Telegram bot for a car dealership: catalogue, loans, test drives
Buyers find a car with filters, work out the payment and book a test drive right in Telegram.
The manager gets a request with the car and a phone number instead of “what do you have under three million?”.
People message us “any crossover under three million?”, and the manager spends half the day answering the same thing.
Followers of our channel see a car in a post but cannot pick one and book without a phone call.
Buyers want to know the monthly payment before they come, and the only calculator is on the bank’s website.
Two people booked a test drive of the same car at the same time.
What we build
Catalogue with filters
Make, body, price, year, gearbox, fuel, mileage. The bot hides options that would leave no cars at all.
Car card
Photos, price, an example payment, mileage, owners, engine. Favourites and a comparison of up to three cars.
Loans and trade-in
A step-by-step payment calculator and a price range for the buyer’s own car by make, year and mileage.
Test drive booking
Free times by day, the phone number with one tap. While the buyer sends the number, the time is held for them.
New arrival alerts
Buyers subscribe to their filter, and the bot sends the card when a matching car arrives.
Admin and export
Add and remove cars, view requests. The catalogue can come from a sheet or from your CRM, if it has an API.
In detail
What a dealership bot does
The bot answers the questions a manager hears every day: what is in stock, what the payment will be, how much my car is worth and when I can come. The buyer gets an answer at once, even at night, and in the morning the manager sees a request with the car and a phone number.
- Search with filters. Every option shows how many cars will be left, so a search never ends in an empty list.
- A card with photos, the price and an example payment. Pictures flip inside the same message, and “All photos” sends an album.
- A row-by-row comparison of two or three cars: price, year, mileage, power, gearbox. The best value in each row stands out.
- A loan calculator: price, down payment, term, rate, monthly payment and overpayment. It says that the result is an example, not a bank offer.
- A trade-in estimate by make, year and mileage, and booking an inspection.
- Test drives by free slots. While the buyer sends a phone number, the slot is held, and two people cannot book the same time.
How much it costs
| What is included | Price | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Bot with a catalogue, car cards and requests to the manager | from $125 | 1-2 weeks |
| Bot with a server: filters, loans, trade-in, test drives, alerts, admin panel | from $550 | 3-5 weeks |
| Catalogue in a Mini App inside Telegram | from $430 | 3-5 weeks |
The price depends on the size of the catalogue and where it comes from. With twenty cars managed by hand, the admin panel in the bot is enough. With hundreds of cars already in dealer software, you need a sync over its API, which we estimate once we see the documentation. What a bot like the demo would cost is on the Zelyonaya Volna case page.
A bot, a website or a Mini App
A bot works best when buyers already message the dealership in Telegram: search and booking happen where the conversation is. With many cars and a need for big photos and scrolling, a Mini App with a catalogue is added to the bot. Test drive booking works the same way as in a booking bot. If you are choosing between a website and a Mini App, read “A website or a Telegram Mini App”.
Where to start
- Describe in your own words how many cars you have, where they are tracked and how test drives are booked now. No formal spec needed.
- We estimate the complexity and fix the price before we start.
- We show a demo with about 40% of the functionality, and you pay only after it. The reasons are in why we take payment after the demo.
- We launch the bot on your account and server and hand over the code and access.
The bot collects a name and a phone number, which is personal data. Under Russian law 152-FZ you need a privacy policy and the buyer’s consent, and the bot links to them before the number is sent. Present loan rates in the calculator as an example, not as a bank offer.
What it looks like
Zelyonaya Volna is our live demo bot for a made-up dealership in Nizhny Novgorod: 32 cars, filters, comparison, loans, trade-in and test drive booking. You can open it in Telegram as @ashehaishopbot.
Price and timeline
Cost
Bot with a catalogue and requests
Catalogue, car cards, requests to the manager, a simple admin panel
from $125
Bot with a server, like the demo
Filters, loans, trade-in, test drive booking, alerts, admin panel
from $550
Catalogue in a Mini App
A showroom with large photos and filters inside Telegram, a bot for alerts
from $430
Timeline
Demo in 1-2 weeks, launch in 3-5 weeks
Prices are a guide. We name the exact amount after a conversation and fix it before we start.
How we work
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Payment after the demo
We invoice once we show a demo with about 40% of the functionality done.
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We do the estimate
We assess the complexity and the progress ourselves and explain how we counted.
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A month of free fixes
For a month after launch we fix small things for free, as long as they add no new features.
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Your code, your access
You get the source code and access to the server, the bot and the admin panel. Nothing ties you to us.
Questions
How much does a car dealership bot cost?
A bot with a catalogue and requests to the manager starts from $125. A bot with a separate server, filters, a loan calculator, test drive booking and alerts starts from $550. We give the exact price after your description and fix it before we start.
Where does the bot get the cars?
From the bot’s admin panel, from a Google Sheet or from your dealer software, if it has an API. Photos are uploaded with each car. Our demo uses drawings the bot builds from the specs instead of photos.
Does the bot approve loans?
No. The calculator shows an example payment by formula, and the rate and approval come from the bank. The bot passes a loan request to the manager or to a partner bank, if the bank has an API.
Where do requests go?
To the managers’ Telegram chat, to a sheet or to a CRM. A request has the car, the time and the phone number the buyer sent with a button, so the number cannot be mistyped.
Do we need a website if we have a bot?
Not necessarily. The bot works where buyers already message the dealership. If you have a website, the bot uses the same catalogue.
Tell us about the task
In your own words, no spec needed. We reply within a working day with a price.
Discuss a project