Quotes, estimates, the bill and disputes

A garage bill is where a car's problems turn into money, and it's where a small misunderstanding at the counter becomes a large one at the till. Three questions settle most arguments there: whether you agreed a price or a guess, whether the garage asked before doing extra work, and whether it can keep the car until you pay. The answers are unusually precise, because both countries have written much of them down: the UK partly for the whole country and partly not (the Act on garage bills covers all of the UK; the one on selling an uncollected car stops short of Scotland), and the US state by state. This lesson reads them, works out the numbers, and ends the course with the main points where it has told you to stop.

This is general information, not legal advice. The rules differ between England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and each US state, and they change. Everything below was read on 26 September 2026. Nothing here tells you what to do in your own dispute; it tells you which rule applies where, and whom to ask.

Quote or estimate, in the UK

This is general information, not legal advice.

Home Repair lesson 23, "Hiring a tradesperson, and when to stop", taught the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for services in general. This section takes the same Act into a garage, where two words decide most arguments.

Citizens Advice, the national advice charity, on its page for England: "A quote is when a trader has promised to do work at an agreed price", and "An estimate is a trader's best guess as to how much the work will cost".¹ The consequences follow. With a quote: "If you agreed on an amount (or got a quote) before the garage did the work, you’ll have to pay the full bill. This is because you’ve entered into a contract with the garage (even if you didn’t sign anything)." With only an estimate: "If the trader only gave an estimate then they can charge you more within reason."¹

The Motor Ombudsman's code for the garages it accredits draws the same line. An estimate is "An approximate cost for the Work required, which may be subject to change", given "as a general guide to the cost of the Work required (which could go up or down)"; a quotation is "supplied in writing as a breakdown of the firm agreed price to complete the Work requested".² (The Motor Ombudsman is funded by the garages it accredits and is not a statutory body; the code says of itself that it is "not intended to interpret, qualify, or supplement the law".)

The mechanism is contract. A quote is a promise at a price, so the price is a term. An estimate is a forecast, and Citizens Advice puts it with the case where no price was agreed: "If you didn’t agree a price before the work was done (or you only got an estimate)", the Act's reasonable price applies.¹ Section 51 is where that comes from: where the contract doesn't fix a price, "the contract is to be treated as including a term that the consumer must pay a reasonable price for the service, and no more", and "What is a reasonable price is a question of fact."³ Section 50 adds that what the garage said or wrote to you, if you took it into account when deciding, is a term too: a promise of genuine parts, or of the car back by Friday.³

"Whatever needs to be done"

One instruction at the counter hands the decision to the garage. Citizens Advice: "If you told the garage to do whatever needs to be done to fix the car, then you gave them the right to decide what work to do. You’ll have to pay if the work was necessary and the price is reasonable." Against that: "If you only asked the garage to do a specific piece of work and they did extra work that you didn’t ask for, you can ask them to undo the work. If this isn't possible, you should insist you only pay for the work that was agreed."¹ The difference is in what you said at the counter, which is why, on this course's reading, it belongs on paper.

An estimate that grows, in Malton

This is general information, not legal advice.

A car goes into a garage in Malton, in England, for a noise from the front. The garage gives a written estimate of £320. Next day it rings: the job is now £410.

Work through it. It was an estimate, so on Citizens Advice's account the garage "can charge you more within reason", and "It would be reasonable, for example, to be charged more if the garage needed a bit more time for the repairs or they needed more parts."¹ On this course's reading, two questions belong on that call: what is the extra £90 for, and is it the same job taking longer or a different one? The answer goes in writing before anything is agreed. If the garage is accredited by The Motor Ombudsman (industry-funded, as above), its 3.2 means it must ask before starting extra work, and 3.3 adds that if the car is dismantled, the garage "will always offer an option of re-assembly within the original price, where possible."² If the owner thinks the rise isn't reasonable, Citizens Advice's advice is to ask the garage to reduce the price, and a second opinion from another garage helps settle what's reasonable.¹

Had it been a quote of £320, the position changes: the price was agreed, and the code says: "If a Quotation was provided at the booking stage, the final Invoice should match the Quotation unless the Accredited Business has informed you that further Work or time has been required and you have authorised these additional costs."²

Five US states, side by side

This is general information, not legal advice.

