Repair Estimate Explainer · Automotive
Repair estimates customers understand, and approve
Every repair order line rewritten in plain language and grouped into Safety now, Soon and Can wait by your codes. Prices copied exactly. Your advisor approves every email.
Free account to start. Buying and running live need a paid plan.
- Starts when your form or app sends it something
- 1 AI step
- A person approves before it acts
- About 15 min to set up
Sound familiar?
The job, before and after this agent.
What it feels like today
- “Customers see a long list of parts and say no to everything.”
- “Advisors burn half the afternoon on the phone explaining one estimate.”
- “Customers can't tell the safety items from the nice-to-haves.”
What you get with the agent
- Each line explained from the tech's notes: what it is, why it matters, what happens if it waits.
- Lines grouped into Safety: now, Soon and Can wait using your own urgency codes.
- Every price copied exactly and the total taken straight from your form.
- Your advisor approves, and can edit, every email before it's sent.
- The customer's HubSpot contact created or updated, with the estimate logged as a note.
Before
Front pads at 2mm, scored rotors, a torn wiper and a coolant flush coming due. The customer gets a parts list and approves the wiper.
After
The customer reads that the brakes are below minimum spec and why that matters now, that the wiper can wait, and replies: please do the brakes.
How it works
The whole workflow, step by step.
Your service advisor's estimate form posts each repair order to a webhook: customer, vehicle, line items with the technician's notes, prices and your urgency codes. AI rewrites every line in plain language — what it is, why it matters, what happens if it waits — and groups the lines into Safety: now, Soon and Can wait by your own codes. The advisor approves (and can edit) every email before it goes out; the total is added exactly as your form sent it. The customer replies to approve work, and the estimate is logged on their HubSpot contact. It doesn't diagnose and never changes prices — it only rewords what the tech wrote. The customer's approval comes back as an email reply and isn't recorded automatically. Shop systems (Tekmetric, Shopmonkey, Mitchell) aren't connectors, so the data comes from your form.
- TriggerEstimate from your advisor's form
- AI stepExplain the estimate in plain words
- Human approvalAdvisor approves the estimate email
- Approved:Email the customer
- Rejected:Not sent
- OutputNot sent
- OutputEmail the customer
- App callCreate or update the HubSpot contact
- App callNote the estimate on the contact
- OutputEmailed and logged
This is the workflow that opens in your workspace when you set the agent up. Every step can be edited.
- Step 1Estimate from your advisor's formStarts when your service advisor's estimate form posts to this webhook: customer, vehicle, each line item with the tech's notes, price and your urgency code, and the estimate total.
- Step 2Explain the estimate in plain wordsAI rewrites each line in plain language (what it is, why it matters, what happens if it waits) and groups them into Safety: now / Soon / Can wait by your urgency codes — using only the tech's notes and never changing a price.
- Step 3Advisor approves the estimate emailThe advisor checks every line, price and group in Reviews, edits the wording if needed and approves; nothing is sent before that.
- Step 4Not sentThe advisor rejected the draft; nothing was emailed or logged.
- Step 5Email the customerEmails the approved explanation with the total exactly as your form sent it. Replies (the customer's approval) come back to your service desk.
- Step 6Create or update the HubSpot contactCreates the customer as a HubSpot contact, or updates the one with the same email.
- Step 7Note the estimate on the contactLogs the RO number, vehicle, each line with its price and group, and “estimate emailed for approval” on the contact's timeline.
- Step 8Emailed and loggedThe run history keeps the estimate, the email and the HubSpot note.
Example run
What goes in, and what comes out.
Example with fictional data
Comes in
Fictional RO-20931, 2017 RAV4: front pads and rotors (code A), rear wiper blade (code B), coolant flush (code C), each with tech notes and a price.
The agent produces
An email with the brakes under Safety: now explained from the notes, the wiper under Soon, the coolant under Can wait, every price as sent and the total from your form, waiting for advisor approval.
What you need
Everything it takes to run it.
About 15 minutes from purchase to live. A checklist above the canvas takes you through each step.
Plan
Included in Enterprise; on other paid plans it's $89 once. Agents run live on paid plans, from Basic ($39/mo).
