Opinion
I think these new car care products are really good
by Lars Petersen
Why a digital garage makes sense
16.1.2026
Translation: Natalie McKay
A study by students at the University of St. Gallen suggests that vehicle repair workshops should digitise their work processes and evolve from a repair shop to a «service cloud». I’m on board. Here are four ideas on what the garage of the future could look like.
Many garages still operate in the same way today as they did 20 years ago. You call, make an appointment, drop off your car and pick it up again at an agreed time. This works, but it’s an outdated way of doing things, according to the study.
I agree. Customers want flexibility, comparison options and transparent prices.
New tasks in complex times
Giving customers advice is far more complex these days. E-mobility is far more than a new type of propulsion. The target group has to adapt to it, and needs help with this.
Source: Shutterstock
What’s more, the process taking place in a vehicle repair workshop is often difficult for a layperson to understand. What are they doing to my car? Why? When? Why does it cost what it costs?
In the end, the spare part you bought cheaply on the internet isn’t as good as it first seemed. If you can’t check the quality and install the part yourself, it’s no use.
1. Live updates: so I know what they’re doing
This is why I’m totally in favour of digitisation in garage operations. I’ll start with a simple example: live updates while your car’s being worked on. You book your appointment online and receive status updates while the mechanic is dealing with your car.
Great! This makes it easy for you to check whether the work on your car is reasonable. The invoice you receive at the end should list the exact same work and spare parts you saw during the updates. After all,if you can track your parcels, why not the repairs to your car?
Not only that: if extra work’s required, leading to higher costs, you simply approve the tasks digitally. Your vehicle repair workshop can tell you whether the additional work is important for road safety, whether it’s to maintain the value of the vehicle, or if it’s just a nice extra.
The students at the University of St. Gallen hypothesise that customers will want to have a better understanding of a garage’s processes in the future. I think live updates would bring us a big step closer to this.
2. More flexible without being tied to opening hours
For me, more flexibility in garage operations also means no longer being dependent on the vehicle repair workshop’s opening hours. This would be possible with online appointment booking and a digitally controlled key safe, just like at a car rental company.
3. I can chat for as long as I want
Speaking of time management, I believe that digital tools can also unlock potential here. You may prefer to let the garage do the work, and prioritise being able to pick up your car as quickly as possible without any fuss. I’m not like that. I like a face-to-face conversation, and enjoy talking to the person who’s working on my car.
I’d like to think the mechanics feel the same way about me. My last car was a classic model. In my local garages, I could never pick up my car without someone talking to me. Most of the time, a quick (or not so quick) chat was obligatory, accompanied by a coffee, of course.
Source: Shutterstock
What do I mean? When booking an appointment digitally, you can indicate your wish for a personal consultation, making time management easier for the vehicle repair workshop. And not just for garage, but for you too. Questions from your better half as to why you’re coming home an hour later than planned when all you did was pick up the car from the garage would be a thing of the past. This strengthens trust in the garage.
4. Knowledge fosters greater trust
Finally, engagement on social media offers the opportunity to build what the study calls a knowledge hub. How-tos, tutorials and guides are not a marketing gimmick. They clear up questions the workshop team would otherwise have to spend a lot of time answering.
A digital future isn’t enough on its own
Now there are just two things left for me to cover, number one being affordability. The service has to be affordable, according to my definition of the word. It’s a yes to digitisation. But not if only the large garage chains can afford it, and if the costs are passed on to customers on a large scale. Digital service subscription models I pay for monthly, like Netflix, are my personal worst nightmare.
Small vehicle repair workshops have invaluable knowledge, and are important hubs for the community in many parts of the car scene. Digitisation mustn’t result in unsurmountable economic challenges for them. If they were to disappear, they would leave behind a void that cannot be filled.
Number two has to do with the expectations of potential customers, and with decency. For me, transparency isn’t a right to know every last detail of the business. Even less is gained from being allowed to dictate the actions of the workshop team. My motto is: make clear agreements. And if I’m not satisfied with the quality of a job, I discuss it with the mechanics face to face instead of posting angry rants somewhere on social media.
What do you think? Let me know in the comments.
Header image: Shutterstock
When I was a toddler, I already knew my neighbour's car was a VW Golf GTD. And I've never lost my passion for cars, motorcycles and vans. Having worked as an automotive journalist for 15 years, I'm also interested in anything to do with camping, tinkering, gardening and DIY.
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