This course found no federal rule on repair estimates. The FTC, the federal consumer regulator, says an estimate "should state that the shop will contact you for approval before they do any work exceeding a specified amount of time or money. State law may require this."⁴ Before the table, a guess.

Here's what the five states' laws require, as read. Other states have their own; this course read these five and says nothing about the rest.

The sources, in their own words. California, Business and Professions Code § 9884.9(a): "The automotive repair dealer shall give to the customer a written estimated price for labor and parts necessary for a specific job, except as provided in subdivision (e). No work shall be done and no charges shall accrue before authorization to proceed is obtained from the customer." Consent to go over can be oral, and then the shop notes the date, time, name and number on the work order (the form the shop fills in when it takes the job) and may ask you to sign "I acknowledge notice and oral approval of an increase in the original estimated price."⁵ New York, Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-d(2): "Upon the request of any customer, a motor vehicle repair shop shall make an estimate in writing of the parts and labor necessary for a specific job and shall not charge for work done or parts supplied in excess of the estimate without the consent of such customer. The motor vehicle repair shop may charge a reasonable fee for making an estimate."⁶ Florida § 559.909(3): "It shall be unlawful for a motor vehicle repair shop to charge more than the written estimate plus $10 or 10 percent, whichever is greater, but not to exceed $50, unless the motor vehicle repair shop has obtained authorization to exceed the written estimate in accordance with subsection (1)."⁷ Michigan, MCL § 257.1332(1): if no waiver is signed "and the estimated price is exceeded by not more than 10% or $50.00, whichever is lesser, the facility is not required to obtain the written or oral consent of the customer for the excess charge unless specifically requested by the customer." And: "If the actual cost of a repair is less than the agreed on estimated cost, the customer shall pay only the actual cost."⁸ Ohio, Administrative Code 109:4-3-13, whose required notice tells customers: "Your bill will not be higher than the estimate by more than ten per cent unless you approve a larger amount before repairs are finished."⁹

One wrinkle in Ohio: the notice says "more than ten per cent", but paragraph (C)(2) of the same rule requires authorisation when additional work "amounts to ten per cent or more (excluding tax) of the original estimate".⁹ The two differ at exactly ten per cent, and this course read nothing that reconciles them. And (C)(5) separately makes it deceptive to "Charge for any repair or service which has not been authorized by the consumer".⁹ This course read nothing on how that sits with the ten per cent either, so the Ohio sums below are the ten per cent's arithmetic and nothing more.

What the table does and doesn't tell you

No source read gives a reason for any state's figure, and the course supplies none. What the table does show is that "a shop can always go 10 per cent over" is true nowhere in that form: California and New York allow nothing, Michigan's 10 per cent stops at $50, Florida's allowance is never less than $10 and never more than $50, and only Ohio's notice uses 10 per cent without a dollar cap.

A bill in Merced, then in Fort Myers, with a gap for you

This is general information, not legal advice.

A shop in Merced, California, gives a written estimate of $600 for a brake job. It finds a seized part, fixes it without calling, and bills $780. On § 9884.9, the extra $180 needed the customer's consent "at some time after it is determined that the estimated or posted price is insufficient and before the work not estimated or posted is done".⁵ It didn't get it. California's statute has no allowance to fall back on.

Now put the same bill, the same $600 estimate and the same unasked-for $180, in Fort Myers, Florida. Before you open the answer, work out Florida's allowance on a $600 estimate from § 559.909(3), and say what that makes of the $780.

When the work is wrong

This is general information, not legal advice.