Your AI key
Connect any of 14 AI providers on your own key. Your provider bills usage directly, at cost; we add no markup.
Apps
- HubSpotLive
Checklist
- A paid plan (agents run live on paid plans).
- An AI provider key (Settings → AI Providers).
- HubSpot, connected in Settings → Integrations.
- An estimate form or script that can post JSON to a webhook (shop systems like Tekmetric, Shopmonkey or Mitchell aren't connectors).
- Your written urgency codes, approval process and sign-off.
Setup, about 15 minutes
- Connect your AI provider. The AI steps run on your own key (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and more). Add one in Settings → AI Providers.
- Connect HubSpot. Connect the HubSpot account your customers are kept in (Settings → Integrations → HubSpot).
- Paste your urgency codes and rules. Open “Explain the estimate in plain words” and replace the placeholder with your codes, approval process, validity, warranty and sign-off.
- Add your service desk inbox. Open “Email the customer” and enter the address customers' replies should go to.
- Pick your HubSpot account. Pick the same HubSpot account in “Create or update the HubSpot contact” and “Note the estimate on the contact”.
- Test it with Dry Run. Press Dry Run: the agent runs on sample data with no messages sent and nothing written to your apps.
- Switch the trigger on. Open the trigger, switch the webhook on and copy its URL and secret into your advisor's estimate form.
Is it a fit?
Who it's for, and what it won't do.
Built for
- Independent auto repair shops
- Service advisors writing estimates
- Tire and fleet service shops
What it doesn't do
- It doesn't diagnose and never changes, rounds or totals prices — it only rewords what the technician wrote.
- The customer's approval comes back as an email reply and isn't recorded automatically in your shop system or HubSpot.
- Nothing is emailed without the advisor's approval.
- It doesn't read photos or inspection videos, and doesn't connect to shop management systems directly.
We list the limits up front so you can decide before you buy.
Price
$89 one-time
Per workspace. It never renews.
- Included at no extra cost on Enterprise.
- Buying and running it live need a paid plan, from Basic ($39/mo).
- Dry Run costs nothing: simulated AI and app calls, nothing sent.
- AI usage is billed by your own provider, at cost. No AI credits to buy from us.
One-time agent purchases aren't covered by the 30-day money-back guarantee. Refund policy
FAQ
Questions about Repair Estimate Explainer.
Will the AI change prices or diagnose?
No. It doesn't diagnose and never changes, rounds or totals prices. It only rewords what the technician wrote.
Does it connect to my shop management system?
Not directly. Your advisor's form or a small export script posts the estimate. The customer's approval comes back as an email reply and isn't recorded automatically.
How long is setup?
About 15 minutes: connect HubSpot, paste your urgency codes and rules, add your service desk inbox and run a Dry Run.
What does it cost?
A one-time unlock that never renews. Live runs need a paid plan and your own AI key; Dry Run is free.
What should the form send?
A JSON POST with advisor_name, ro_number, customer_name, customer_email, customer_phone, vehicle, mileage, estimate_total and line_items (each with description, tech_notes, price and urgency_code). Your form posts it with the webhook's signature header.
Does it work with Tekmetric, Shopmonkey or Mitchell?
Not directly: those shop systems aren't connectors. Your advisor's form (or a small export script) posts the estimate to the webhook.
How does the customer approve?
By replying to the email (e.g. “please do the brakes”). The reply lands in your service desk inbox; it isn't recorded automatically.
Is this a subscription?
No. Repair Estimate Explainer is a one-time purchase of $89 per workspace and never renews. The Enterprise plan includes it at no extra cost. Running it live needs a paid plan (from Basic ($39/mo)), and your AI provider bills you directly for usage.
Can I test it before it touches real data?
Yes. Once it's set up in your workspace, Dry Run plays every step on sample data with simulated AI and app calls: nothing is sent and nothing in your apps changes. Switch the trigger on only when you're happy.
Put Repair Estimate Explainer to work.
Free account, no credit card. Your Agents page opens with Repair Estimate Explainer ready to buy and set up, then Dry Run it before it goes live.