Policies, Requirements, & Disclaimers

This listing was last revised/updated on 27 June 2021. PLEASE NOTE A MORE CURRENT VERSION MAY BE AVAILABLE.

WORK LOCATIONS

• Work Area Limitations & Right Of Refusal - Due to all sorts of legal, liability, and insurance reasons, we cannot perform work inside attached residential garages or carports. Large-scale parking garages are fine for some tasks, but we must defer to any limitations or restrictions the parking garage operator places on what work we can perform. We reserve the right to restrict, limit, or refuse to perform work in areas we feel may excessively limit mobility, create unacceptable risks, or cause safety concerns.
• Roadside Service - Roadside service may be impractical or impossible if the road's shoulder is not wide enough to fully support our work vehicle(s). Additionally, busy roads may pose a safety hazard. Again, we reserve the right to restrict, limit, or refuse to perform work in areas we feel may excessively limit mobility, create unacceptable risks, or cause safety concerns.
• Extreme Environmental Conditions - Due to the fact that we perform our work out-of-doors and are often unsheltered and exposed to the elements, we may request rescheduling on days with difficult or extreme conditions, such as heat indices over 100°F, wind chills below 20°F, strong/ gusty wind, rain, etc. We won't charge additional service call fees or fuel surcharges if we're forced by weather to reschedule.
• Biohazardous Vehicles - We reserve the right to refuse to touch the interior of any vehicle that contains excessive amounts of trash, bad odors, insect infestations, etc. Please make sure the vehicle is reasonably clean before we arrive.

CHARGES AND FEES

• Labor Rate - Our posted labor rate is $99.00 per hour, whether flat- rate or actual-time. We use industry-standard labor guides as guidelines for estimating flat-rate labor. Itemized estimates are always provided in advance of the performance of any work.
• Service Call Fees & Fuel Surcharges - We charge a service call fee for any travel called for in order to meet with customers. If you agree to have us perform work totaling $100 or more (before taxes), we will charge a lower-cost fuel surcharge instead to cover our fuel expenses. PLEASE NOTE that Service Call Fees are due immediately upon our arrival at the vehicle, so please have the proper funds on hand when scheduling an appointment. Customers that fail to pay service call fees three times in a twelve-month period will be flagged as non-paying and we will refuse to serve such customers.
• Emergency Services - We charge a $50 emergency service call fee in addition to any other fees if called to a vehicle outside our normal scheduling hours, which are 9AM to 5PM, Monday through Friday, and 9AM to 12PM on Saturday. This fee also applies for calls on major holidays.
• Minimum Diagnostics Charges - We charge a minimum of $25 for diagnostics and check-outs, and the creation of any required estimates is included. This applies even if you're meeting us somewhere we've already traveled to, e.g., a parking-lot request for an estimate. This is our policy because people have abused our free estimate services in the past.
• Waste Disposal - We charge a flat $3.00 waste-disposal charge per invoice to cover waste cleanup and disposal costs if we must drain any fluids from your vehicle.
• Shop Supplies - We do NOT charge a generic shop supply fee. (This is why we charge a little for waste disposal, basic diagnostics, etc.)
• State-Mandated Fees & Charges - Florida Law requires fees and charges for certain parts, e.g. waste disposal surcharges for new tires and new batteries. We cannot waive these.

