(a) Any registrant shall provide to every consumer upon request a written estimate of repairs the total of which exceeds twenty-five dollars ($25.00). The estimate shall state the name and address of the motor vehicle's owner, the make, year and tag number of the motor vehicle and the odometer reading, and the total estimated cost of:
(1) All parts which shall be listed with reasonable particularity. If used or rebuilt parts are to be installed, they shall be so designated;
(2) Description of motor vehicle problem as described by consumer as well as any specific repair requested by consumer;
(3) Labor charges and method of computation;
(4) Incidental service charges;
(5) Charges, if any, for release of the motor vehicle in the event that the motor vehicle is not repaired; and
(6) Charges, if any, for making the estimate.
Any registrant may charge a reasonable fee for making estimates; provided, that a reasonable time is needed for diagnosis of the problem and disclosure of the fee is made prior to making the estimate. The consumer shall not be charged for the provision of such an estimate unless such a fee is disclosed prior to making the estimate.
(b) Any express warranty of parts or workmanship shall be stated.
(c) In the event that a determination is made that the actual charges for the repairs or maintenance will exceed the total written or oral estimate by more than ten (10) percent of the total estimate, the consumer or his designated agent shall be immediately notified by telephone, telegram, mail or written notice of the new estimated charges. Such notification shall be at the expense of the registrant. A consumer so notified may authorize the new estimate charge or may cancel the order for repairs. Such authorization or cancellation must be confirmed in writing by the registrant or his employee. If the order for repair is canceled by the consumer, the unrepaired or partially repaired motor vehicle shall be released expeditiously in reasonably like condition as received unless it is impossible to reinstall removed part or parts and upon payment of whatever charge is imposed for the services performed on the vehicle.
(d) Except as otherwise provided herein, no registrant or his employee shall perform any motor vehicle repair or maintenance on the basis of an estimate prepared by other than the registrant or his employee. With respect to the performance of repairs or maintenance on the basis of estimates prepared by third parties, registrants shall have the responsibility to exercise their independent judgment regarding the nature and the scope of the work to be performed and the parts, materials and labor involved in making such repairs. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit a registrant from adopting, accepting or incorporating a third party's estimate into its own estimate for any repair work, by endorsing such third party estimate in writing with the words "adopted," "accepted," "incorporated" or with words of similar import; provided, that the registrant, in so doing, acknowledges in writing that its own opinion coincides with that of the estimate adopted or incorporated from the third party; and further provided, that the registrant incorporates any additional information necessary to assure that the registrant's estimate complies with the provisions of this chapter. (1975 L.M.C., ch. 21, § 1; 1975 L.M.C., ch. 29, § 2; 1980 L.M.C., ch. 10, § 1.)