Protect Your Right To Repair 

Take a second and imagine you are driving down the road when suddenly, your car starts making a clunking noise. Immediately you know that you have to bring it in to find out what is wrong. For most people, the first thought would not be to bring it to the dealership; it would be to bring it to their trusted mechanic. Now imagine you don’t get to make that decision for yourself because the only place that you can bring your vehicle for repair is a dealership. Well, soon we might not have to imagine, as dealerships are trying to make this a reality.

Manufacturers are currently working to withhold access to any information, parts, and specialty tools that are needed to repair or service their new, more complex vehicles that are emerging in the market. This restricts anyone outside of the dealership from being able to repair the vehicles themselves, regardless of if they are a mechanic at a well-established repair shop or an at-home DIY mechanic. However, there is a way to stop this from happening. The Right to Repair Movement has emerged to fight for the rights to repair any vehicle without being forced to pay dealership prices and we are here to tell you more about it and how YOU can help.

What does Right to Repair mean?

We all have gadgets and gizmos that we love and if something happens to them or they become outdated, we want to make sure they get fixed or upgraded. When you repair or upgrade these items, whether it is a phone or refrigerator, you want to do so somewhere that you trust, or maybe even do it yourself. This is all included in the consumer right to repair. This same right to repair applies to the automotive industry, allowing the consumer to fix their car wherever they please. This should be easy enough, however, consumers are commonly denied specialty tools, parts, or even the simple information that they need to be able to make repairs to their vehicle. This is where the movement comes into play.

What is the Right to Repair Movement?

The Right to Repair movement has been active in the United States for decades, fighting for all consumers to be able to fix and upgrade the products that they own. The Right to Repair movement’s purpose is to:

• Give access to all information, such as manuals, updates, etc., to everyone
• Make all tools and other equipment needed for repairs available to anyone.
• Allow the owner access to modify the device by making the device unlocked and adaptable
• Allow the owner the capability to source or supply replacement parts
• Accommodate repairs by designing devices in a way that makes repairs possible

The legislation would support the practice to repair and lengthen the life of their possessions.

Right to Repair Benefits

The legislation is essential to preserve the consumer’s choice and competitive pricing, while also helping small businesses, like Victory Auto Service, stay in business.

Car Owner Benefits

While there aren’t a lot of new options available currently, due to the pandemic, the options of new vehicles that are available, along with the ones that will be coming, are not easily repairable. Without access to the full information on these vehicles, it becomes extremely tough to properly diagnose and repair them.

With the Right to Repair legislation, the access to this information will give you the ability to decide where you get your vehicle repaired at a price that you feel comfortable with. This allows you to avoid the manufacturer or a franchise dealer and save your wallet from suffering.

Auto Repair Shop Benefits

When given the option, vehicle owners are more likely to bring their vehicle to a repair shop that they trust, which is why this legislation is so important to businesses like ours. These legislations will help balance out the field between repair shops, dealers, and manufacturers. It also allows mechanics of all demographics to purchase any parts, tools, or other information that they may need to help them make the repairs that your vehicle needs.

Parts Supplier Benefits

The legislation forces manufacturers to make spare parts accessible to vehicle owners and third parties, such as mechanics. It will disable them from withholding parts from anyone outside of the repair shop within the dealership. It also makes any aftermarket parts obtainable at rational prices and available to all. The legislation also consents parts suppliers to source and supply replacement parts outside of the dealership.

How YOU can help!

If you want to help prevent the right to repair being taken away, take a quick second and head over to the Auto Care Advocacy website (https://www.autocareadvocacy.org/take-action-tell-congress-support-right-to-repair/) and fill out the action form. They will compose a letter to your local representatives and all you have to do is click the send button.

With your help, we can keep the right to repair our vehicles alive!

Thank you for reading!