From niche to necessary—mobile vehicle service is having a breakout moment

Plus, 3 ways dealers are dialing it in

Hey, everyone — Absolutely wild week in tariff land.

When the auto tariffs hit, I was curious how the CDG community felt—so I ran a poll.

Here’s what 250+ of you said:

🟩 17% – I support tariffs
🟨 28% – Chill... we don’t know enough yet
🟥 55% – Total disaster

Like it or not, tariffs are here. But so far, OEMs are holding the line on price hikes.

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Mobile car repair and maintenance, aka mobile service, has been around for decades. But fast forward to today, and many automakers have fully systemized (and partially subsidized) mobile service for their dealer networks.

And it's safe to say this niche offering has quietly grown into one of the most underappreciated growth levers in the dealership playbook. But how are dealers taking mobile service to the next level?

To find out, I spoke with dealership operators, automaker executives, and industry insiders. And I pinpointed three best practices that take mobile service operations from good to exceptional. 

Best practice #1: Targeting fleets to turn mobile service into a reliable money-maker.

At Bozard Ford, mobile service for fleets now makes up ~30% of mobile service repair orders (ROs)—anchored by small businesses and government clients.

“Once you're in,” COO Ed Roberts told me, “you’re doing 8–10 cars in a visit. It’s a completely different game.”

Granted—Ed has 41 mobile service vans and 162 technicians, but recently, he brought on a rep focused solely on landing fleet contracts. His job is to drive around town, look for work trucks, and start conversations.

Ed Roberts posing with mobile service technicians

But the highest-performing stores for mobile service are also building separate operational models for residential and fleet services to avoid bottlenecks, slowdowns, and pissed-off customers.

“Fleet is about uptime and volume. Residential is about the customer experience,” Ed told me. So, his dealership assigns different vans, techs, and schedules for each segment. Fleet vans are route-optimized and heavily tooled, but techs chosen for residential jobs must have the soft skills.

Why it’s a game changer: Fleet work typically offers volume, higher labor rates, repeat business, and fixed-route efficiency. But it demands infrastructure like outbound sales, the right technician skills, and clear ROI planning.

Best practice #2: Turning mobile service into an acquisition channel for used inventory.

Used vehicle supply remains tight—and smart dealers are turning mobile service into an alternative acquisition channel.

Ed now arms his techs with QR codes that trigger nearly instant appraisal offers. “We send the VIN to our buying center and push a live offer by text within minutes,” he said.

And according to Amit Chandarana, the CEO of mobile service SaaS provider Curbee, when a technician shows up at someone’s home or office to do a service they requested, they are naturally more comfortable. Which makes it easier to start a value-based conversation about their car.

"Why does so much business get done on the golf course or at the cocktail party? Because the guards are down," he told me.

Why it’s a game changer: Service drives have always been a rich source of trades. But mobile service opens that funnel even wider—reaching customers at home, building trust, and turning routine visits into an acquisition loop outside of the showroom.

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Best practice #3: Using mobile service to pull lost customers back in—and keep them loyal for the long haul.

Bozard tracks overall service retention near 80%, but mobile customers trend even higher—closer to 90%.

And get this—according to Curbee, 92% of customers who hadn’t visited their dealer for over 18 months accepted a mobile service appointment when offered.

Even more compelling evidence shows up in the customer surveys. 

Michael Speigl and Roger Pipher from We Auto told me their NPS/CSI scores are consistently 0.5 to 0.75 points higher for mobile than traditional service. “We’ve been top of our district every month since we launched,” they said. “That tells us the model works.”

Just like it worked for Jason…

Ford's Todd Rabourn, who has been leading the automaker's mobile service platform, agrees.

“When you look at the loyalty of the customers we’re bringing back—customers we likely wouldn’t have seen otherwise—the impact goes beyond just service. It’s also driving incremental vehicle sales. We’re seeing clear long-term benefits here, both for the brand and for the dealers investing in this space.”

Why it’s a game changer: A customer who never returns for service is a customer who probably won’t buy from the store again. But mobile service gives dealers a way to stay in front of those customers without waiting for them to walk through the door.

Big picture? Building a mobile service unit is a long game, not a short one.

The dealers winning in mobile service aren’t only chasing OEM subsidies—they’re building resilient business units that pencil regardless. They’re hiring differently, measuring profitability van by van, and seeing ROI not just in dollars, but in customer lifetime value.

It's an approach that demands full commitment, discipline, and a willingness to rethink fixed ops from the ground up.

How long has it been since you last visited a dealership for service?

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Average is the enemy: How hospitality became this dealer's strategy for standing out

Stream now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple.. And shout out to SalesApe and Cox Automotive for making this episode possible!

The hidden EV hurdle—why charging still stumps buyers and how dealers can fix it

Stream now on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple. And shout out to OPENLANE, Experian Automotive, and Qmerit for making this episode possible!

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Thanks for reading. See you on the next edition…

—Car Dealership Guy

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