Industry · Car dealerships

The test drive goes to whoever answers first.

An enquiry about a used car arrives at half past nine in the evening – and goes to the dealership that replied first. HeroChat answers vehicle and appointment questions around the clock, books test drives, reminds people about service appointments and hands over to a salesperson the moment it gets concrete. GDPR-compliant, hosted in Germany.

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EU GDPR compliant

100 % GDPR-compliant

Data processing agreement included — for data that deserves more care than most.

Servers in Germany

Hosted in Germany

Client data never leaves the EU. AI processing runs in the Azure data centre in Frankfurt.

Made in Germany

A real contact in Berlin

Personal onboarding and a phone number to call, instead of a ticket queue.

Where it starts

The customer writes in the evening. You answer on Monday.

Vehicle enquiries arrive when the business is closed – and the workshop fills with appointments nobody confirmed.

Enquiries after closing time

Most vehicle enquiries arrive in the evening and at weekends. Replying on Monday is replying too late.

Salespeople on the phone instead of selling

Opening hours, availability, finance terms – questions that need no salesperson but fill their morning.

Service appointments nobody cancels

A missed appointment is an empty ramp. A letter arrives too late and a phone call reaches nobody.

Use cases

What HeroChat takes on.

None of this replaces your team. All of it removes the groundwork before it – structured, documented and at any hour.

Book the test drive

Vehicle, preferred date, licence class – asked in order and straight into the calendar, Sunday evening included.

Answer vehicle questions

Specification, mileage, availability, finance terms – answered from your own stock list.

Remind about service appointments

A message two days ahead on the channel they open daily – with one-tap cancellation instead of a no-show.

Reach leasing customers in time

A personal message three months before the contract ends, rather than finding the customer at a competitor.

Prepare the service consultation

Damage photos, registration, the actual issue – collected before the car is on the forecourt.

Hand over to the salesperson

Price, part-exchange or finance and a person takes over – with the full conversation in front of them.

You draw the line: which topics the AI closes on its own and which it only prepares is something we set together during onboarding.

What it is worth

Let us actually do the maths.

Rather than advertise a percentage, we show the assumptions. Swap in your own numbers – the structure stays the same.

Worked example: a single-site dealership with its own workshop

  • per monthper year
  • client contacts (all channels)approx. 900approx. 10,800
  • of those, routine matters needing no advice55 % → 4955,940
  • of those, fully handled by the AI60 % → 2973,564
  • average handling time per matter5 minutes5 minutes
  • working time savedapprox. 25 hrsapprox. 300 hrs
  • fully loaded staff cost assumed42 €42/hour42 €42/hour
  • less HeroChat Pro− €129− €1,548
  • calculated effectapprox. €920approx. €11,100
Saved working time is only the first lever. What is left lying beside it can be quantified too – across a year that comes to three lines:

Test drive enquiries lost

€45,000/year

The enquiry arrives in the evening through a vehicle portal. Calling back the next working day means calling someone who booked their test drive elsewhere.

Worked example: 150 online enquiries/month × 12 = 1,800/year × 20 % answered too late = 360 × 5 % close rate = 18 vehicles × €2,500 contribution margin = €45,000

Workshop no-shows

€3,600/month

Every missed appointment is an hour of ramp time nobody pays for – and a part ordered for nothing.

Worked example: 600 workshop appointments/month × 8 % no-show rate = 48 missed × €75 lost contribution per appointment = €3,600/month

Leasing returns nobody contacted

€60,000/year

The follow-on sale is decided three months before the contract ends. Not showing up in that window means not selling the next car.

Worked example: 400 leasing contracts ending/year × 30 % not contacted in time = 120 × 20 % who then buy elsewhere = 24 vehicles × €2,500 contribution margin = €60,000
€148,000/year

Calculated annual loss for a single-site dealership – from vehicle enquiries answered too late, missed workshop appointments and leasing customers nobody contacted in time.

A simplified worked example for illustration, not a promise of results. Every percentage and amount is a deliberately disclosed assumption, not a measured or externally sourced value. Actual figures depend on your size, your enquiry volume and your staff costs. We are happy to run the model with your own numbers on a first call.

Channels

One inbox for everything that arrives.

Your clients decide where they write. All you decide is who answers.

FAQ

Common questions.

Is WhatsApp GDPR-compliant in a dealership?
Through the official WhatsApp Business API, yes – unlike private staff phones, where the address book syncs and customer data leaves the business the moment someone resigns. HeroChat stores data in Germany, processes AI requests in the Azure data centre in Frankfurt and provides the Art. 28 GDPR data processing agreement.
Can the AI really book test drives?
Yes. It asks for vehicle, preferred date and licence class in order and creates the appointment. What it does not do is negotiate price or part-exchange – there it hands over to your salesperson.
How does the AI know our stock?
From the data you provide. In many cases the DMS can also be connected via the REST API and through Zapier, Make and n8n. Whether your particular system offers a suitable interface is something we check honestly upfront.
Does this actually cut no-shows?
A reminder on the channel someone opens daily gets read far more often than a letter. How far the rate falls depends on your customer base – that only becomes solid with your own figures after a few months.
What does it cost for a dealership?
Basic is €89 per month and Pro €149, or €79 and €129 paid annually. For dealerships we would suggest Pro: unlimited contacts, every channel in one inbox and personal onboarding. There is also a permanently free tier with 100 messages a month. See all pricing

Answer faster than the dealership down the road.

Try HeroChat free with your own stock data – every channel in one inbox, test drive booking and appointment reminders from the first week.

Try for free

No credit card required · Personal onboarding · Cancel any time