The form on the counter
When you drop a car off for repair, someone at the desk may slide a form across for your signature. It can be easy to sign it quickly and hand over the keys. That form is worth a slow read, because it can set out what the shop may do and how you will hear about the cost. Look for anything left blank, such as a spending limit or a line for how you prefer to be contacted, and fill it in or ask what it means before you sign.
The estimate wording in Iowa's act
Under Iowa's Motor Vehicle Service Trade Practices Act (Iowa Code chapter 537B), a written repair authorization must tell the customer: "You have the right to a written or oral estimate if the expected cost of repairs or service will be more than fifty dollars. Your bill will not be higher than the estimate by more than ten percent unless you approve a higher amount before repairs are finished." If a customer authorizes work orally, the shop must tell the customer of the right to a written or oral estimate.
Questions to ask before you sign:
- Will my estimate come in writing or by phone, and can I have it in writing either way?
- How will you reach me if the cost looks like it will change, and at what point will you stop to ask?
- Is there a charge for preparing the estimate or for finding the fault?
Which vehicles the act describes
Iowa's Motor Vehicle Service Trade Practices Act (Iowa Code chapter 537B) defines a consumer as a person contracting for repairs or service on a motor vehicle used primarily for farm or personal use, and its definition of motor vehicle does not include a vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than twelve thousand pounds.
If you are not sure how your vehicle and its use fit those definitions, ask the shop, and read the authorization form it gives you.
Approving work over the phone
A call from the shop in the middle of a workday can come while you are busy, and a quick "go ahead" can be hard to recall later. A few habits can help:
- Ask the caller to read out what they found, the repair they suggest and the new total, and write all three down.
- Ask whether the repair is needed now for safety or can wait.
- After the call, send a short text or email repeating what you approved and the total, with the time of the call.
- If you say no, or want time to think, say so in the same message.
The diagnosis call
When a fault takes some tracing, the first call may only report what the shop has found so far. Ask what test or reading pointed to the problem, whether any trouble code was read and what follow-up testing showed, and whether the shop can send a photo of the worn or broken part.
Questions about the shop
Before a larger repair, ask:
- What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?
- How familiar are you with this make, and do you have its service information?
- Which kind of part do you plan to use on each line: new from the maker, new from another maker, rebuilt, remanufactured or used?
- What does your written warranty cover for parts and for labor, and for how long?
Ask also for proof of liability coverage while the car is in the shop's care, and call your own insurer if you want to know how your policy treats damage or theft while a car sits at a shop.
Sioux City's drinking water
The City of Sioux City draws all of its water from groundwater, using both the deep Dakota sandstone aquifer and the shallower Missouri River alluvium. Its well field of 7 vertical wells and 3 Ranney collector wells can produce roughly 41 million gallons a day.
The city says Sioux City's water is hard because it comes from deep underground formations, with typical hardness of 350 mg/L to 550 mg/L depending on which wells are in use; it suggests starting residential softeners at 24 grains per gallon.
At pickup
Hold the invoice beside your estimate and the approvals you sent. Ask the service writer to walk you through any line you don't recognize. Ask which parts were replaced and which were only inspected. A short drive before you leave the lot can show whether the original symptom is gone; if it is still there, mention it before you go. Ask for the written warranty terms for parts and labor before you pay, and keep them with the invoice.
For the glove box
- Read the authorization form before you sign it.
- Ask whether the estimate will be written or oral, and ask for it in writing.
- Confirm phone approvals by text or email, with the total.
- Ask the license question, and note the answer and the date.
- Keep each estimate, approval and invoice together, marked with the date and mileage.