4-228-210 Proper disposal of unrepairable or unclaimed vehicle and parts other than tires and catalytic converters.

   Motor vehicle repair shops shall lawfully dispose of all unrepairable or unclaimed motor vehicles and motor vehicle parts within their custody. Provided, however, that the disposal of tires shall be governed by Section 4-228-200. Provided further, that the disposal of catalytic converters shall be governed by Section 4-228-217. Proof of proper disposal, in the form of a receipt, shall be maintained by each motor vehicle repair shop on the business premises of the repair shop for at least one year. Upon request by any authorized city official, the receipt required under this section shall be made available for inspection by such authorized city official during the licensee's regular business hours.

(Amend Coun. J. 5-14-97, p. 44283; Amend Coun. J. 12-13-00, p. 48186, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 7-27-05, p. 53211, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 111; Amend Coun. J. 5-6-15, p. 108540, § 4)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-025 as this § 4-228-210.

4-228-215 Unlawful acts and omissions.

   It shall be unlawful for any motor vehicle repair shop to perform any of the following acts or omissions related to the conduct of the business of the motor vehicle shop, whether done by the owner of the facility, the operator of the business or by any mechanic, employee, partner, officer or member of the motor vehicle repair shop:

   (a)   making or authorizing in any manner or by any means whatever any statement, written or oral, which is untrue or misleading, and which is known, or which by the exercise of reasonable care should be known, to be untrue or misleading;

   (b)   causing or allowing a customer to sign any work order which does not state the repairs requested or authorized by the customer, and does not state the motor vehicle's odometer reading at the time of repair;

   (c)   failing or refusing to give a customer a copy of any document requiring his/her signature, as soon as the customer signs such document;

   (d)   any conduct which constitutes fraud;

   (e)   any conduct which constitutes gross negligence;

   (f)   failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter or regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter;

   (g)   any willful departure from or disregard of accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike repair in any material respect, which is prejudicial to a customer, without the prior consent of the customer or his/her duly authorized representative;

   (h)   making false promises of a character likely to influence, persuade or induce a customer to authorize the repair, service or maintenance of motor vehicles;

   (i)   having repair work done by someone other than the motor vehicle repair shop without the knowledge and prior consent of the customer, unless the licensee can demonstrate that the customer could not reasonably have been notified;

   (j)   installing, creating, building or fabricating any false or secret compartment in any motor vehicle. In accordance with Section 4-4-280 of this Code, any licensee who violates this subsection shall be punished for a first offense by a fine of $500.00 and shall have his license suspended for not less than seven days nor more than 14 days; a second or subsequent offense shall be punished by a fine of $1,000.00 and shall result in revocation of the license;

   (k)   installing or selling any muffler cutout, by- pass, straight pipe or similar device upon a motor vehicle licensed for use on public roads, or installing or selling on any motorcycle licensed for use on public roads any exhaust system or exhaust system component that is not labeled in accordance with Section 205.169 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, indicating that the exhaust system or exhaust system component meets federal noise emission requirements for that model of motorcycle. For purposes of this subsection (k), the term "straight pipe" means an exhaust pipe lacking a muffler;

   (l)   purchasing from any person any catalytic converter that is not attached to a motor vehicle, or any portion of a dismantled catalytic converter that is reasonably identifiable as such, unless the person from whom such catalytic converter or portion thereof is purchased is: (1) another properly licensed motor vehicle repair shop under Chapter 4-228 of this Code, or (2) a properly permitted Class IVA or Class IVB recycling facility under Chapter 11-4 of this Code, or (3) the original manufacturer of the catalytic converter or portion thereof. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, any person who violates this subsection (l) shall be fined not less than $1,000.00 nor more than $2,000.00 for each offense.

   Where the motor vehicle repair shop cannot show there was bona fide error, the commissioner of business affairs and consumer protection may recommend to the mayor the suspension or the revocation of a motor vehicle repair shop license for any of the aforementioned acts or omissions.

(Added Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 4-16-97, p. 42621; Amend Coun. J. 6-28-00, p. 36845, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 7-26-06, p. 81473, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 11-16-11, p. 13798, Art. II, § 6; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 5-6-15, p. 108540, § 5)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-040 as this § 4-228-215.

4-228-217 Proper disposal of catalytic converters – Maintenance of records – Required.

   (a)   Catalytic converters or parts of dismantled catalytic converters shall only be sold, disposed of or otherwise transferred: (1) to another properly licensed motor vehicle repair shop under Chapter 4-228 of this Code, or (2) to a properly permitted Class IVA or Class IVB recycling facility under Chapter 11-4 of this Code, or (3) by returning the converter or part thereof to its original manufacturer. Each catalytic converter or part thereof that is sold, disposed of or otherwise transferred pursuant to this section shall be accompanied by a copy of the invoice required under subsection (b) of this section pertaining to such converter or part.

