Terms and conditions for a car body repair shop

A body shop needs terms that deal with the things that actually cause arguments: the insurer who authorises less than the estimate, the hidden damage found on strip-down, the customer who will not collect, the excess nobody wants to pay and the courtesy car that comes back with a new dent. I draft customer terms around how your shop books work in and releases vehicles, for a fixed fee of £995 in five working days.

Who this is for

Accident repair centres, panel and paint shops, SMART repairers and mobile bumper specialists in England and Wales. Most take work from three directions: retail customers paying their own money, insurers and accident management companies, and trade accounts such as dealers, fleets and leasing firms. Those customers have different rights, so one set of terms has to be written with all three in mind.

What matters in a body shop's terms

Insurance work: who your customer actually is

The insurer authorises and pays, but the contract for the repair is normally with the vehicle owner, and the terms need to say so plainly. Set out that the owner remains liable if the insurer declines, reduces or delays the claim, that the excess is collected before release, and how betterment, paint uplifts and supplementary authority for damage found on strip-down are dealt with. A shop that begins on a verbal go-ahead from a claims handler, then finds authority covers half the schedule, has a customer insisting they never agreed to fund the difference.

Parts, paint and matching

Say which parts you will fit: manufacturer, pattern or recycled, and get that agreed before ordering, because under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 information a consumer relies on in deciding to go ahead binds you. Deal with paint honestly in the terms: metallics and pearls cannot be matched from a code alone, blending into adjacent panels is accepted trade practice rather than a defect, and existing fade or earlier repairs limit what is achievable. Cover parts delays outside your control, and what happens when strip-down reveals damage that changes the method and the price.

Calibration, geometry and safety-critical work

Modern repairs pull in radar, cameras and parking sensors, and a bumper, screen or wing replacement often needs calibration before the vehicle goes back on the road. The terms should record that calibration, geometry and diagnostic work are chargeable items rather than goodwill, that you will not release a vehicle you consider unsafe, and that the customer must disclose earlier repairs, structural damage or non-standard modifications affecting the method. Where you sublet glass, alignment, trimming or wheel refurbishment, say how the subcontractor's guarantee is passed on and what you remain answerable for.

Vehicles in your care, storage and unpaid bills

State when risk in the vehicle sits with you, what your road risk and premises cover extends to, and that personal property left inside, tools, dashcams, child seats, sat navs, is the customer's risk. Then deal with collection: a storage charge running from written notice that the vehicle is ready, at a rate you can justify by reference to your yard, and a right to hold the vehicle until the bill is paid. Against a retail customer, a charge that looks punitive rather than compensatory risks being unfair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Courtesy cars and cancellation by retail customers

If you lend a car, the terms need a hire section of their own: named drivers, insurance position and excess, fuel, mileage, and who pays parking charges, penalty notices and congestion charges that land weeks later. Where the repair was agreed at the customer's home, by phone or online, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give fourteen days to cancel, with an exception for urgent repairs the customer requested. Order paint and parts inside that period without the customer's express request and recovery of those costs becomes difficult.

Trade accounts, liability and waste

Dealers, fleets, leasing companies and accident management firms belong on account terms with credit limits, invoicing on release and interest and fixed compensation under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. For those customers you can cap liability and exclude loss of profit, hire charges and vehicle downtime, subject to the reasonableness test under the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, though nothing excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence. If damaged panels, oils or paint waste leave your site in your own van, waste carrier registration with the Environment Agency is expected.

What it costs

Customer or supplier terms and conditions, £995. One set of terms, customer-facing or supplier-facing, drafted around your business. Five working days.

Review of your existing terms, £495. You already have terms and want to know how much of a problem they are. Returned marked up with my amendments and an explanation of the changes. Three working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the terms and conditions drafting page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• A full set of terms drafted around your business, not a template with your name inserted
• A covering note in plain English explaining every commercial choice I made and why, so you can defend the terms in a negotiation without ringing me
• Liability, payment, termination and IP provisions set at a level that will survive a procurement review
• Consumer-facing wording drafted to be enforceable where you sell to consumers
• Guidance on how to incorporate the terms properly, which is where most businesses actually fail
• One round of amendments after you have read them

What is not included

• Negotiating your terms with individual customers
• Sector-specific regulatory compliance beyond the contract terms themselves
• Website privacy notice and cookie compliance, which I quote separately
• Terms governed by the law of another country

Questions I am often asked

Can I hold a customer's car until the invoice is paid?

Body shops routinely rely on a lien over the vehicle, and terms that spell the right out, with the storage charge running beside it, leave you far better placed than silence does. The clause should cover written notice that the vehicle is ready, collection arrangements, how the excess is taken before release, and what happens with a vehicle left for months.

The insurer has only authorised part of the repair. Who pays the rest?

The vehicle owner, provided your terms say so and they accepted them before work began. Authority from a claims handler is a commitment to pay a figure, not a promise to settle your invoice in full. I draft wording that keeps the owner liable for the excess, betterment, paint uplifts and anything the insurer declines.

Do I need separate terms for trade and retail work?

One set can carry both, with a consumer section covering cancellation and the rights a retail customer cannot sign away, plus account terms for dealers, fleets and accident management companies. What fails is handing a retail customer a document written for trade, because the exclusions you are counting on are precisely the ones that will not hold.

Related guidance and services

• Terms and conditions drafting, £995, the service this page describes
• Contract review, £495
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Terms and conditions for a removals company
• Terms and conditions for a locksmith

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.