A shopper filled in the form on your 2019 Tacoma at 9:40 on a Tuesday night. By the time anyone at the lot saw it the next morning, they had heard back from two other dealers and booked a test drive somewhere else. If that sounds like your inbox, the problem is rarely the lead source. It is what happens in the first ten minutes, and then what happens on day two when the shopper goes quiet.
This is the follow-up sequence an independent or used car store can run off a phone: what each text says, what triggers it, how long to wait, who owns the reply, and when to stop. It covers leads from your website form, marketplace listings, and anyone who texts the number on your listing. It stops where the sold list playbook starts, once the car is delivered.
Why the first text decides the lead
An internet lead is a shopper contacting several stores at once. Whoever answers first, with something useful, tends to get the conversation. A text beats a call here because the shopper does not have to pick up, and it leaves a thread they can scroll back to.
The first text has two jobs: prove a person saw their specific question, and ask one easy question back. It does not set an appointment, quote a payment, or run a credit app. Those come later, in a thread they have already replied to.
The 72-hour sequence, message by message
Each template sends under the salesperson's own name. Keep every message short enough to read as one text.
Text 1: within five minutes of the lead
Trigger: a new lead arrives with a mobile number.
Hi Dana, this is Marcus at Ridgeline Auto. Got your message on the 2019 Tacoma. It's here on the lot and I just walked past it. Are you mostly after the price, or do you want to see it in person?
It names the car, confirms it exists, and asks a question they can answer in one word. If the lead asked something specific (mileage, accident history, towing package), answer that first.
If no reply in 2 hours, go to Text 2. If the lead came in after hours, Text 1 goes the next morning at opening, not at 10 p.m.
Text 2: same day, two hours later
Dana, quick walkaround of the Tacoma so you can see the bed and the tires before you drive over. Anything you want me to check on it?
Attach a 30-second phone video or three fresh photos. They have already seen the listing photos; a walkaround of the actual truck costs you a minute.
If no reply by the next morning, go to Text 3.
Text 3: next morning, around 10 a.m.
Morning Dana. I can have the Tacoma pulled up and ready at 12:30 or 5:15 today, whichever's easier. Want me to hold one?
Two concrete times turn a decision into a choice. If they offer a different time, take it.
If no reply by end of day 2, go to Text 4 on day 3.
Text 4: day 3, the close-out
Hi Dana, Marcus again. Don't want to keep pinging you if you've already found something. Should I keep the Tacoma on your radar or close this out?
This one gets honest answers, including "bought one already," which tells you to stop. "Keep me posted" moves the shopper to the long ladder. No reply ends the active sequence.
The long ladder: only when there is news
After day 3, text a quiet lead only when something has changed that they would care about:
Dana, the Tacoma you asked about just dropped $1,200. Still on the lot as of this morning if you want another look.
Dana, the Tacoma sold, but a 2020 SR5 just came in with lower miles. Want the photos?
One message per real event, no more than about once a week. "Just checking in" trains the shopper to ignore your number.
When they reply: the four answers you get most
"What's your best price?" Give a real number and say what is in it. Dodging reads worse in text than on the phone.
The Tacoma is $28,900 plus tax, title and our $399 doc fee. I can text you an out-the-door sheet if you give me your zip.
"What will you give me for my trade?"
Happy to look at it. Send me the year, model, miles, and a couple of photos and I'll get you a ballpark today. Final number once we see it in person.
"Can I get financed?" Move the credit conversation to a call or a secure application link, not the thread.
An appointment is set. Send a confirmation straight away and a reminder the morning of:
You're set for 5:15 today, Dana. I'll have the Tacoma out front. Bring your license and insurance card for the drive. Reply here if anything changes.
In Android Texter, each of these can be a quick reply, a slash shortcut like /otd or /trade that expands to the full text in the composer. Usage counts show which answers your team actually relies on.
Who owns the reply
One lead, one named salesperson, from the first text onward. The shopper replied to Marcus; if Kayla answers next, it stops feeling like a conversation. A setup for a small store:
- The store line lives on one Android phone paired to the dashboard, so every lead thread lands in one shared inbox the manager can see.
- Forwarding rules send a salesperson's leads to their phone. Android Texter can route inbound texts to another phone number or a Telegram channel based on match patterns, so Marcus sees Dana's reply on his own phone while he is on the lot.
