Answering services for auto repair shops: AI and live options, priced
Book the drop-off while the advisors are at the counter, give the stranded driver your tow number, quote menu prices only and leave approvals to the advisor. Seven AI receptionists and three live services with automotive pages, priced at 100 and 300 calls a month.
The phone rings while both advisors are writing up drop-offs and every technician is under a car. An answering service for an auto repair shop, AI or live, takes that call: it gets the year, make, model and the problem in the caller's words, books the drop-off, gives a stranded driver your tow partner's number, and quotes only the menu prices you allow. It should leave two things to your advisor: the promise of a ready time, and the approval of more work, which several states require you to record a certain way.
Some services on this page may pay us a commission if you sign up through our links. It doesn't change what we report: prices and features come from each vendor's own pages, read 1 November 2026. How we compare.
Why the shop phone is hard
The calls come when nobody is free, and the shop software companies have noticed: AutoLeap sells an AI receptionist called AIR (AutoLeap), Shop-Ware has one built in (Shop-Ware), and Tekmetric now shows the advisor the caller's vehicle and open repair orders as the phone rings, through RingCentral (Tekmetric). We found no independent count of how many calls repair shops miss; the shop figures on vendors' pages come without a source. Across industries, Quo, a business phone company, found that 69% of 16.7 million missed calls to its customers got no callback within 48 hours (Quo, 2026).
Some of the callers aren't people. In February 2025 Repairer Driven News reported that Google was piloting automated calls to auto shops to ask about prices and availability for its users; the calls say they come from Google, and shops can opt out in their Google Business Profile (Repairer Driven News). A service that answers with your menu prices handles those too.
What an auto repair answering service must handle
Write these rules down before the trial, in the words you'd use with a new service writer. Every service on this page follows your instructions:
Call
What should happen
A problem or a service booking
Name and number; year, make, model and mileage; the problem in the caller's words and any warning lights; drop-off, wait or tow-in. No diagnosis on the phone.
A car that won't start or isn't safe to drive
Where the car is and whether the caller is safe; your tow partner's number, or the person on call.
“What does an oil change cost?”
The menu prices you set, such as an oil change, a tire rotation or an inspection. Other repairs are priced once the car is inspected.
“Is my car ready?”
Put it through to the advisor or take a message. A ready time only from your shop software, never a guess.
Approving more work
To the advisor, who records the approval on the work order the way your state requires (see the rules below).
A recall or warranty question
The VIN; NHTSA's free recall lookup; warranty questions to the service manager.
Parts supplier, tow driver or another shop
The parts counter or a message, not the customer script.
Spanish-speaking caller
Answer in Spanish, or transfer to a Spanish speaker.
The call paths this guide recommends: intake without diagnosis, a tow number for cars that can't be driven, menu prices only, and estimate approvals left to the advisor.
AI receptionists with an auto repair setup
These publish an auto repair or automotive page and a price. They answer every call around the clock and differ in how they reach your shop software, how they handle price and status questions, and what they leave to the advisor.
1
KaiCalls
The most shop software by name: appointments and repair orders sync to Shop-Ware, work orders are created in Tekmetric, and it takes the vehicle, the symptoms, whether the car is drivable and whether it needs a tow, with no diagnosis on the call.
Price
$10 / about 20 calls; $79 / about 170; $349 / about 800
Shop software
Shop-Ware and Tekmetric; custom work for Mitchell and ALLDATA
Prices on the phone
Requests go to your team to confirm, with the details gathered (setup pack)
First week
$2, then from $10 a month
Why it fits
Calls back on declined or deferred work and fills cancelled bays (KaiCalls).
Answers and logs overdue-balance calls and complaints for your staff to handle (KaiCalls).
Built by a shop software company (AutoLeap): it books on the AutoLeap calendar during the call, sends the customer a confirmation, answers price, hours and directions questions, and transfers to staff during opening hours.
Price
$1 a call, or $99 / 200 calls and $199 / 500, then $0.75 a call
Shop software
AutoLeap; it says it works alongside any shop software
Setup
A $100 fee may apply
Trial
30 days free, a limited-time offer
Why it fits
English, Spanish, French and other languages; you set the voice and the hours.