In the UK, section 49 of the Consumer Rights Act puts a term in every service contract "that the trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill."³ If the work doesn't meet it, section 54 gives the remedies in the order Home Repair lesson 23 set out for any service: repeat performance first, within a reasonable time and at the garage's cost, labour and materials included (section 55), then, only if that's impossible or isn't done in time, a price reduction, which "may, where appropriate, be the full amount of the price" (section 56).³ Section 54(7) keeps other remedies open too, "claiming damages" among them.³ Citizens Advice says it for a car: "If the work wasn’t done with ‘reasonable skill and care’, you have the legal right to get the work done again or get a price reduction."¹ It suggests a second opinion, or an independent report, where both sides agree beforehand who writes it, how its cost is split, and that they'll accept its findings.¹

A sign at the counter doesn't change this. Section 57(1): a term "is not binding on the consumer to the extent that it would exclude the trader's liability arising under section 49".³ Citizens Advice, on the garage's sign saying it's "not responsible for any damage": it "can be considered an ‘unfair term’, which means they’re still liable".¹

On top of the law, The Motor Ombudsman's code (the scheme is funded by the garages it accredits) commits its accredited garages to more: "The Accredited Business will Guarantee all service and repair Work against failure and will inform you of the duration of any Warranty or Guarantee and how to exercise it."²

In the US, there's no general statutory guarantee in the sources read. California's Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR), the state regulator lesson 24 introduced: "A repair shop is not required by law to guarantee its work, but many shops do."¹⁰ The FTC: "There is no "standard warranty" on repairs."⁴ Florida makes the shop say, on the estimate, "what, if anything, is guaranteed in connection with the repair work and the time and mileage period for which the guarantee is effective."⁷ So in the US, the guarantee is whatever the shop wrote down, which, on this course's reading, is the reason to ask for it in writing before the work.

The bill and the car

This is general information, not legal advice.

A garage has something most traders don't: your car. Whether it may keep it, and what it may do with it, depends on where you are.

In England, Citizens Advice's page: "The garage is not allowed to sell or get rid of the car while you’re disputing the bill. They can, however, keep your car while the bill is being disputed."¹ Citizens Advice doesn't say what gives the garage that right, and this course read no primary source for it, so it goes no further than Citizens Advice's words. This course didn't read its Wales or Northern Ireland pages.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the rule against selling is statute. The Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977 lets whoever holds uncollected goods (the bailee) sell them after written notice, and where money is owed the notice period "shall be not less than three months" (Schedule 1, paragraph 6(3)). But Schedule 1, paragraph 7(1): it "shall not give a notice under section 12(3), or exercise his right to sell the goods pursuant to such a notice, at a time when he has notice that, because of a dispute concerning the goods, the bailor is questioning or refusing to pay all or any part of what the bailee claims to be due to him in respect of the goods."¹¹ (The bailee is the garage; the bailor is you.) Section 12(8) makes the section and the Schedule subject to "the terms of the bailment", the agreement you made when you left the car; this course read no garage's terms. Paragraph 7(2) points to a separate court route in section 13, which this course didn't read. The Act doesn't extend to Scotland, and this course didn't read Scotland's law.

Citizens Advice's advice, on its England page, for getting the car back while the argument goes on: "If you need the car back but aren’t happy with the amount you have to pay, you can pay ‘under protest’ then continue with your dispute." The form of it: "Write the words “paying under protest” clearly on their copy of the repair order sheet and any copies of receipts that the garage make." Its reason: without it, "the garage could argue that by paying the bill, you were accepting the charges." And its caution: "There’s no guarantee that you’ll get the money back later, but there are ways to try." If you can't pay in full, it gives a second route: "If you can’t afford to pay, offer to pay what you consider a reasonable amount in exchange for getting the car back, then dispute the rest of the bill separately."¹

In Florida, the statute answers the question directly: "It shall be unlawful for any motor vehicle repair shop to fail to return any customer’s motor vehicle because the customer has refused to pay for unauthorized repairs or because the customer has refused to pay for repair charges in excess of the final estimate in violation of this section."⁷

