California automotive repair bill vetoed

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed California Assembly Bill 2825 regarding automotive repair crash parts after holding the bill on his desk since Aug. 18, 2008.

Assembly Bill 2825 would have amended the existing Automotive Repair Act, which requires all work completed by an automotive repair dealer to be recorded on an invoice, according to information from the Automotive Service Association (ASA). This includes both service work and parts used.

The invoice must also specify if the crash parts used are original equipment manufacturer parts or aftermarket crash parts, which have been proffered on the written estimate given to the customer for approval before repair work begins.

Assembly Bill 2825 would have required the Automotive Repair Act to better inform customers of automotive repair shops as well as protect their rights as consumers. It would have also required automotive repair dealers to provide invoices from distributors, dealers or manufacturers of crash parts that were installed if they exceeded $50, according to the ASA release.

On the first page of the written estimate, a notice would have been inserted to specify that installing parts other than those included in the estimate – and without approval from the customer – is unlawful.