Pushes Right to Repair Act

As a vehicle owner, I'm pretty sure you would agree that you should have the right to choose where your car, SUV, minivan or pick up truck are serviced and repaired. You probably wouldn't be too happy if the car company that built your vehicle controlled where you take it for service.

Well, if we are not careful you just might lose your right to get your vehicle serviced at your neighborhood repair shop and be forced to take it to a new car dealership. Why? Because today's modern vehicle is a very high tech machine and nearly every system on it is controlled and monitored by computers. It takes technical information, software and tools for professional technicians to service and diagnose and repair these vehicles.

So, what's the problem? The problem is that the big car companies are not making enough profit selling new cars and they need to make more money selling parts and service. Even though a dealership's parts and service sales accounts for about 12 percent of total sales, it contributes to 48 percent of their total operating profit, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) themselves. Compare this to the fact that new car sales are 60 percent of total sales, but only contribute 35 percent to total profit.

To capture a bigger piece of your vehicle service and repair business, they are trying to "lock out" the independent repair shops from the information and tools needed to work on your car so you will have to return to the dealership. Not a pretty picture. But there is something you can do about it.

You can fight for your right to choose by contacting your congressmen and urging them to support the Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act (HR 2048). It's easy and takes only a couple minutes to go to www.righttorepair.org to send a letter.

The Motor Vehicle Owners Right to Repair Act is a bill that requires that the same information and tools that car manufacturers provide to their dealerships to service and repair your vehicle should also be available to your neighborhood repair shop. After all, when you buy a vehicle, you should choose where it's fixed, not the giant car companies.

Traci Quick

Executive Secretary

Automotive Wholesalers of Arizona

Phoenix, Ariz.