WARRANTIES

• What To Do If There's A Problem - If you experience an issue directly related to work that was recently performed, contact us immediately to arrange for diagnostics to check for and verify a warrantable failure. Warrantable failures can in most cases be addressed at no additional cost to you (generally excepting consumables such as fluids, etc. that are often not covered under warranties). If you experience a warrantable failure and wait on having it addressed, our suppliers' warranties will likely not cover collateral damage caused by continued driving with a known problem.
• Taking The Vehicle Elsewhere - IMPORTANT: UNLESS YOU ARE TRAVELLING, DO NOT TAKE THE VEHICLE TO ANOTHER SHOP FIRST IF YOU ARE EXPERIENCING A PROBLEM, AS HAVING ANYONE ELSE WORK ON THE VEHICLE BEFORE GIVING US AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEM WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY WITH US! Shops that are not part of the same network or franchises of the same chain generally do not cover anyone else's warranty, as warranties are generally tied to the shop that purchased the failed part. If you're traveling and have to take the vehicle to a shop for repairs, contact us immediately so we can obtain contact information for that shop and arrange warranty coverage where possible.
• Requesting A Refund - We only issue refunds under specific circumstances, such as for a prepaid part when a job is aborted or cancelled. We do not issue refunds, whether partial or full, on completed jobs.
• Parts & Workmanship - We warranty our workmanship for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. We do not warranty parts - parts manufacturers warranty their products through our suppliers.
• Warranty Limitations - All warranties are immediately rendered null and void if the vehicle is used for racing, abused in a manner inconsistent with its design and intended purpose, or modified or tampered with by anyone, including the vehicle's owner. For example, we cannot warranty a suspension part we installed that you broke by going off-road in a vehicle not suited to such use.
• Customer-Supplied Parts - We are happy to install customer-supplied parts. However, there are no warranties of any kind on any repair work that uses customer-supplied parts. If a customer-supplied part fails and we are tasked with its replacement, we must charge labor again to replace it even if the part itself is warrantied through its supplier. We advise customers in these situations to submit a labor claim to their part's supplier. Due to problems with warranty support, missing or incorrect parts, and customers purchasing parts of dubious quality, we must charge a 50% surcharge for labor for any and all repair work that uses customer-supplied parts. We also reserve the right to refuse to install parts that in our opinion may compromise the vehicle's performance, may cause or create the risk of damage, or may create safety risks for occupants.
• Parts Warranty Duration - Where possible, we only use parts with part-replacement warranties of one year or longer. Unless otherwise specified, parts replacement costs are covered by manufacturers' warranties for 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever comes first. Labor coverage varies by manufacturer and part - please be aware that most manufacturers only cover both labor and part for a narrow timeframe, usually 30-90 days.
• Part-Only/No-Labor Parts Warranty Coverage - Some manufacturers do not cover labor as part of their warranties - if this is the case, we must charge for labor again even in the event of a warrantable failure. If this applies, a note will appear with the part's entry in our estimates, work orders, and invoices.
• Mail-Order/Dealer-Sourced Parts Warranties - Mail-order and dealer- purchased parts are always warrantied for part replacement only, with no labor coverage - if there is a warrantable failure we must still charge labor again for the part's replacement. Again, if this applies, a note will appear with the part's entry in our estimates, work orders, and invoices.
• Working On Your Vehicle While We Do - If you perform any repair or maintenance work on a vehicle we are working on (which is defined as "from the moment we start to the moment we finish, regardless of any intermediate delays, pauses, or wait time"), all warranties are null and void, regardless of what you did and whether it impacts our work in any way. This is not negotiable and no exceptions will be made under any circumstances. We cannot and will not provide any warranty support for vehicles that are being worked on by someone else while we're doing likewise.

ESTIMATES

• Estimate Lifespans - Due to the fact that parts prices change over time, estimates are valid for thirty (30) days. If you would like to have us perform work on an old estimate we're happy to oblige, but expect the total to change.
• Aftermarket Surprises - Estimates are based on stock vehicle configurations; aftermarket modifications and additions (e.g., alarm/remote-start systems, custom autosound, engine modifications) may incur additional labor charges as appropriate. If such surprises are discovered, work will stop and we will contact you with an updated estimate before continuing. We reserve the right to cancel/abort any repair job that involves additional labor for aftermarket modifications if you refuse to pay for that additional labor, and under Florida Law you may still be liable for teardown time. Make it easier on everybody - tell us in advance what modifications your vehicle has!

COMPLETION TIMEFRAMES

• Best Efforts At Expediency - We always strive to complete jobs as quickly as practical, which is determined by many factors, such as the amount of time the job takes according to labor guides, the amount of rust or corrosion that is present, unexpected parts issues (e.g., receiving the wrong part and having to reorder the correct one), and the presence of any aftermarket or unexpected add-ons that have to be dealt with during the process.
• Delays Beyond Our Control - We cannot, and will not, assume any responsibility for delays that are beyond our control, such as (but not limited to) shipping delays or receiving incorrect parts.
• Realistic Expectations - Things can and do "go wrong," and as a result, we must require a degree of flexibility and realistic expectations on the part of customers with regard to completion timeframes. Expecting a job to not take any longer than initially thought when a bolt breaks, for example, is not realistic on the part of the customer.
• No Exclusivity - We cannot, and will not, give any one work order any form of exclusivity, nor will we ignore other customers/jobs/calls while attending to any one vehicle. Other work orders may be scheduled, and the work performed, while a larger job is in progress, and this will push completion back accordingly on the larger job.
• Timeframe Guarantees For Large Jobs - Due to the fluid nature of auto repair performed in the field, we cannot, and will not, guarantee any work order with more than six (6) hours of total labor will be completed within any specific time frame. Long jobs can, and likely will, be interrupted by shorter jobs as they become available, so please plan accordingly. We may recommend breaking up large jobs to avoid excessive time demands, especially on a customer's primary vehicle.

