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Service reminders for auto shops: due by miles and months

Steer texts and emails customers when an oil change or other service is due, using the history in your shop system. From $479£360€429A$691C$677 a month.

At a glance

  • What it costs$479£360€429A$691C$677 a month

  • Worth, in extra profit or time saved in the worked example$1,620£1,218€1,449A$2,339C$2,290 a month

  • Pays for itselfIn about two weeks

  • Connecting two tools or some setup timeSome setup needed

Figures come from the worked example below, using its stated assumptions. Tool prices checked . How we check prices

The problem

Last spring's oil change customers don't remember when they're due, and the quick lube on the corner sends them a coupon. If a shop has 2,000 customers on file and sends no reminders, even 20 lost visits a month at $180£135€161A$260C$254 is $3,600£2,707€3,221A$5,197C$5,089 a month of work walking past.

What the AI does

Steer connects to your shop management system and sends automatic text and email reminders for oil changes, inspections and other routine work based on time, mileage or service history. It can also turn past recommendations that customers deferred into reminders. Each reminder links to the customer's Digital Glovebox showing what's done and what's due, and a campaigns dashboard shows what each message earned. The Essentials plan adds two-way messaging and review requests.

A worked example

An illustrative example built from typical figures, not a named business.

A family-owned shop in Charlotte has about 2,000 active customers in its shop system and used to mail postcards when someone remembered. The owner connects Steer Essentials and switches on reminders by mileage and months.

Before

2,000 customers on file and only occasional postcards

After

Reminders by time and mileage for every customer; about 20 extra visits a month at $180£135€161A$260C$254

What it's worth

About $1,620£1,218€1,449A$2,339C$2,290 a month in profit, at an assumed 45% margin on $3,600£2,707€3,221A$5,197C$5,089 of extra visits (20 a month at $180£135€161A$260C$254). That is against $479£360€429A$691C$677 a month for Steer Essentials. The visit count is an assumption; Steer's campaigns dashboard shows what reminders actually bring in.

How to set it up

  1. Book a Steer demo and confirm it connects to your shop management system before signing.
  2. Clean up customer records: correct cell numbers, emails and mileage at the last visit.
  3. Get written consent to marketing texts at the counter or on the work order, and keep STOP working; the TCPA and carrier A2P 10DLC rules apply to business texting. Ask Steer how its numbers are registered.
  4. Set reminder intervals by service (oil type, tire rotation, state inspection) rather than one interval for everyone.
  5. Check the campaigns dashboard monthly and stop reminders that bring nothing back.

What goes wrong

  • $479£360€429A$691C$677 a month is a fixed cost. A shop with a few hundred customers may not get enough return visits to cover it; the Booking Tool plan ($189£142€169A$273C$267) doesn't include service reminders.
  • Wrong mileage makes reminders early or late. Record mileage on every repair order.
  • The pricing page doesn't say whether prices are billed monthly or annually, or about any 10DLC fee. Ask before you sign.

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Last updated October 18, 2026.