   (b)   A dated invoice shall be prepared for each catalytic converter that is removed from a vehicle. Such invoice shall include the full name, address, telephone number and driver's license number of the owner of the vehicle from which the catalytic converter was removed, and the make, model, year and vin number of such vehicle. The invoice required under this subsection shall be kept by the licensee for two years and, upon request by any authorized city official, shall be made available for inspection during the shop's regular business hours by such authorized city official.

(Added Coun. J. 5-6-15, p. 108540, § 6)

4-228-220 Off-street parking – Required when.

   Any person who is seeking for the first time to obtain a license to own, maintain, conduct, operate or engage in the business of motor vehicle repair for compensation within the City of Chicago at a location where no establishment meeting the definition of a motor vehicle repair shop is currently licensed to operate shall be required to provide two parking spaces for each repair bay or 300 square feet of vehicle service area, whichever is greater.

(Amend Coun. J. 7-19-00, p. 38593, § 2; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 112)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-044 as this § 4-228-220.

4-228-225 Prohibited activities – Public ways.

   No motor vehicle repair shop shall be operated or maintained in such a way that the shop, or any vehicle being repaired therein, or any materials associated therewith, are located or placed upon the public way. If the Commissioner finds or is notified by an alderman or another department or agency of the City that a licensee has violated this section on three different days within a 12-month period, the Commissioner shall immediately and without exception seek revocation of the motor vehicle license.

   At any revocation hearing conducted pursuant to Section 4-4-280 of this Code, the Commissioner or any other hearing officer designated by the Commissioner shall limit their factual findings to determining: (1) the number of times, if any, the licensee violated this section; and (2) the dates on which those violations occurred. Neither the seriousness of the offense nor the existence of any mitigating factors shall be considered or reported to the Commissioner. If the Commissioner or hearing officer finds that the licensee violated this section of the Code on three different days within a 12-month period, the Commissioner shall revoke the motor vehicle repair license.

   Each object placed upon the public way in violation of this section shall constitute a separate and distinct offense. Each offense shall be punishable by a fine of $200.00. Under no circumstances shall any administrative law officer appointed pursuant to Chapter 2-14 of this Code combine, consolidate, cumulate or otherwise reduce any fine authorized by this section.

(Added Coun. J. 10-7-93, p. 39429; Amend Coun. J. 5-14-97, p.44283; Amend Coun. J. 7-19-00, p. 38593, § 3; Amend Coun. J. 7-27-05, p. 53211, § 1; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 11-21-17, p. 61755, Art. VII, § 12)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-045 as this § 4-228-225.

4-228-230 Prohibited – Residential buildings.

   No motor vehicle repair shop shall be located in any building that is used for residential purposes unless the motor vehicle repair shop portion of the building is separated vertically and horizontally from the residential use by materials providing the level of fire resistance required under Section 14B-4-406. Nothing in this section is intended or shall be construed to allow a motor vehicle repair shop to operate in violation of any other applicable provision of this Code.

(Added Coun. J. 10-7-93, p. 39429; Amend Coun. J. 7-2-97, p. 48056; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 4-10-19, p. 100029, Art. II, § 48; Amend Coun. J. 10-7-20, p. 21791, Art. VII, § 6)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-046 as this § 4-228-230.

4-228-235 Direct vehicle access to a public street – Required when.

   A motor vehicle repair shop license shall not be issued under this chapter unless the premises for which a license is sought (i) has direct vehicle access to and from a dedicated public street through a commercial driveway for which a valid permit has been issued in accordance with Chapter 10-20 of this Code; or (ii) was duly licensed as an establishment meeting the definition of a motor vehicle repair shop prior to June 1, 1997.

(Amend Coun. J. 4-16-97, p. 42621; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106; Amend Coun. J. 11-8-12, p. 38872, § 113)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-047 as this § 4-228-235.

4-228-245 Misrepresentation of quality of parts.

   (a)   It shall be unlawful for any motor vehicle repair shop to represent any part as defective if such part is not defective or to knowingly charge customers for unnecessary replacement parts.

   (b)   It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator of a motor vehicle repair shop to fail to give advance written notice to all customers as to the state of any and all parts which are recommended for replacement.

   (c)   Any person found in violation of this section shall be subject to a fine of $500.00, or imprisonment for a period not to exceed six months, or both for each offense.

(Added Coun. J. 12-9-92, p. 25465; Amend Coun. J. 11-19-08, p. 47220, Art. V, § 5; Amend Coun. J. 10-5-11, p. 8801, § 13; Amend Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106)

Editor's note – Coun. J. 5-9-12, p. 27485, § 106, renumbered former § 4-228-050 as this § 4-228-245.