Booking and caller lookup work for shops on AutoLeap.
Watch for
Its page says a $100 setup fee may apply without naming the plan; ask before you sign.
3
Dialzara
The most detailed shop script on a small budget: it books oil changes, brakes and diagnostics by bay availability and job type, explains your diagnostic fee, gives standard prices only if you allow it, and captures the VIN on warranty and recall calls before routing them to the service manager.
Price
$29 / 60 min; $99 / 220; $199 / 500; $349 / 1,000
Shop software
Names Mitchell, Shop-Ware and Tekmetric
Status calls
Progress and estimated completion
Trial
7 days, no setup fee
Why it fits
Fleet calls routed with priority.
Mileage-based service reminders.
Watch for
Its own ranking article says it sends call intake to shop software through Zapier (Dialzara blog); ask how it reaches yours.
Per-call pricing with booking, transfers and texting on every plan: its automotive page gives examples from price and repair-status questions to oil change and diagnostic bookings, invoice lookups and a recall check by VIN.
A phone system with an AI receptionist written for the counter: it books drop-offs with the symptoms, quotes only your fixed-price services, sends “is my car ready?” and estimate approvals to the advisor, and gives callers your tow partner's number.
Price
$32 a seat plus $32 for the AI receptionist, a month billed yearly
Simple and cheap to start: it tells an urgent breakdown from routine service, books maintenance and inspections, answers questions about services and turnaround, and alerts you by text or email when a call is urgent.
Price
$49 / 250 min; $149 / 1,000; $299 / 2,000
Collects
Make, model, year and mileage
Estimates
Only on its $299 Growth plan
Trial
7 days
Why it fits
Learns from your website and Google Business Profile.
Blocks robocalls.
Watch for
Transfers and calendar booking start on the $149 plan.
For shops that want texting too: it books against bay availability, captures the VIN and symptoms, sends tow and emergency calls to the person on call, and texts customers when the car is ready.
Price
$99 a month, or $79 billed yearly; 200 voice minutes plus 1,000 overage credits
Software
Dealer systems CDK, Reynolds & Reynolds and Tekion; HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive
Languages
20 or more
Trial
7 days
Why it fits
Recognizes returning customers and their vehicles.
Goodcall asks whether the car is drivable, collects the VIN, sends emergencies to an on-call manager and names Service Fusion and Service Autopilot (Goodcall).
Smith.ai pairs its AI with live receptionists, who take warranty, financing and complex service calls (Smith.ai).
Quo's Sona answers questions such as whether you work on Hondas and what an inspection costs, on a Quo business number (Quo).
AgentZap reads repair order status from Tekmetric for “is my car ready?” calls and records verbal estimate approvals, from $109 a month; see the rules below before you let any service take approvals.
MotorFyx quotes from your service menu and says it answers calls from Google's AI booking agent.
Live answering services for auto repair
A person is better with an angry customer or a stranded driver, and charges by the minute or the call. These publish automotive pages (read 1 November 2026):
Receptionists around the clock with your script; after-hours tow and roadside calls sent through your emergency call flow; scheduling; English and Spanish (Moneypenny)
Automotive plans from $132 a month, its automotive page says; our virtual receptionist guide prices its standard plans from $165 for 50 minutes
Warranty, financing, accident repair and payment calls, with its AI taking routine bookings (Smith.ai)
From $300 for 30 calls; $8.50 to $11.50 per extra call
Not stated
We found no automotive page for Ruby, PATLive, AnswerConnect, Abby Connect, Davinci or Posh; they answer for any business, and our virtual receptionist guide prices them.