DIAGNOSTICS

• Accurate Diagnostics - We do not guarantee the accuracy of anyone else's diagnostics but our own. Due to the complexity of a vehicle, we cannot guarantee that one diagnosis will cure every problem a vehicle has in a single repair operation.
• Multiple Problems/Issues - It is not only possible, but common, for a vehicle to have more than one issue with similar or overlapping symptoms. Finding and fixing one issue may reveal another. Repairing one issue does not magically repair all issues. As such, as was noted, we cannot guarantee that one diagnosis will cure every problem a vehicle has in a single repair operation.
• Diagnostic Timeframes - Some problems may be time-consuming to diagnose. In such cases we may request preapproval for diagnostic time.

PARTS

• Parts Quality - We only use OEM-quality parts from manufacturers with strong records of quality when available. If you're looking to save money on auto repairs, going with the cheapest parts available is often false economy. When parts are available in "DIY" and "commercial" quality grades (and with pricing that reflects the quality difference), we always go with "commercial."
• Specialty Fluids - When a vehicle calls for specialty fluids, we will ONLY use fluids that are guaranteed compatible with or an exact match to the requirements. If your vehicle requires $20-a-quart transmission fluid, for example, that's what we will recommend.
• Old Parts - As per Florida Law, you have the right to request your old parts be made available to you for your inspection, provided that such a request is made when work is approved. If a core charge applies to any given part, you must pay it if you wish to keep the part.
• Plastic Parts - We assume no responsibility for plastic part breakage, as many plastic parts used in vehicles are brittle and can break without warning no matter how carefully they are handled. This is especially true of plastic parts that are exposed to sunlight, e.g., dash pads.
• Contacting Our Suppliers - We do not release supplier contact information to customers, as this always causes problems - invariably the customer will reach someone that gives them inaccurate or incorrect information, such as saying a part is in stock when it's not, and this basically causes issues that didn't need to be caused. We reserve the right to terminate all business relations with any customer that does an end run around us and contacts our suppliers directly.
• Customer-Supplied Parts & Safety - We reserve the right to refuse to install any part that we feel would compromise the safety and safe operation of a vehicle.
• Broken Bolts - Our policy on broken bolts is that we are not responsible for bolt breakage under any circumstances, even if the bolt in question broke by our hand. The reasons for this are multiple: we have no way of knowing if a previous repair effort damaged the bolt or the threads into which it screws, we have no way of knowing if a bolt was damaged due to environmental factors, as some bolts are prone to breakage due to the environment within which they exist (e.g., bolts affixing exhaust system components), and sometimes a bolt will just fail no matter how carefully and gently you work with it. If a bolt breaks, we must charge additional labor, and parts if needed, to extract the remaining bolt fragment and repair the hole.

PAYMENTS

• Payment Arrangements - Payment in full is required upon completion of services. We do not accept efforts to make payment arrangements after-the-fact. Also, post-dated checks are not legal in Florida.
• Parts Pre-Payment - We require all parts be prepaid on invoices with a pre-tax total of $100 or more.
• Special-Order/High-Cost Part Prepayment - We require special-order or large-ticket parts be prepaid BEFORE we will order them. If it has to be shipped in via third party or transferred to a local dealership from elsewhere, it's "special-order." Parts with pre-tax sale prices of $100 or more are "high-cost." Ordering of parts may be subject to delay until prepayment clears our bank if prepayments are made via credit card.
• Returned Parts - Returned parts may be subject to restocking fees - if the supplier charges us, we must charge you.
• Refund methods - We only issue refunds under specific circumstances, such as for a prepaid part when a job is aborted or cancelled. We do not issue refunds, whether partial or full, on completed jobs. When a refund is due, we require that any refunds be made to the same payment method as the original payment. Debit cards are still cards regardless of where the funding comes from - we do not give cash/check refunds for charges paid with a debit card, as we generally don't carry much cash on hand for security reasons. Service call fees, fuel surcharges, and emergency/after-hours call fees are NON-REFUNDABLE.
• Sales Taxes - Offering to pay cash, not wanting a receipt, etc. does not mean we won't charge sales tax. It's required by law, so we have to charge it and you have to pay it. We always collect sales tax whenever and wherever it is legally required that we do so.
• Returned Checks - While we accept cash, credit cards, and checks as payment, we reserve the right to charge the maximum allowed under Florida Law for returned checks.

