BOSTON (March 22, 2012) — Supporters and opponents of the Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act testified before the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure March 21.
The Right to Repair Act requires auto makers to make available to independent auto repairers, in a reasonably priced and accessible format, the same repair and diagnostic information they give their franchised dealers.
Advocates of the bill say it is a matter of both simple fairness and of obtaining the information they need to survive. Detractors say the voluntary agreement signed in 2002 between major auto makers and the Automotive Service Association is more than adequate to ensure the availability of necessary repair information.
Valid polling shows that as much as 87 percent of Massachusetts consumers support the Right to Repair Act, said Arthur Kinsman of the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition at the hearing.
“Consumers want choice and fairness,” Mr. Kinsman said.
Many new car dealers say flat out that they shouldn't have to share repair information because of the steep investments they make in their franchises, according to Mr. Kinsman. “What they don't factor in is that customers paid $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, maybe $50,000 to buy that car,” he said. “They expect they will be able to get it fixed where they want.”
Mr. Kinsman spoke of Aaron Smith, a former Pontiac dealer in Weymouth, Mass., who lost his franchise when General Motors Co. discontinued the brand.
“He (Smith) testified before this very committee last year that when he was a franchised dealer, he got all the information,” Mr. Kinsman said. “Now that he's been stripped of the franchised tag, he can't get all the information. Let's get past this basic fact: not all the information is available for purchase.”
Taking the opposing side was Diane Larson, owner of Larson's Service in Peabody, Mass., and a member of the ASA Mechanical Division Operations Committee.
“For shops like mine that are willing to invest in the tools, equipment and training, all the information needed to repair their customers' vehicles is available today without legislative mandates,” Ms. Larson said.
Independent shop owners must make appropriate business decisions as to which makes and models they are prepared to invest in repairing, according to Ms. Larson. “There can be no single silver bullet to fix every car, as proponents seem to suggest,” she said.
Ms. Larson also spoke against the ballot proposal advanced by Right to Repair supporters. “The ballot language freezes old technology with no allowance for future advancements,” she said.
Late last year, supporters of Right to Repair obtained more than 106,000 signatures—about 38,000 more than they actually needed—to get a Right to Repair initiative on the Massachusetts state ballot in November 2012.
The Massachusetts legislature also is considering a Right to Repair bill, and has until its May 2 adjournment to act on it.
If the legislature does not pass the bill, Right to Repair supporters must then obtain 20,000 more signatures for the ballot measure by June to ensure its place on the November ballot, said Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs at the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association, at the AAIA's Aftermarket Legislative Summit in Washington March 14.
To reach this reporter: [email protected]; 202-662-7211.