Tekmetric, Shopmonkey and your shop software
A booking that waits for someone to retype it can still be lost. What the shop systems themselves offer on the phone, and which answering services name them:
System
Phone and texting
Answering services that name it
Tekmetric
Tekmetric Phones, a RingCentral link that shows the caller's customer, vehicle and open repair orders, sold separately (Tekmetric, April 2026); two-way texting on its Scale ($439 a month) and Enterprise plans (pricing)
KaiCalls (creates work orders), AgentZap (reads repair order status), Dialzara
Shop-Ware
Its own AI receptionist
KaiCalls (appointments and repair orders), Dialzara
AutoLeap
Its own AI receptionist, AIR
AIR; Dialzara through Zapier, per its blog
Shopmonkey
Two-way text and email, with automated appointment reminders (Shopmonkey)
Dialzara through Zapier, per its blog
Mitchell 1 Manager SE
MessageCenter add-on for two-way texting from work orders and appointments (Mitchell 1)
Dialzara; KaiCalls by custom work
R.O. Writer
Texting as a licensed option; its documentation requires written consent from each customer before the shop texts them (R.O. Writer)
None we found
From each company's own pages, read 1 November 2026.
During the trial, call your line and check that the job lands in your shop software or calendar with the vehicle, the symptoms and the caller's number, and that an advisor sees it before the customer arrives.
What it costs at 100 and 300 calls a month
A one-location shop might send 100 calls a month to a service; a busy one, 300 or more. At two minutes a call, the AI receptionists cost $64 to $212.50 at 100 calls, and the live services with automotive pages $276.50 to $915:
Cheapest published plan for 2-minute calls (200 and 600 minutes) that can transfer a call to the advisor, with published overage added. Dialzara at its cheapest plan, since its FAQ says live transfer can be switched on by request; its pricing page lists transfers on the $349 plan. AutoLeap AIR from its own page: $1 a call pay-as-you-go, $99 for 200 calls or $199 for 500, then $0.75 a call; a $100 setup fee may apply. KaiCalls' call allowances are approximate. Allo is its Business seat plus its AI receptionist, billed yearly. Smith.ai's live receptionists bill by the call. Prices from each vendor's pricing page, read 1 November 2026, except Allo's AI receptionist (28 October 2026) and MAP Communications (21 October 2026); more services on our comparison and virtual receptionist guide.
Cheapest published plan for 100 two-minute calls a month that can transfer a call to the advisor, from the table above. Prices checked 1 November 2026, except two noted under the table.
Price your own line from last month's call log: answered calls, missed calls and the average length. Our AI receptionist cost guide shows how call length and features change the bill.
Estimates, approvals, warranties and recalls
A summary, not legal advice. An answering service that talks to your customers speaks for your shop, and repair laws are set by each state.
Estimates and approvals
In California, “No work shall be done and no charges shall accrue before authorization to proceed is obtained from the customer,” and work beyond the estimate needs the customer's oral or written consent. “If that consent is oral, the dealer shall make a notation on the work order of the date, time, name of person authorizing” the work, with the number called, the added parts and labor and the total added cost (Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 9884.9). In Florida, when a repair will cost more than $150, “the shop shall prepare a written repair estimate” before any diagnostic work or repair, with the vehicle's year, make, model, odometer reading and license tag number (Fla. Stat. 559.905). Other states have their own rules. For the phone, that means:
Let the advisor take approvals, in the shop software, where the notation lives. If a service passes one on, it should be a message with the time and the caller's name, not a yes.
Have intake collect what your estimate form needs: the vehicle's year, make, model and mileage, and the caller's name and number.
Quote only the menu prices you've written down; a repair price comes with the estimate.
“Will this void my warranty?”
Federal law says “No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied warranty of such product on the consumer's using” a brand-name article or service, unless it's provided free under the warranty or the FTC grants a waiver (15 U.S.C. 2302(c)). Put the answer you want given in the script, or send the question to your service manager.
Recalls
NHTSA's lookup finds open recalls by VIN, and NHTSA says it monitors each recall “to make sure owners receive safe, free, and effective remedies from manufacturers” (NHTSA). A recall caller should get the lookup and know the remedy comes from the carmaker.
Recording calls, texts and outbound AI calls
Most AI receptionists record and transcribe every call. Federal law allows a recording “where one of the parties to the communication has given prior consent” (18 U.S.C. 2511); the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press lists about 11 states that mainly require every party's consent, California and Florida among them, plus Connecticut and Nevada for phone calls, and advises assuming the stricter law applies across state lines (RCFP). If you're in one, have the greeting say the call is recorded. For ready-texts and booking confirmations, register your number first; our missed call text back guide covers the texting rules. Services that call customers back about declined work use an AI voice, and the FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices count as artificial voices under the TCPA (FCC 24-17); ask your lawyer what consent those calls need.
