Committee hears bill to stop pre‑estimate storage fees at auto repair shops

Members of the Joint Committee on Transportation reviewed House Bill 27 39 on April 14, which would prohibit auto repair shops from charging a storage fee for vehicles kept on shop property until the shop delivers a written estimate for the cost of work.

Senator Starr, introducing the bill, said it arose from a constituent’s complaint that a vehicle owner faced a $200-per-day storage charge while waiting for an estimate. The dash‑1 replacement proposal would make the storage fee chargeable beginning the first business day after delivery of the estimate; it also ties the maximum fee to local towing fee rates established under Oregon statute (ORS 90.885 million cited in testimony).

Supporters framed the measure as consumer protection for people whose cars have been towed or otherwise left at repair shops after collisions. “It’s a relatively simple, elegant solution,” Starr said, describing a case where the insurance company refused to pay a pre‑estimate storage charge.

Committee members probed timing and incentives. Representative Gamba asked whether the bill could create an incentive for shops to delay repairs after delivering an estimate and then charge storage on top of the estimate. Senator Starr and other supporters said the intent is to prevent pre‑estimate fees; once an estimate is delivered, vehicle owners and insurers can negotiate repairs, which may create scheduling delays but are not the same problem. Representative Mannix suggested refining the bill so that, after delivery of an estimate, the owner would have a defined period (for example, 24 hours) to accept or reject the estimate and, if accepted, no storage charge would apply during the repair period.

No public testimony was recorded on the bill in the hearing. The committee closed the hearing on HB 27 39 and resumed other business; no committee vote to pass the bill was recorded in the transcript.