- A second line for the other side of the business. If you also run buy here pay here, keep payment reminders on a separate paired handset. Multi-device pairing keeps both numbers in one inbox without mixing them. The BHPH payment reminder playbook covers that line.
- Two inbox sweeps a day. At 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. the manager scans for threads where the shopper replied last and nobody has answered. Those are the leads you are losing in real time.
Making the cadence run without someone remembering
The sequence only works if Text 3 actually goes out tomorrow at 10. Three features do the remembering:
- Scheduled messages. When Marcus sends Text 1, he can queue Texts 3 and 4 in the composer's scheduled-send picker. When Dana replies, he cancels the pending ones at the scheduled messages screen. This is the step people forget, so make cancelling the queue part of answering a reply.
- Auto-reply rules for after hours. A shopper who texts your listing number at 9:40 p.m. can get an instant acknowledgement: "Thanks, this is Ridgeline Auto. We open at 9 and Marcus will text you first thing about the car." That buys you the morning without pretending a human is awake.
- The API or Zapier for form leads. If your website form or lead email feeds a tool your store already uses, the REST API (
POST /api/v1/messages/send) or the Android Texter Zapier app's Send SMS action can fire Text 1 automatically with the shopper's name and vehicle filled in. Text 1 then goes in seconds instead of waiting for someone to notice the email.
How to measure it
Track five numbers per lead source for a month in a spreadsheet:
- Minutes from lead to Text 1
- Leads that replied to anything
- Which text got the first reply (1, 2, 3 or 4)
- Appointments set and appointments shown
- Units sold
The third is the one stores never look at. If almost nobody replies before Text 3, your first two texts are not doing their job.
Consent, opt-outs and timing
This is the part that does not change with the channel. Android Texter sends person-to-person texts from your own handset, which keeps you out of the carrier's A2P 10DLC registration process. It does nothing to the TCPA, which applies in full.
- Consent is yours to collect and keep. Answering the shopper's own question about a car they asked about is one thing; a long ladder of price-drop texts months later is marketing. Keep the form's consent language and the timestamp with the lead. For marketplace or third-party leads, know exactly what the shopper agreed to and who they agreed to hear from. Our piece on consent proof for purchased leads goes through what to keep.
- Honor opt-outs fast, however they are worded. Under the FCC's rules a shopper can revoke consent by any reasonable means. Replies of "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" and "unsubscribe" all count, and the revocation must be honored within ten business days. A one-time confirmation text with no marketing in it is allowed. Android Texter does not suppress opted-out numbers automatically. Set an auto-reply for those keywords, tag the contact, and make sure nobody's scheduled queue still has a text pending for them. More detail in what counts as STOP.
- Mind the clock. Federal rules bar telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and your state's law may set its own window.
One honest note: car dealers are not a blocked industry. A large store sending high volume through a registered campaign and a dealer CRM may be better served by a mainstream A2P provider. Android Texter suits the store that wants texts from a real local number, without registration, brand vetting or campaign fees.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast should a car dealer text back an internet lead?
Within minutes during business hours, and at opening the next morning if the lead arrives after close. The first reply is the one most likely to start a conversation, because the shopper has usually contacted several stores. If nobody can text by hand that quickly, an automated first text sent through the API or Zapier, signed by the salesperson who will own the lead, closes the gap.
How many follow-up texts should I send a lead who does not reply?
Four over three days works for most stores: the first reply, a walkaround video the same day, two appointment times the next morning, and a close-out question on day three. After that, text only when something changes, such as a price drop or a similar vehicle arriving, and no more than about once a week.
Should car sales follow-up texts come from the store or the salesperson?
From a named salesperson, on the store's line. The shopper is replying to a person, and the thread should stay with that person until the car is sold or the lead is closed. A shared inbox lets the manager see every thread, and forwarding rules can push each salesperson's replies to their own phone.
Can I send pictures and video in a follow-up text?
Yes. Android Texter supports MMS, so photos and short videos can go out from the dashboard composer's file picker or through the API with a media URL. A short walkaround you shot yourself is more useful to the shopper than repeating the listing photos.
Run the sequence from your own number
If your lead follow-up depends on someone remembering to text back, the leads are going to whoever answers first. Android Texter puts your store's line in a shared inbox with quick replies, scheduled follow-ups and per-salesperson forwarding, sending from an Android phone you already own. Set up your first device and run Text 1 on tomorrow morning's leads.
