SECTIONS 9880-9880.3 - California Statutes

BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS CODE

SECTION 9880-9880.3

9880. This chapter constitutes the chapter on automotive repair
dealers. It may be cited as the Automotive Repair Act.

9880.1. The following definitions apply for the purposes of this
chapter:
(a) "Automotive repair dealer" means a person who, for
compensation, engages in the business of repairing or diagnosing
malfunctions of motor vehicles.
(b) "Chief" means the Chief of the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(c) "Bureau" means the Bureau of Automotive Repair.
(d) "Motor vehicle" means a passenger vehicle required to be
registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles and all motorcycles
whether or not required to be registered by the Department of Motor
Vehicles.
(e) "Repair of motor vehicles" means all maintenance of and
repairs to motor vehicles performed by an automotive repair dealer
including automotive body repair work, but excluding those repairs
made pursuant to a commercial business agreement and also excluding
repairing tires, changing tires, lubricating vehicles, installing
light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades and other minor
accessories, cleaning, adjusting, and replacing spark plugs,
replacing fan belts, oil, and air filters, and other minor services,
which the director, by regulation, determines are customarily
performed by gasoline service stations.
No service shall be designated as minor, for purposes of this
section, if the director finds that performance of the service
requires mechanical expertise, has given rise to a high incidence of
fraud or deceptive practices, or involves a part of the vehicle
essential to its safe operation.
(f) "Person" includes firm, partnership, association, limited
liability company, or corporation.
(g) An "automotive technician" is an employee of an automotive
repair dealer or is that dealer, if the employer or dealer repairs
motor vehicles and who for salary or wage performs maintenance,
diagnostics, repair, removal, or installation of any integral
component parts of an engine, driveline, chassis or body of any
vehicle, but excluding repairing tires, changing tires, lubricating
vehicles, installing light bulbs, batteries, windshield wiper blades,
and other minor accessories; cleaning, replacing fan belts, oil and
air filters; and other minor services which the director, by
regulation, determines are customarily performed by a gasoline
service station.
(h) "Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs.
(i) "Commercial business agreement" means an agreement, whether in
writing or oral, entered into between a business or commercial
enterprise and an automobile repair dealer, prior to the repair which
is requested being made, which agreement contemplates a continuing
business arrangement under which the automobile repair dealer is to
repair any vehicle covered by the agreement, but does not mean any
warranty or extended service agreement normally given by an
automobile repair facility to its customers.
(j) "Customer" means the person presenting a motor vehicle for
repair and authorizing the repairs to that motor vehicle. "Customer"
shall not mean the automotive repair dealer providing the repair
services or an insurer involved in a claim that includes the motor
vehicle being repaired or an employee or agent or a person acting on
behalf of the dealer or insurer.

9880.2. The following persons are exempt from the requirement of
registration:
(a) An employee of an automotive repair dealer if the employee
repairs motor vehicles only as an employee.
(b) A person who solely engages in the business of repairing the
motor vehicles of one or more commercial, industrial, or governmental
establishments.
(c) A person who is registered pursuant to Chapter 20 (commencing
with Section 9800) and whose work is limited to the installation or
replacement of a motor vehicle radio, antenna, audio recorder, audio
playback equipment, or burglar alarm.
(d) A person whose primary business is the wholesale supply of new
or rebuilt automotive parts who solely engages in the remachining of
individual automotive parts without compensation for warranty
adjustments to those parts and who does not engage in repairing or
diagnosing malfunctions of motor vehicles or motorcycles. "Primary
business" means the business that accounts for the majority of the
company's gross sales. "Wholesale supply" means the sale, by a seller
who possesses a California Resale Permit, of automotive parts to a
retailer or jobber for the purpose of resale. However, a person
described in this subdivision, prior to commencing work, shall do
both of the following:
(1) Provide a notice containing the bureau's toll-free telephone
number to the customer that the person is not regulated by the
bureau.
(2) Provide a written description of the remachining services to
be performed to the customer.

9880.3. Protection of the public shall be the highest priority for
the Bureau of Automotive Repair in exercising its licensing,
regulatory, and disciplinary functions. Whenever the protection of
the public is inconsistent with other interests sought to be
promoted, the protection of the public shall be paramount.