The Send Line: auto repair text message templates sorted by who sends them

This is the message list from our video on AI text messaging for auto repair. It has the same three parts:

1. Sends on its own. Only messages you approved word for word ahead of time, like a reminder or "your car is ready."
2. Drafts for your advisor. Anything with a number, a recommendation or an apology. The AI writes it, your advisor sends it.
3. Every reply goes to a person. "Can I come at 3?", "How much?" and STOP all land in front of someone.

Writing a text and sending one are different jobs. The first is a drafting tool. The second is a policy, with consent, registration and tone attached.

Why text at all

Customers tend to like it. A TEXT2DRIVE survey of 1,000 drivers, reported by Auto Remarketing, found 42% preferred text, versus 29% for email and 18% for phone. That survey came from a vendor, covered dealership customers and dates from 2022, so ask your own customers too. Texting also reaches people after hours: Podium's Brett Steele said 36% of collision repair customers try to contact a shop after hours (2019, a vendor source). A clear automatic acknowledgment at 9 p.m. is fair. A confident diagnosis isn't.

Part 1. Messages that may send on their own

These are fixed. Every word is approved before the first one goes, and the only things that change are the name, the car and the time pulled from your shop system.

Message	Template (edit to your voice)
Appointment reminder	"Hi {first name}, it's {advisor} at Redline Auto. Reminder: your {car} is booked {day} at {time}. Reply C to confirm or call us to change it."
Drop-off received	"We've got your {car}. {Advisor} will text you once the tech has looked at it."
Car ready	"Your {car} is ready for pickup. We're open until {closing time}."
Hours and location	"We're at {address}, open {hours}. Reply here and a person will get back to you."
After-hours acknowledgment	"Thanks, we got your message. The shop is closed right now, and {advisor} will reply when we open at {time}."

A message only belongs here if it has no price, no recommendation, no apology and no promise about time beyond what's already booked.

Part 2. Messages the AI drafts for your advisor

The AI can do the slow part: read the repair order, write a clear draft, name the car and the item. Your advisor reads it, edits it if needed and sends it.

Message	Why a person sends it
Status update ("brakes in progress, next update at 2")	the timing is a promise
Estimate or approval request with a price	it has a number
Recommendation ("we recommend replacing the struts")	it's advice the shop stands behind
A delay	it usually needs a new time and an apology
Anything that apologizes	tone matters more than speed
Reply to a complaint	a person writes this one from scratch

Rules for drafts that sound like your shop:

• Use the advisor's first name and the shop name.
• Name the car and the item. "Your Camry's rear brakes" beats "your vehicle."
• One ask per message.
• No emoji walls, no all caps, no "Dear valued customer."
• Say how to reach a person.

A good test is whether you'd be comfortable hearing the advisor read it aloud at the counter.

Part 3. Every reply goes to a person

Most trouble starts when a customer writes back. Set up the inbox so replies can't slip:

1. One shared inbox with a named owner per shift, not someone's personal phone.
2. Customer history next to the thread, so the person sees the car and any open work.
3. Handoff words. If a reply sounds angry, urgent or unclear, stop automated messages on that thread and route it to a person.
4. STOP works everywhere. A STOP reply ends automated texts on every channel you use, and someone checks that it did.
5. A response time you can keep. For example, replies during open hours within 15 minutes, after-hours replies first thing in the morning.

The rules to check

• Registration. If you send from an application over a standard 10-digit number, Twilio's A2P 10DLC documentation says you must register. Your provider usually handles it. Check that it's done.
• Consent. Marketing texts sent with automated technology generally need prior express written consent under the TCPA. The FCC's one-to-one consent rule was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit in January 2025, and the FCC then repealed it and reinstated the earlier rules, per Womble Bond Dickinson. Service messages like "your car is ready" are treated differently from marketing, and the line depends on the facts and your state.
• AI voices. The FCC has said AI-generated voices are artificial under the TCPA. That ruling is about calls, not texts, but ask any vendor how it handles consent for outbound contact.

This page is not legal advice. Have a lawyer confirm your consent wording and your rules for each message type.

How to tell it's working

For the first month, read every drafted message before it goes. After that, sample twenty a week and look for wrong names, wrong cars, wrong times and tone. Count STOP replies and complaints each week. If they climb, you're sending too much, or something from Part 2 has crept into Part 1.

Where RevvOS fits

RevvOS brings texts, calls, forms and open estimates into one customer view and prepares a draft for a named person, who can edit, approve, reject or replace it. It sends only where that workflow has been set up, and it doesn't replace your shop system or your texting provider. See customer engagement and AI text messaging for auto repair.