The problem
Many drivers price tires online in the evening and book with whoever lets them pick a tire and a fitting slot there and then. A depot that only quotes by phone in opening hours misses them. If that's 10 pairs a month at $239£180€214A$346C$338 a pair, it's $2,394£1,800€2,142A$3,456C$3,384 of sales going to the national chains.
What the AI does
Autowork eCommerce, from Klipboard, is a tire web shop for UK dealers. Customers search by tire size or registration, choose from a catalog of over 40,000 tires priced from your cost prices and rules, and book fitting online, with email and text confirmations to them and to you. It handles opening hours and bank holiday closures and can list other services, such as wheel alignment and puncture repair. Without the $15£11€13A$21C$21 payment module, customers pay once the tires are fitted.
A worked example
A two-bay independent tire depot in Wigan quotes mostly by phone. They set up an Autowork eCommerce website with their own margins by brand and take online bookings for fitting slots, paid at the depot.
Before
Tires sold only by phone in opening hours; about 10 pairs a month lost to evening shoppers
After
About 10 extra pairs a month booked online, many of them after hours
What it's worth
About $599£450€536A$864C$846 a month in profit, if the web shop brings 10 extra pairs a month at $239£180€214A$346C$338 (an assumption, not a promise), at an assumed 25% margin after the cost of the tires. That is against $114£86€102A$165C$162 a month plus VAT for the website, or $129£97€115A$186C$182 with the payment module.
How to set it up
- Book a demo, then choose a full website ($114£86€102A$165C$162 a month) or the extension for your existing site ($114£86€102A$165C$162 per location).
- Set your pricing rules from cost price by brand and size, and choose which brands to promote.
- Add your fitting slots, opening hours and other services such as alignment and puncture repair.
- Decide whether customers pay online (payment module, $15£11€13A$21C$21 a month) or when the tires are fitted.
- Place a test order, check the confirmation texts and emails, then watch the bookings report weekly.
What goes wrong
- Online prices must include fitting, valves, disposal and VAT, or customers will argue at the counter. Show the full price.
- If a tire shown online can't reach you from your wholesaler in time, ring the customer straight away.
- Selling online brings distance-selling rules. Get your terms checked for cancellation rights before tires are fitted.
- Prices on Autowork's page exclude VAT, and each extra module is $15£11€13A$21C$21 a month.