In California, Civil Code § 3068(a): "Every person has a lien dependent upon possession for the compensation to which the person is legally entitled for making repairs or performing labor upon" a vehicle.¹² In those words, a lien is a right to keep the car, while the shop holds it, for what the shop is lawfully owed. (It isn't Home Repair lesson 23's lien, which was a claim against a home.) The lien arises when a written statement of charges is presented to the registered owner, or 15 days after the work is finished, whichever comes first, and for work the owner agreed to it is extinguished unless the shop applies to conduct a lien sale, or goes to court, within 30 days after it arose.¹² On this course's reading, "legally entitled" is the phrase that matters: a charge § 9884.9 says "shall" not be made without consent is not one the shop is legally entitled to, so the lien shouldn't cover it. The statute doesn't say that in words. Florida's comes close, for Florida: a shop may not keep the car because the customer refused to pay for unauthorised repairs.

Disputes: the free routes first

This is general information, not legal advice.

Every advice source read starts in the same place: talk to the garage, and keep a record. Citizens Advice advises negotiating first and writing so there's a record; the FTC: "Talk to the shop manager or owner first."¹⁴ After that, the routes differ.

In the UK

• The Motor Ombudsman, funded by accredited garages' fees and not statutory, for accredited garages only. The garage has up to eight weeks to give a final response; then "A Consumer can refer their complaint to The Motor Ombudsman once the Accredited Business has issued a final response, or if it has been more than eight weeks since the Consumer contacted the Accredited Business and no response has been received." It is "free to Consumers as an alternative to traditional avenues (such as a court)", and "If the Consumer accepts the final decision of the ombudsman, it becomes legally binding on all parties."² It is funded by the businesses it accredits; lesson 24 quoted its own words on that and on its independence.¹³
• Other trade associations and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes, which Citizens Advice's England page calls "a way of solving disagreements without going to court". It adds: "You’ll only be able to get help from a trade association if the garage is a member."¹
• Citizens Advice's consumer helpline, on 0808 223 1133, as its England page gives it. Northern Ireland has its own consumer advice service, which this course didn't read, and Scotland's consumer advice wasn't read either.¹
• Trading Standards, if the garage quoted one price and charged another, or advertised misleadingly; and court (both on Citizens Advice's England page).¹
• The card: if you paid by credit card and the repair cost more than £100, Citizens Advice's England page says "it may be easier to tell your bank you want to ‘make a section 75 claim’"; the bank's "‘chargeback’ scheme" is the other route it names.¹ This course read nothing further on either. Personal Finance lesson 10, "Defending it", covers how much protection each way of paying carries in the US, mostly against payments you didn't authorise; it doesn't teach section 75 or chargeback.

In the US

• California: BAR. "We mediate complaints between consumers and auto repair shops." A representative "will contact you within 7-10 business days", and filing a complaint "does not automatically mean the shop violated the law."¹⁴ Its guide sets out the limit: "Although BAR cannot represent you in court, collect money, or levy fines for you, the BAR representative will contact the owner or manager of the shop, describe your complaint, and attempt to negotiate a resolution."¹⁰ BAR's line is (800) 952‑5210.¹⁰
• New York: the DMV's complaint unit, on form VS-35, phone 1‑518‑474‑8943. One limit to know early: "The DMV cannot accept complaints against Repair Shops after 90 days or 3,000 miles (whichever comes first)."¹⁵
• Elsewhere, the FTC's route: "contact your Attorney General or local consumer protection agency for help", or "file a claim in small claims court. You don't need an attorney to do this."⁴

Free doesn't mean enough. Each scheme has limits: The Motor Ombudsman hears only its accredited garages, BAR mediates but can't collect money for you, and New York's window closes. Citizens Advice, BAR and the FTC all say to keep the paperwork: Citizens Advice, to write "so you have a record"; BAR, "Save all your receipts"; the FTC, "Document all transactions".¹¹⁰⁴ On this course's reading, that means every estimate, work order, invoice and note of a phone call, from the first day.

The course's main stop points, in one place

This is general information, not legal advice.

This course has told you, lesson by lesson, where the owner's job ends. Here are the main ones together, each with whose rule it is, because "stop" means something different when it's the law, the handbook or advice. Each lesson has its own list in full, and its own conditions.

