WhatsApp CRM · Auto Parts and Vehicle Accessories
"Corolla" is not one car, and a price quoted before you know which one comes back as a return
Written for how auto parts and vehicle accessories actually work
Genuine and authorised parts counters, aftermarket and Japan-import recon yards stripping half-cuts, accessory and audio shops fitting mats, alloys, cameras and tint, and lubricant and battery sellers working on service intervals.
This is not a nurtured deal. In-stock genuine or aftermarket items move in hours to a couple of days, while a used or recon part pulled from a specific container can take a week or more. Follow up the same day if an identification photo never arrived, and again once — after that the customer has bought elsewhere and chasing only annoys them.
Brake and cooling parts pick up around April as people fix vehicles before travelling upcountry, wiper blades, batteries and electricals spike through the monsoon months, December brings pre-holiday checks, and January sees school-transport vans serviced.
A normal day in your inbox
- Is this for a Corolla?
- What's the number on this — can you tell me?
- Does this match a 2015 Wagon R?
- Is it brand new or recon?
- Is the one you got genuine, or aftermarket?
- I need a headlight, left side, for the new car.
- I don't have the chassis number, I don't know where it's written.
Where the deals leak
- Enquiry
- Identification
- Price quoted
- Order confirmed
- Delivery or pickup
- Fitting
- Repeat
The fitting attempt — not the enquiry. The part was quoted off a model name, and the mismatch only surfaces days later when the customer or their mechanic tries to install it.
A model name is a family of engine codes, body shapes and years, several of which take a different part despite sharing a badge. The identification step was skipped to keep the chat moving.
A board that matches your job
Use the board on the same day, not across weeks. Its job is to stop anything reaching Quoted while it is still sitting on a guess.
Stage 1
Enquiry
Someone has named a part or sent a photo of a broken one. Nothing is identified yet.
Stage 2
Vehicle identified
Make, model, year and engine are known, or you have a clear photo of the old part or the CR book page.
Stage 3
Quoted
Fit confirmed for that exact variant, price given, genuine or aftermarket or recon stated plainly.
Stage 4
Ordered
Confirmed, with delivery method agreed for the weight and fragility of the item.
Stage 5
Delivered
Handed over or dispatched, with the return terms already stated before money changed hands.
Tags worth having
- Genuine
- Aftermarket
- Recon
- Needs old-part photo
- Fragile delivery
- Pickup only
- Garage account
- Mechanic referral
Set it up once
Everything below happens inside WhatsApp Web, on the number you already use. No API, no new inbox.
Add InboxCRM to Chrome- 1
Make the identification question set a one-tap reply
Make, model, year, engine and the model code from the CR book if they have it — saved once as a quick reply and sent fifty times a day. Text macros let you drop the customer's name in without retyping the whole thing.
- 2
Offer the easy alternative in the same breath
Asking for a chassis number cold reads as bureaucratic and gets ignored. Keep a second quick reply that explains why it matters in one line, then asks for a photo of the old part or the CR book photo page instead.
- 3
Save the vehicle on the contact, once
Custom fields for make, model, year, engine and model code mean the customer who bought a headlamp six months ago does not have to re-explain their car from zero when the next thing fails. That is the repeat business this trade leaves on the table.
- 4
State the return and delivery terms before the sale
One quick reply covering what can be returned unfitted, what cannot be returned once installed, and how a windscreen travels differently from a bulb. Arguing about a rule that was never agreed is what turns a small mistake into a lost garage relationship.
The messages that stall a sale
“Does this actually fit?”
Usually means
They have been burned before, or heard of someone who was, and are asking you to take responsibility for something they cannot check themselves.What works
Never answer from the model name alone. Ask the identification set first, then confirm specifically — the year range, the model code, the engine — rather than a bare yes.“Is it genuine?”
Usually means
They are judging whether the price is fair for what they are getting and whether it will last.What works
State only what you can actually show: an invoice and part-number sticker for a genuine part, or a plain "this is aftermarket" or "this is a Japan-import used part". Never claim a grade of authenticity you cannot back with paperwork.“I don't know the chassis number.”
Usually means
Several things at once — the CR book is not to hand, the request sounds like a legal document, or they are wary of sharing a number that identifies them.What works
Explain in one line why it matters, then offer the easier route first: a photo of the old part, or the CR book photo page. Do not make them type a long code from memory.
Quick replies to save first
Copy these, swap the details in [brackets], and save them as quick replies so you stop retyping them.
The identification set
To confirm the part actually fits, I need: 1) make and model 2) year 3) engine (petrol or diesel, cc) 4) the model code from the CR book if you have it. With those I can tell you the exact fit and the price.
Chassis number, handled gently
Not knowing the model code is completely normal. It's on the photo page of the CR book if you can send a picture of that — or easier still, send me a photo of the old part itself.
Price asked before fit is confirmed
I'll give you the price, but if the year and engine aren't confirmed, the wrong part can end up delivered. Send me those two and I'll quote you the exact one.
Return terms, stated upfront
If it doesn't match, you can return or exchange it before it's fitted. Once a part has been installed and used I can't take it back — so please check the fit before anything goes on.
Free tools that help here: WhatsApp Business Message Templates, WhatsApp Text Formatter.
The parts of InboxCRM you'll use most
Quick replies with text macros
The identification set, the genuine-or-recon disclosure and the return terms stop being something you retype fifty times a day.
Contact notes, tags and custom fields
A customer's make, model, year and model code stay on their number, so the next part starts from what you already know.
Order and delivery tracking
Keeps a courier or delivery-van job attached to the chat, which matters for fragile and heavy items going outstation.
Auto-reply rules
An after-hours message can ask for the vehicle details straight away, so the identification has started before you open the shop.
Questions from auto parts and vehicle accessories
Can InboxCRM look up a chassis number or tell me whether a part fits?
No. It cannot read a parts catalogue, verify that a part is genuine, or judge whether something will physically fit a vehicle. That judgement stays entirely with you. What it does is make the identification questions instant to send and keep the answers saved, so the judgement is made on real details rather than a guess.
Most of my customers come through mechanics. Does a CRM help there?
Tag those chats by the garage that referred them. Over time you can see which mechanics actually send work and which vehicles keep coming from each one. A garage recommends you for fitment accuracy, not price, so the notes that make you accurate are the ones protecting that channel.
Can I send an offer to everyone who ever bought from me?
Only to people who opted in to hear from you. Campaigns run with conservative sending caps, quiet hours and a per-contact cooldown, and they are a poor fit for a trade where the right message depends on which vehicle someone drives. Filtering by a vehicle tag and messaging a small group works better.
Does this work on my counter laptop?
Yes. It is a Chrome extension on top of WhatsApp Web in desktop Chrome, on the number you already use, with no WhatsApp Business API needed. CRM data stays in that browser. If you also reply from your phone, set the extension up on the machine where the counter conversations actually happen.