BETHESDA, MD – June 9, 2010 – Touting its now eight year old “agreement with carmakers,” the Automotive Service Association (ASA) continues to aggressively oppose the pending Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (S 3181/HR 2057). Yet, every day, independent shops face issues in obtaining access to codes and programming information needed to complete repairs on today’s highly computerized vehicles.
“The time has come for the industry to ask ASA (and its car company partners) why it is spending so many of its resources to battle legislation that will do nothing but ensure full access to the information, tools and training needed by independent shops to stay competitive with franchised new car dealers,” said Kathleen Schmatz, president and CEO of the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA). “Contrary to the claims made by ASA, the Right to Repair issue is not resolved until car companies and the entire aftermarket have an agreement that ensures the long term competitive future of the hundreds of thousands of independent shops providing convenient and affordable vehicle service for U.S. consumers.”
Schmatz specifically pointed to the fact that ASA represents a very small portion of the aftermarket, less than five percent, yet it has anointed itself the negotiator for the industry in discussions with the car makers. “It’s like the state of Rhode Island negotiating on behalf of the entire United States. To make matters worse, even after ASA’s claims about reaching an ‘agreement’ with the car companies, the repair information and safety bulletins in question are still not completely and equitably available to independent repair shops.”
The Right to Repair Act protects motoring consumers from a growing and potentially hazardous vehicle repair monopoly by requiring that car companies provide full access at a reasonable cost to all service information, tools and safety-related bulletins needed to repair motor vehicles, ensuring a competitive, level playing field between dealerships and independent repair shops. The legislation further provides car companies with strong protections for their trade secrets, only requiring them to make available the same diagnostic and repair information they provide their franchised dealers.
“ASA has basically become a splinter group of the industry. With surveys showing that 90 percent of technicians support the Right to Repair Act, they are clearly tone deaf when it comes to the interests of the aftermarket,” said Sandy Bass-Cors, executive director of the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE). “The top priority of the Right to Repair Act is motorist safety and ensuring that car owners know what is happening with their vehicles. To keep every motor vehicle serviced, repaired and operating safely, there must be equal access to safety alerts and repair information from the car companies. How in the world can ASA be opposed to that?”
Bass-Cors continued, “Instead of standing in the way of Right to Repair legislation, we call on ASA and the rest of the industry to push Congress to support this legislation in order to guarantee American consumers have the long term availability of a competitive vehicle repair market. Standing together as an industry, we can move this issue forward and obtain a solution that works for the entire aftermarket, its customers and, hopefully, the automakers as well.”
The Right to Repair Act has bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. The Senate version of the bill (S 3181) was recently introduced by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS) and has 3 co-sponsors. The House version (HR 2057) was introduced by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA) and currently has 63 co-sponsors. In May 2009, Consumer Reports came out in support of the Right to Repair Act, stating that “Consumer Reports agrees, in principle, with the Right to Repair Act as it restricts its scope to ‘repair’ which would increase repair options for car owners.” Other consumer groups supporting the Right to Repair Act include AAA, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, the National Grange, RetireSafe and 60 Plus.
About Right to Repair:
The Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act (S 3181) was introduced into the Senate by Sens. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS). The House version of the bill (HR 2057) was introduced by Reps. Edolphus Towns (D-NY), Anna Eshoo (D-CA) and George Miller (D-CA). The Right to Repair Act protects consumers from a growing vehicle repair monopoly by requiring car companies to make the same service information and tools capabilities available to independent repair shops that they provide to their franchised dealer networks. The legislation further provides car companies with strong protections for their trade secrets. For more information about the Right to Repair Act, visit www.righttorepair.org.
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