread is not a chatbot. The AI drafts a suggested reply or approval message from your own pricing and information, and a human on your team reviews, edits and sends it. For anything with a price or a repair approval attached, that review step is exactly what you want before it reaches the customer.
Can we send service and roadworthy reminders?
Yes. Schedule a reminder to go out when a customer's next logbook service or roadworthy is due, so your bays stay booked through the slow weeks. It arrives as a text in a thread they already recognise, and their reply comes straight back into the same inbox and turns into a booking.
How long does it take to set up?
Most workshops are answering messages the same day. Connect a number, link your Facebook and Instagram pages, add the chat widget to your website, and invite your front counter and advisors. There is no new hardware and nothing to install in the workshop. It runs from the phone and computer you already use.
Keep the hoists earning, not the phone ringing
Available now in Australia, the US and Canada.
Give every status update, approval and booking one place to land and a team that can actually reply. Plans from $49/mo AUD ($25/mo USD).