DVI vs. DVX: Elevating Inspections for a Better Customer Experience

The tools in your auto shop aren’t just conveniences—they’re game-changers. They’re essential to delivering the best results. To stay ahead, your tools, including your Digital Vehicle Inspection software, should constantly evolve. This ensures your staff has what they need to work efficiently, while providing customers with the highest quality experience.

Beyond Digital Vehicle Inspections: How DVX Provides Everything Your Customers Need

Why DVX is the Future of Inspection Technology

While Digital Vehicle Inspection (DVI) tools helped shops move away from paper systems, they often don’t meet the deeper needs of customers, providing all the information they need to make informed decisions in one place. That’s where Shop-Ware’s Digital Vehicle Experience (DVX) steps in. Designed to streamline workflows, improve customer satisfaction, and boost profits, DVX is the next step in efficiency and transparency. So, what’s the difference between DVI and DVX? DVI is an inspection tool that shares a health check with customers, helping them understand potential work their vehicle may need. Through photos and recommendations, it informs customers about the necessary repairs their vehicles require, making the process clear and educational.

DVX takes digital vehicle inspections to the next level, offering customers a comprehensive view of their entire repair order—everything a traditional DVI provides and more. Alongside the inspection report and photos, it includes recommended service packages, prioritization of recommended repairs, educational resources, and modern, streamlined ways to engage with your auto shop—all in one convenient platform.

The result? A smoother, more informative, and connected experience for your customers. With Shop-Ware, inspections aren’t treated as a separate process—they’re fully integrated into the repair workflow. This reduces back-and-forth, improves communication, and keeps everything running smoothly. Your customers have a one stop shop for everything related to their car repair. When comparing DVI vs. DVX, it’s clear DVX stands in a league of its own.

Smarter Technology to Meet Customer Needs

Traditional Digital Vehicle Inspection tools often work as isolated systems, providing checklists and basic information sharing. However, auto repair is inherently complex—and no car owner wants to jump between separate conversations for inspections and overall repairs. With Shop-Ware’s DVX, every aspect of the repair process comes together seamlessly, making it simpler for both your staff and your customers.

Expedite the Check-In Process: Customers can review the estimate and approve it before they even show up at the shop, saving time during the key transfer.
Approve Recommendations: Customers can review recommendations coming from the DVI and quickly make decision on whether or not they want to add on the additional service. They can see the “out the door” cost and sign for the additional work all online.
Integrated Communications: With DVX, the inspection process becomes a natural part of your repair workflow—not a standalone task. Customers receive clear, cohesive information without piecing together separate conversations, making approvals faster and smoother.
Pay from Anywhere: With DVX, you can have a customer remotely pay for a down payment on a large job or even pay for the entire job before picking the car up after hours. This convenience alone gives you an advantage against the competition around you.

A Clear Path to Faster Approvals

With Shop-Ware DVX software, customers no longer juggle inspection data and repair recommendations across different tools. Everything—including inspection results, recommended fixes, costs, and total estimates—is integrated into one connected experience. This approach builds trust, enhances clarity, and speeds up decision-making.

Ordering Recommendations by Urgency: Technicians and advisors can highlight what requires immediate attention versus what a customer can plan for down the road. This clarity helps build confidence in your recommendations while reinforcing trust.
Instant Notifications: Shop-Ware alerts your team the moment a customer opens DVX to view their Repair Order (RO), allowing for timely follow-ups, seamless communication, and increased sales. When inspections are just one step in the repair process—not an isolated task—you create a smoother, more transparent experience for everyone involved. Giving the customer one place to review everything really streamlines that communication.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

Data from Shop-Ware customers shows the DVX advantage. Shops that share repair orders using DVX see significant gains in average repair order (ARO) value, customer trust, and close rates.

Shops with shared ROs average an ARO of $972.80, compared to just $426.05 for unshared ROs.
Median RO share rate sits at 56%, with top-performing shops showing 85,000 ROs shared and achieving an average of 4.43 recommendations per RO.
Close rates improve drastically thanks to DVX’s unified presentation format. Shops leveraging DVX achieve an average close rate of 55.92%, ensuring more work gets approved.

DVX Benefits That Stand Out

With its robust feature set, Shop-Ware DVX software isn’t just a tool; it’s a complete partner for your shop’s success.

Ease of Use for Staff & Customers: Shop-Ware’s TechApp collects technician findings quickly, while the DVX “Customer View” makes recommendations crystal-clear and builds trust.
Streamlined Workflow Efficiency: With innovations like draft notes on inspections, technicians can write notes about the issue found on the car without the risk of it being shown to the customer. This keeps the repair process fluid. Service advisors can review findings, add recommendations, and present the polished package, including the actual recommended fix, to customers in a professional, confidence-inspiring way.
Customer-Centric Transparency: Customers see the full picture of their repair order—not just inspection findings. This approach builds trust, empowers informed decisions, and accelerates approvals.