UNACCEPTABLE ACTS OR BEHAVIORS

NOTE: It is somewhat sad that this section even needs to be included, but some people are why we can't have nice things...

• Threats To Our Associates - We have a zero-tolerance policy regarding threats against our associates. Any threat of any type or nature directed at an OSA associate will not be tolerated - we will immediately terminate whatever work is in progress and flee the scene, and will no longer perform any services for any customer that threatens one of our associates. This also extends to any friends, family, and/or roommates of customers. We will not return to complete any job that we abandon in-progress due to threats, and reserve the right to demand payment for the portion of the job that was completed.
• Threats Against OSA - We also have a zero-tolerance policy regarding threats against the company as a whole. Again, any threat of any type or nature, whether physical or otherwise, such as threatening to take unwarranted legal action or threatening to file unwarranted complaints with the State of Florida and/or the BBB, will not be tolerated. Our response to threats against the company is the same as for threats made against our associates - all work immediately ceases and we will no longer perform services of any kind for that customer. (We define "unwarranted" in this context as "the customer is upset with us but not for anything we did or didn't do, and/or is upset with us regarding any issue that is being handled under a supplier's warranty, and/or is upset with us for any reason that is beyond our control.")
• Drug/Alcohol Abuse - We reserve the right to refuse to perform services for customers that are obviously drunk, on drugs, etc. when we arrive to perform such services. Work that is rescheduled for this reason will incur an additional service call fee, both of which will for a certainty be due immediately upon our arrival the second time.

LEGAL

• Know Your Rights - Florida's "Motor Vehicle Repair Act" mandates, via State Law, that you must receive a written, itemized repair estimate on request. Once we give you an estimate, any deviation above that price of 10% or $50, whichever is less, requires your approval. (We usually contact at around $20-$25.) State Law also grants additional legal protections for auto repair customers, as well as providing protections for auto repair facilities to protect themselves against unscrupulous customers.
• Permission To Operate Vehicle - By allowing us to perform repair work on your vehicle, you are also granting us permission to use the vehicle on public roadways for diagnostic, testing, and verification purposes.
• Releasing Vehicles - We cannot release a vehicle to any other person or party but its owner unless specifically told to do so. If you want us to give the keys to a friend or relative, you must tell us this in advance.
• Things We Cannot Control - We are not responsible for things beyond our control, which includes, but is by no means limited to, the following:
  - Acts of God, acts of nature, etc. (e.g., temporary closure brought on by a hurricane);
  - Incorrect/inaccurate information from a parts supplier (e.g., misquotes on pricing);
  - Mistakes on the part of a supplier (e.g., receiving the wrong part);
  - Shipping delays, especially during transit (e.g., storms in Tennessee causing delays in shipping anything through Memphis via FedEx);
  - Incorrect/inaccurate diagnostic and repair information provided to us from reference sources (e.g., wrong labor times in labor guides)
• Right Of Refusal - In accordance with Federal and State Law, we reserve the right to refuse to perform any repairs we would consider inappropriate or unsuited to the problem at hand or that would in our opinion render the completed vehicle unsafe to drive.
• Mechanic's Liens - Florida law provides mechanisms for auto repair facilities to protect themselves against non-payment by customers. The principal mechanism is the "mechanic's lien," which, thanks to state reciprocity laws, will block the sale, transfer, and registration of a vehicle throughout most of the United States. All repairs are assumed to be protected by an implied mechanic's lien as well as all other mechanisms provided for under Federal and State Law.
• Before You Call Your Attorney - If there's a problem, contact us immediately. Most situations can be worked out to mutual satisfaction without any difficulty and with minimal to no expense. Please note that as standing policy we automatically terminate all business relations with customers that threaten legal action when it's unnecessary and unwarranted, and we automatically countersue on all small claims cases, so please consider the filing of a civil suit to be a last-resort option, not a first-strike weapon.