Each of those is Call someone. Between them and the jobs that are simply Yours (reading the pressures, tread, levels and lights, the recall lookup, and now the schedule, the garage and the paperwork) sit the jobs that are Yours, on conditions: topping up oil, coolant or AdBlue as the handbook describes, a jump start, and a wheel change off the road, each on the conditions its lesson named (lessons 3, 9, 13 and 19).

What people get wrong

"An estimate is a fixed price." It's a best guess; a quote is the fixed price. See the first section.

"A shop can always go 10 per cent over." Not in California or New York; capped at $50 in Florida and Michigan; Ohio's notice says ten per cent.

"The garage can sell my car if I don't pay a disputed bill." Not while it's disputed, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Florida, not over refused unauthorised repairs.

"The sign says they're not responsible, so they aren't." Section 57 of the Consumer Rights Act, and Citizens Advice on unfair terms.

"A shop has to guarantee its work." In the UK, the Act's care and skill is a legal term; in the US, BAR says there's no legal requirement, and the guarantee is what the shop writes.

Practice

For your plan

This finishes the garage page of your car file: what you'll ask for before any work, in your own country or state (a written quote or estimate, how extra work will be authorised, the parts to be used, the old parts if you want them, and any guarantee in writing); your jurisdiction's allowance over an estimate, if it has one; and the dispute route, free routes first, with any time limit. Add the stop points table above to the front of the file. With that, the file has all eight pages the course project asks for.

Connections

Lesson 24 chose the garage and set up the records this lesson relies on. Lesson 1 introduced the three labels and "law, handbook or advice", which the stop points table uses one last time. Home Repair lesson 23 taught the Consumer Rights Act for services in general, and Personal Finance lesson 10 covers how much protection each way of paying carries in the US. This is the last lesson of Car Basics; the course project, "Your car file", brings the pages together.

Go deeper

• Citizens Advice, "Problem with a car repair", free. Read here in full (England version). The steps in order, with a template letter.
• California BAR, "A Consumer's Guide to Auto Repair", free. Read here in full. Walks through estimate, authorisation, teardown, invoice and old parts, under California's law.
• The Motor Ombudsman (funded by accredited businesses' fees; not statutory), "The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair", free. Read here in full. Short, and shows what an accredited garage promises beyond the law.

Sources

1. Citizens Advice, "Problem with a car repair", England version. National advice charity. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
2. The Motor Ombudsman, "The Motor Industry Code of Practice for Service and Repair", issued 1 June 2025. UK; industry-funded, not statutory. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
3. Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 49 to 52 and 54 to 57, legislation.gov.uk, revised text. UK. Read: each section in full, 26 September 2026.
4. FTC, "Auto Repair Basics". US federal. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
5. California Business and Professions Code § 9884.9, with §§ 9884.8 and 9884.10. California. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
6. New York Vehicle and Traffic Law § 398-d. New York. Read: in full from the Internet Archive capture of 26 September 2026 (20260926114501); the live page refuses automated readers.
7. Florida Statutes § 559.905 and § 559.909. Florida. Read: both in full, 26 September 2026.
8. Michigan Compiled Laws § 257.1332, as amended effective 1 February 2026. Michigan. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
9. Ohio Administrative Code 109:4-3-13, a rule of the Ohio Attorney General. Ohio. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
10. California Bureau of Automotive Repair, "A Consumer's Guide to Auto Repair", undated. California. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
11. Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977, section 12 and Schedule 1. England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Read: both in full, 26 September 2026; section 13 was not read.
12. California Civil Code § 3068. California. Read: subdivisions (a) to (d), 26 September 2026.
13. The Motor Ombudsman, "How is The Motor Ombudsman funded?". Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
14. California Bureau of Automotive Repair, "File a complaint". California. Read: in full, 26 September 2026.
15. New York State DMV, "New York State Vehicle Safety/Emissions Inspection Program", "Consumer Help" section. New York. Read: from the Internet Archive capture of 26 September 2026 (20260926112204); the live page refuses automated readers.