Collision repairers voiced several concerns Tuesday about the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR)’s proposed regulations on teardown disclosures and storage and towing fees in the state.

The passage of AB1263 last year gave BAR the authority to address storage fees. It also allows BAR to codify its guidance and unify existing laws on the subject. A 45-day public comment period led to modifications to the proposed text. A 15-day public comment period on those modifications will be announced soon.

Patrick Dorais, BAR chief, and Mathew Gibson, BAR program manager, gave an overview of the proposed regulations on Tuesday during an open meeting of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Board of Directors.

Kye Yeung, who is president of European Motor Car Works in Costa Mesa, California, said the storage regulations wouldn’t hold third-party payers accountable for delayed repair authorizations from insurance companies that lead to storage fees taken out of the customer’s payment.

“It just seems like you’re taking a bad situation and you’re making the shops do more work,” he said.

SCRS Vice Chairman Michael Bradshaw, who is vice president of K&M Collision in North Carolina, added that the same issues occur when insurance companies delay total loss determinations.

“Customers’ decisions are often predicated on whether or not they will be indemnified for their loss,” added SCRS Executive Director Aaron Schulenburg.

Schulenburg elaborated on scenarios shops often deal with as described by Yeung and Bradshaw. After disassembly to identify damages, an insurance company may consider totaling the vehicle, he said. At that point, the customer is informed by the shop that the vehicle could be a total loss.

“The customer says, ‘Well, don’t do anything until they tell you otherwise,'” Schulenburg said. “Now it sits for three weeks… At the end of the day, Kye or any other facility like Kye’s, is holding this vehicle on a piece of equipment waiting for an answer, and has no ability to move forward but is also maintaining possession of that vehicle, protecting it and won’t really have responsibility for liability around it.”

Gibson replied that repair authorizations shouldn’t be left up to insurance companies; it should be the customer’s decision as the vehicle owner.

Schulenburg and Bradshaw noted that the issues aren’t just in California, they’re nationwide.

Other concerns discussed were similar to those during BAR workshops held last fall including the creation of a public database that would provide median and average storage rates by radius, a requirement of shops to allow a minimum of three days for authorization after teardown before charging for storage, and wording in the regulation that would force shops to use public storage or towing rates if no repair is completed on a vehicle brought to the shop.

Dorais said another portion of the proposed regulations is aimed at eliminating “bandit towing” by tow companies acting as auto repair dealers and charging exorbitant storage fees.

The regulations would also require “automotive repair dealers (ARDs)” to record and provide additional information when adopting a third-party payer estimate as the method of repair, clarification of the area(s) of the vehicle that will be disassembled as part of a teardown, and if known, informing the consumer of the amount approved to be paid by the third-party payor.

According to Dorais, the teardown portion of the regulations would:

• • Reduce the number of supplements added during the repair process
  • Allow shops to provide customers with more realistic repair completion timeframes
  • Spur faster repair times
  • Decrease total losses by finding hidden damage sooner rather than after performing extensive repairs

Dorais said BAR’s actions with regulations are often driven by consumer complaints and a lack of consumer awareness about their rights relative to California laws and regulations.

“There’s a lot of gaps that need to be filled in with regulations by the government agency that’s responsible for enacting and administering that legislation that been passed,” he said. “We have, over the years, come across a number of consumer awareness deficiencies that have necessitated the need to adopt regulations or amend regulations that had previously been adopted because of the changing of times.

“It’s usually the investigation of issues that are brought to our attention where we recognize that consumer harm is going on and we feel like there’s a need to put an end to it and require new or updated regulations to address that problem so that consumers are better informed and better protected.”

The proposed regulations are going through the public comment process right now. BAR will hold a fourth workshop about the draft storage fee regulations on Jan. 30 from 2-4 p.m., or until close of business, in person and via live webcast.

Images

Featured image: Patrick Dorais, BAR chief, and Mathew Gibson, BAR program manager, speaking on Jan. 21, 2025 during an open meeting of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Board of Directors. (Lurah Lowery/Repairer Driven News)