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Vehicle health check app for independent garages

A vehicle health check app lets technicians record what they find with photos and short videos, and sends the customer a private link to see it. The customer approves or declines each recommended repair, and their decision is recorded before any extra work begins.

An example of how the studio would build it. No live services are connected.

From the workshop floor to a customer who has seen the problem.

  1. Step 01

    Car inspected

    The technician works through your health check in the app, marking each item green, amber or red.

  2. Step 02

    Issues recorded

    Amber and red items get a photo or short video, such as a worn tyre or a leaking shock absorber, with a plain-English note.

  3. Step 03

    Prices added

    The service advisor checks the findings and adds a price for each recommended repair before anything is sent.

  4. Step 04

    Customer notified

    Twilio texts the customer a private link to their report, with the photos, videos, notes and prices.

  5. Step 05

    Work approved

    The customer approves or declines each item, and the advisor is told straight away so approved work can start.

The result

Customers see the problem for themselves before agreeing to work.

Nothing reaches the customer until the service advisor has checked it, and no extra work starts without the customer’s recorded approval. Declined items are kept on record for the next visit.

Before we connect it.

Where this is useful

Useful for independent garages, MOT centres and mobile mechanics who phone customers to explain extra work, often while the car is on the ramp. A sensible first version covers the health check and customer link, with prices added by the service advisor and approvals entered into your garage system by hand.

What we need to connect

  1. 01Your health check list, with the items, grading and wording your technicians already use.
  2. 02A Twilio account for text messages, with a sender name or number customers will recognise.
  3. 03Access to your garage management system if it offers an API, plus the labour rates and parts pricing your advisors use.

What needs careful handling

Videos are large and workshop Wi-Fi can be patchy, so uploads continue in the background and the report waits until everything has arrived. Customers sometimes approve by phone instead, so the advisor can record a verbal approval in the app with the time and who took it. Photos and videos can show number plates and the inside of a car, so report links are private, expire after a set period and are hidden from search engines.

Questions people ask.

Will customers feel pressured into extra work?

The report shows what was found and why it matters, using a simple red, amber and green scale, and the customer decides. Declined items are noted for the next visit rather than pushed again by text.

Doesn’t our garage software already do this?

Some garage systems include health checks, and if yours does it well, it is usually better to use it. A custom app suits garages whose system doesn’t, or whose customers find the built-in report hard to use.

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