mobile service dealerships automotive

5 Things Every Dealer Should Know About Mobile Service

Curbee | September 15, 2025

Our CEO, Amit Chandarana, sat down with Tim Healey for The Truth About Cars podcast to talk about how mobile service is changing fixed ops. Spoiler: it’s not a fad, it’s scale-ready.

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Here are five takeaways every dealer should know:

1. Capacity Without Construction

A mobile service vehicle is like dropping a brand-new $200K service bay onto your lot, minus the construction crew, zoning permits, and dust.

Within just 45 days, most Curbee dealers are running 5–7 extra repair orders per day. All it takes is a properly upfitted vehicle and Curbee’s software to maximize density and minimize drive times for your mobile service jobs.

And here’s the kicker: unlike a fixed bay, mobile capacity can flex. Add one vehicle, add two, add ten. Scale it up as demand grows. It’s capacity you can park in your driveway today and expand tomorrow.

2. Recalls Are the Gateway

Recalls aren’t just a regulatory headache. They’re the perfect on-ramp for mobile service.

Right now there are 73 million open recalls in the U.S. Nearly a third of them (about 19 million) are nothing more than a software update or quick inspection. With the right van, a laptop, and a stable connection, those can be closed out in a customer’s driveway in under an hour.

For dealers, that means three things:

Faster compliance →Meet OEM recall targets
Higher customer satisfaction → Nobody enjoys losing half a day to sit in the service lounge
The next sale → A recall visit often leads to new RO's like wipers, filters, or tires

Think of recalls as the “gateway” for mobile service. Customers say yes because it’s convenient and free to them. Dealers win because it opens the door to more profitable work and keeps recall completion rates on track.

3. Fleets Follow Driveways

Mobile service often starts small. But, it rarely ends there.

That vehicle owner at home might also run a plumbing company with 50 more trucks. The mom booking service for her Tacoma might own an HVAC business with a fleet of 14. One consumer appointment can unlock an entire fleet contract.

“The person who gets the service says, wait, can you do this for our 150 vehicles in our fleet? And the answer is yes.” — Amit Chandarana

Dealers who adopt mobile service quickly learn this pattern. What begins as direct-to-customer convenience snowballs into fleet revenue, where efficiency and uptime are even more valuable. Servicing a driveway builds trust; servicing a fleet builds an entirely new profit center.

Mobile service doesn’t just meet customers where they are. It creates a referral loop that scales from one car to dozens, often in a single conversation.

4. Mainstream, Not Just Luxury

This isn’t about class or car brand. It’s about human behavior. People pay extra to have groceries, burritos, and even dog food show up at their doorstep. Auto service is no different.

Mobile meets customers where they already live, which is in a convenience-first world. If a customer pays $9 to get lunch delivered, they’ll happily book an oil change at home.

5. Awareness Is Low. Adoption Is High.

Most customers have no idea if their dealer even offers mobile service. They assume the only option is driving into the service lane and waiting.

That’s why the first time they hear the words “Would you like to come in, or have us come to you?” the reaction is usually a long pause … followed by an easy yes.

It’s not hesitation. It’s disbelief.
Customers are stunned that the dealership is willing to meet them in their driveway, on their schedule.

And once they experience it, they don’t want to go back. Dealers who simply add that question into their phone scripts and digital touchpoints see appointment counts jump from two a day to ten almost overnight.

Mobile service doesn’t need hype. It just needs awareness.