License-plate instant quotes for mobile detailers

Micro-SaaSWeb1 weekNext.jsPlate lookup APIStripeSupabase

The idea

A mobile detailer’s leads arrive as DMs asking how much for my car, and the honest answer is it depends on the size. So begins a photo exchange and phone tag, during which the customer messages three other detailers and books whoever answers first. Every unanswered quote is a lost 150-300 USD job.

Generic booking tools cannot price by vehicle class automatically. Plate-to-vehicle APIs cost pennies per call in both the US and the UK, and nobody has productised the obvious chain: plate to model to size tier to firm price to paid deposit. That chain converts a browsing lead into a locked slot before the competition has replied.

Who pays

The detailer pays 25 USD/month and puts the link in their Instagram bio and Google Business profile; deposits killing no-shows is the second sale in the same pitch. One saved job a month is 6x the subscription. Distribution: detailing subreddits and Facebook groups, YouTube detailing channels with course audiences, and the Instagram DMs of detailers whose bios currently say DM for quote.

MVP scope

  • Public plate-to-price page with size-tier resolution and manual fallback
  • Detailer price grid (size tiers by service packages)
  • Availability calendar with slot holds and deposit checkout via Stripe
  • Job dashboard with vehicle, package, address, and slot per booking
  • Plate lookup caching and per-detailer vehicle-tier overrides
  • Skip for v1: route planning, CRM, memberships, SMS reminders, multi-crew calendars
// Build prompt — paste into Cursor / Claude Code / Lovable / Bolt
Build PlateQuote, a web app that gives mobile detailers an instant-quote page driven by licence plate lookup.

Stack: Next.js (App Router), a plate lookup API (Plate-to-VIN in the US, DVLA VES in the UK) for make/model resolution, Stripe for deposits and billing, Supabase (Postgres + auth).

Core flow: the detailer gets a public page at platequote.app/<business-slug>. A customer enters their plate and region; the lookup API returns make, model, and body type, which maps to a size tier (small, sedan, SUV, truck/van, XL) via a built-in vehicle-class table with a detailer-editable override list. The customer picks a service package, sees a firm price from the detailer's tier-by-package price grid, chooses an open slot from the detailer's availability calendar, and pays a deposit through Stripe Checkout to lock it. The detailer gets an SMS-free email notification with vehicle, package, address, and slot.

Pages: public quote-and-book page (mobile-first, plate field front and centre), detailer dashboard with upcoming jobs, price grid editor (tiers by packages), availability editor with working hours and blocked days, vehicle-tier override list, settings and billing.

Implementation details: cache plate lookups for 30 days to control per-call API cost, and always offer a manual fallback (pick your vehicle type) when lookup fails so no lead dies at the plate field. Hold slots for 10 minutes during checkout.

Pricing for detailers: 25 USD/month via Stripe, deposits flow to the detailer's connected Stripe account, 14-day trial.

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