Test plan for the trial
Monday, 7:45 a.m. “My check-engine light is flashing. Can you look at it today?” Did it take the year, make, model, mileage and symptoms, ask whether the car is safe to drive, and book a slot, without guessing what's wrong?
A breakdown. “It died on the highway and I'm on the shoulder.” Did the caller get your tow partner's number or the person on call, fast?
A price question. “How much for front brakes on a 2017 Camry?” Did it stick to your menu prices and say the job is priced after the inspection?
A car in the shop. “Is my car ready? And go ahead with the extra $380.” Did it pass the approval to the advisor instead of accepting it, with the time of the call?
A warranty worry. “Will an oil change here void my warranty?” Did it give your approved answer, or pass the question to the service manager?
Then read the transcripts, check the bookings in your shop software or calendar, fix the rules and call again before you forward your main line.
What does an answering service for an auto repair shop do?
It answers your line when the advisors can't: it takes the vehicle and the problem, books the drop-off, gives a stranded driver your tow partner's number, answers menu-price and hours questions, and passes calls about cars in the shop to the advisor. AI services charge a monthly fee by the call, the minute or the seat; live services by the minute or the call.
How much does an auto repair answering service cost?
At 100 two-minute calls a month, the AI receptionists on this page cost $64 to $212.50 and the live services with automotive pages $276.50 to $915. At 300 calls, the AI options run $64 to $500. Prices from each vendor's pricing page.
Can an AI receptionist book into Tekmetric, Shopmonkey or Mitchell?
A few say so. KaiCalls creates work orders in Tekmetric and syncs appointments and repair orders with Shop-Ware; AgentZap reads Tekmetric repair order status; Dialzara names Mitchell, Shop-Ware and Tekmetric, and its blog says it uses Zapier for Shopmonkey, Tekmetric, Mitchell 1 and AutoLeap. AutoLeap and Shop-Ware have AI receptionists of their own. Others book into a calendar and the advisor enters the job.
Can an answering service take an estimate approval?
Better not. California requires a shop to note an oral approval on the work order with the date, time and name of the person authorizing it, and Florida requires a written estimate for repairs over $150. Let the advisor take approvals in the shop software; the service should pass them on as a message with the time and the caller's name. This is general information, not legal advice.
Should it answer "is my car ready?"
Only from live data. AgentZap reads repair order status from Tekmetric and Dialzara says it gives progress and estimated completion; otherwise the call should go to the advisor, or become a message, without a promised time.
What should it say about recalls and warranties?
For recalls: take the VIN and point the caller to NHTSA's free recall lookup; NHTSA says remedies from manufacturers are free. For warranties: federal law bars warrantors from making coverage depend on a brand-name service unless it's provided free; put your approved answer in the script or pass the call to the service manager.
Sources
Vendors' automotive, pricing and integration pages, read 1 November 2026: KaiCalls (industry page and auto repair setup pack), AutoLeap AIR (updated 3 September 2026), Shop-Ware AI Receptionist (5 October 2026), Dialzara (automotive page and its ranking article of 19 May 2026), Upfirst, Allo (two pages), Rosie (automotive and pricing pages), My AI Front Desk (two pages), Goodcall (30 November 2025), Smith.ai, Quo (automotive and pricing pages), AgentZap (Tekmetric page, 3 August 2026), MotorFyx, MAP Communications (22 August 2025), Moneypenny
Tekmetric Phones and pricing pages, and its Business Wire release (April 2026); Shopmonkey messaging page; Mitchell 1 MessageCenter; R.O. Writer documentation; Repairer Driven News on Google's automated calls to auto shops (17 February 2025); Quo, Small Business Callback Statistics in 2026
California Business and Professions Code 9884.9 (amended 2018, effective 1 January 2019); Florida Statutes 559.905 (2025); 15 U.S.C. 2302(c) (Cornell LII); NHTSA recalls page; 18 U.S.C. 2511; Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, Reporter's Recording Guide; FCC 24-17 (8 February 2024)
