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16 • If the company makes an oral recommendation to a repair shop, and it is accepted by the consumer, then the company must follow the oral recommendation with the prescribed writ- ten notice within five calendar days as specified by law. If the vehicle is repaired in a shop chosen by the consumer, then the insurance company must pay the reasonable costs to repair the vehicle made in accordance with accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike automotive repairs. • The insurance company is prohibited from limiting or discount- ing reasonable repair costs based on charges that would have occurred if the vehicle had been repaired at the company’s rec- ommended repair shop. • Also, the insurance company must stand behind the repairs of the recommended shop if the vehicle is not repaired properly. AUTO REPLACEMENT PARTS In some cases an auto repair may include replacement of dam- aged parts with after-market parts. After-market parts are parts which are not made by the original manufacturer. After-market parts may be equal or better in quality than (OEM) original equip- ment manufacturer parts. Although non-original equipment manu- factured replacement parts can be used to repair your vehicle, any such part must be comparable to (OEM) original equipment manu- factured parts in terms of kind, quality, safety, fit and performance. Consumers should take note of the following: • An auto repair shop is required to provide a written repair estimate of the cost of repairs prior to initiating repairs to the vehicle. Once the work is completed, the shop must then provide a written repair invoice. State law requires that the type of auto parts used in repairs must be identified on the repair invoice. Consumers should carefully check their invoice to ensure that the auto body shop has identified each auto part replaced as being used, reconditioned, rebuilt, after- market or an original equipment manufacturer part (OEM).