Workbench · Toolbox
AI for auto shops: draft from the ticket, check one thing, send
Method record status: hypothesis. These methods and prompts are not yet tested in a named shop or measured. Nothing on this page has been proven yet.
The work is repair orders explained, tech notes cleaned up and declined work followed up. The machine drafts from the notes you already wrote. You make one named check. Then it leaves, or you delete it.
Use it when
The job is done and the words are already in the ticket, the photos, or a voice memo. Do not use it to make up a price, a diagnosis, or a code requirement. If the notes are thin, the draft will be thin. Fix the notes.
Prompts
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Repair order explained for the customer
From this repair order [paste], write a plain-language explanation for the customer: what we found, what we recommend now, what can wait, price for each line as written on the RO. Do not add parts or labor.
Check before you send: Line prices match the RO.
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Tech notes to customer-ready notes
Turn these tech notes [paste] into three short customer-facing lines: concern, cause, correction. Keep part numbers off. Keep any measurement I wrote, word for word.
Check before you send: Measurements copy over unchanged.
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Declined work reminder
The customer declined this item on [date]: [item, price]. Write one short message that restates the item and price and asks if they want it scheduled. If the item is not a safety issue in my notes, do not imply it is.
Check before you send: Your notes support any safety wording.
Tools that fit Auto / shop work
You do not need any of these to run the prompts above. A free chat assistant is enough to start. If you already pay for one of the job tools, use what it has before adding another login.
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Claude
Free $0; Pro $17/mo billed annually ($20 monthly); Max from $100/mo. Source: Claude pricing page, checked 2026-10-15.
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ChatGPT
Not published in fetched page text (plan prices render client-side); page says a free version is available to everyone. Price figures not captured; recheck by hand. Source: ChatGPT pricing page, checked 2026-10-15.
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Google Gemini
$0 with a Google Account; plans at $4.99/mo and $19.99/mo; from $99.99/mo; business from $21/seat/mo. Source: Google Gemini pricing page, checked 2026-10-15.
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Tekmetric
Start $179/mo billed annually ($199 monthly); Grow $309/mo annual; Scale $409/mo annual. Source: Tekmetric pricing page, checked 2026-10-15.
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Shopmonkey
Basic $215/mo; Clever $359/mo; Genius $449/mo; one-time $500 data migration fee noted for multi-shop. Source: Shopmonkey pricing page, checked 2026-10-15.
The count
Of the 2 non-chat tools we list for Auto / shop work, 2 printed a dollar figure on their pricing page on 2026-10-15, from $179 to $215 as the first listed figure. 0 had a free tier.
Method: same fetch as the toolbox; first dollar figure on each page's cheapest plan. Add-on prices count as a printed figure only where no base price showed; see each row.
A worked run
Teaching input, not a real RO: three lines, two recommended now and one that can wait. Run the RO prompt. The draft should keep three lines, with each price exactly as written on the RO. If it merges lines or adds shop supplies you did not list, reject it and run it again.
Limits
These prompts tell the assistant to leave blanks blank. Assistants still fill gaps sometimes. That is why every prompt ends with one check, and why the check is yours.
Methods draw on published ideas from Dan Koe (focused one-person work) and Cal Newport (deep work, career capital). This page cites them as influences only. Neither author has reviewed or endorsed Today’s Worker.