Even in situations where the vehicle is towed to a repair facility or left at a repair facility after hours, the law requires the facility to provide a written estimate or waiver of estimate before beginning repairs, if a diagnosis or repair will cost $20 or more. In these instances, the facility can comply with the law in the following ways:

• If the facility has a night drop box with waiver forms, a customer may leave the vehicle before the facility is open, if the customer completes a waiver form (see Appendix B). The form must be signed, filled out completely and left in the drop box;
• The customer may leave a signed note describing the problem and authorizing the facility to perform repairs up to a stated dollar amount without further approval;
• The towing company may accept a waiver from a customer and bring the waiver with the vehicle to the facility;
• The facility may send a copy of the estimate to the customer by mail or by fax before performing repairs. The customer may sign the estimate and return the signed form;
• The customer may come to the facility before any repairs are performed to receive the written estimate.

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