WhatsApp for car dealers, workshops and parts shops
Answer enquiries from your ads in seconds, tell customers the moment their car is ready, remind them when a service is due, and let them send photos and voice notes of the part they need.
What you can send
Every message comes from your own WhatsApp number, and replies land in your Sonar inbox. A few examples:
How Sonar helps
- Enquiries answered in seconds. The AI Agent replies straight away, in your voice, from the stock, prices and opening hours you give it, and hands test drives, trade-ins and anything it can't answer to your team. Included from the Plus plan (R1,499 a month). How it works
- Car ready, from your workshop system. If your workshop or dealer system can send job changes to a web address, Sonar sends the car-ready message for every job. How it works
- Service reminders on time. Save each customer's next service date, and a flow sends the reminder a few weeks before, never during quiet hours.
- Know which ads bring buyers. See which click-to-WhatsApp ad started each chat.
- Photos and voice notes. Customers send a photo of the part or a voice note about the noise, and it lands in one shared inbox, with voice notes written out.
- A number for each salesperson. Connect each salesperson's own WhatsApp Business app number as an agent number for R499 a month. They keep the app on their phone, and the chats show up in Sonar too. How it works
What it costs
Say you message 1,500 customers in a month, with 1,500 marketing messages and 1,500 updates. That fits the Plus plan at R1,499 a month, which includes the AI Agent. WhatsApp's own charges, paid to Meta from your card, come to about R1,206.
| Size | Sonar plan | WhatsApp* | Total a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop or parts shop1 number, 300 marketing and 800 updates a month | Starter, R349 | R322 | R671 |
| Dealership3 numbers, 1,500 marketing and 1,500 updates a month | Plus, R1,499Includes the AI Agent | R1,206 | R2,705 |
| Dealer group8 numbers, 6,000 marketing and 4,000 updates a month | Plus + 3 extra numbers, R2,996Includes the AI Agent | R4,502 | R7,498 |
* WhatsApp's own charges for South African numbers, paid to Meta from your card, an estimate at today's exchange rate. Sonar's prices include VAT. Every plan.
Plans start with a free trial of 50 contacts and 250 messages, with replies you type free, no card needed. Work out your own month with the calculator.
Questions
Can the AI Agent talk about finance and trade-ins?
Leave those to your team. List finance, trade-in values and offers under HAND TO A PERSON in its instructions, and it tells the customer someone will come back to them. Our terms ask that a person approves any AI reply about someone's money.
Does it work with our dealer or workshop system?
If it can send job or stock changes to a web address (often called a webhook), yes. Not sure? Email us which system you use and we'll check.
Can each branch have its own number?
Yes, and you can limit each branch's team to its own number's chats. The table above shows the plan for a group with several numbers.
Guides for this
- AI Agent and Copilot: a WhatsApp chatbot in your voice
- Order and booking updates from your other systems
- Use Sonar with the WhatsApp Business app
- WhatsApp pricing in South Africa
Other industries
- Restaurants, bars and cafés
- Shops and online stores
- Salons, spas and studios
- Sports clubs and schools
- Estate agents and property developers
- Laundries and dry cleaners
- Medical, dental and therapy practices
- Lodges, guesthouses and holiday stays
- Recruitment and staffing agencies
- Software platforms and SaaS
- Accountants, brokers and financial advisers
Need a hand?
Tell us about your business: email support@whats-hub.co.za or chat to us on WhatsApp, and we'll help you set it up.