UPCOMING GM CLINICS PRESIDENT

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Required Shop Practices –Replaced Parts, Records Retention, Required Notice

Forty years ago, the state legislature Kevin Walli p assed tablishe M d inn. Sta several t. r §325 epair F.62, shop whi pra c c h ti esces

AASP-MN Lobbyist relating to customer rights in the repair process. Many of you may be fully aware of these practices, with compliance measures well-embedded in your company practices. For those of you who may be unfamiliar with these requirements, this review will bring you up to speed.

• Subd. 1 of the statute gives your customers the right to receive replaced parts if they make their request before repairs are commenced.

Customers also have the right to examine war- ranty or exchanged parts for a period of five days after repairs are completed. Shops need not return parts you may be required to return to a manufacturer, distributor or as directed under terms of a warranty. • Subd. 2 pertains to retention of records. For one year after repairs are performed, a shop must retain the customer’s name and address, any written estimate and the repair invoice.

The records must be available for reasonable inspection and copying. Such access is subject

to prior notice and may be limited to normal business hours. The cost of photocopying re- quested by the customer is the responsibility of the customer. • Subd. 3 deals with notice of these rights. Shops are obliged to conspicuously post a sign that reads: “Upon a customer’s request, this shop is re- quired to provide a written estimate for repairs costing $100 to $7,500 if the shop agrees to per- form the repairs. The shop’s final price cannot ex - ceed its written invoice by more than 10 percent without the prior authorization of the customer. You must request that the estimate be in writing. An oral estimate is not subject to the above repair cost limi- tations. If the shop charges a fee for the storage or care of repaired motor vehicles or appliances, the shop shall conspicuously display a sign that states the amount assessed for storage or care, when the charge begins to accrue, and the interval between assessments.”

There is not a particular triggering event that resulted in our focus on this particular statute. In fact, there has been no legislative change to this statute since 1996.

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