Pickup is part of the repair
The call comes: the car is ready. It can be tempting to pay, grab the keys and go. The time you spend at the counter and in the lot can matter, because pickup is the point where the bill, the parts and the car itself are all in front of you at once.
What section 537B.6 says
Iowa Code section 537B.6 makes it a deceptive practice for a repair shop to fail to give the customer an itemized list of repairs, parts (stating whether they are used, remanufactured or rebuilt, if not new) and labor charges, or to fail to hand over replaced parts, unless the parts are to be rebuilt, sold or returned to the manufacturer for warranty work and the customer was told so before the work began.
Reading each line of the bill
Lay the itemized list beside your estimate and every approval you gave. Work down it slowly:
- Does each repair match something you agreed to, and can you point to when?
- Is each part named clearly enough that another shop would know what it is?
- Where a part is marked used, remanufactured or rebuilt, is that what you were told on the estimate?
- Does the labor for each repair look close to what was quoted, and if not, what explains the change?
- Are fees such as shop supplies or disposal shown as their own lines?
Circle anything you can't follow and ask the service writer about it before you pay. Ask for any correction on a reprinted copy.
Body work and crash parts
In Iowa, a body shop may not use aftermarket crash parts (non-original-manufacturer exterior sheet metal or plastic parts) without disclosing them in a written estimate before the repair that clearly identifies each such part.
If your car had body work, bring the written estimate to pickup and ask:
- Which exterior panels, bumper covers or other outer parts were replaced, and where did each one come from?
- What warranty covers each replaced panel, and the paint on it?
- Can you show me the replaced panels on the car, one by one?
Your old parts
Before the car goes in, tell the shop you want the replaced parts back, and ask it to note that on the paperwork. At pickup, look over what comes back. Ask the technician what each part showed, such as wear, a crack or a leak, and photograph the parts beside the invoice. If the shop is keeping a part, ask it to say on the invoice why.
The walk-around and the drive
Before you leave the lot, walk around the car with someone from the shop:
- After body work, check that panel gaps look even from side to side, that doors, hood and trunk close and latch, and that the paint looks the same in color and texture as the panels next to it.
- Look at the dashboard for warning lights once the engine is running.
- Check lights, signals and the horn.
- Take a short drive and listen for the symptom you brought the car in for, and for anything new.
If something is off, say so at the counter and ask that it be written on your copy of the invoice, with a date for the shop to look again.
The license question
Before the next repair, at this shop or another, ask: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Write down the answer and the date. Ask, too, for proof of liability coverage while the car is in the shop's care.
A folder for the car
Photograph each estimate and form on the day you sign it, and file the photos with the invoice. Keep in the folder:
- the signed authorization and every estimate;
- each approval or refusal you sent by text or email;
- the itemized invoice and your payment receipt;
- photos of replaced parts, the odometer at drop-off and pickup, and any body work;
- written warranty terms for parts, labor and paint.
Estimates the shop keeps
Iowa Attorney General rule 61-29.1 requires motor vehicle repair suppliers and repair facilities to keep copies of all written estimates and estimate disclosure forms at their place of business for nine months after the repair or service.
What NOAA's engineering weather data lists for Sioux City
NOAA engineering weather data for Sioux City, at an elevation of 1,102 feet, gives a 1% summer design temperature of 91°F with a mean coincident wet-bulb temperature of 74°F, and a 99% winter design temperature of -6°F. In an average year at Sioux City, NOAA counts about 354 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 1,138 hours above 67°F. NOAA's engineering weather data for Sioux City also lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 3.8 inches per hour and about 73 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.