Massachusetts Auto Body Shops Push for Right to Repair
Profile: Ed Nalewanski of Ed's Auto Body and Repair, Easthampton, MA

Ed Nalewanski is probably typical of other business owners in the auto body repair business in Massachusetts. The longtime owner and proprietor of Ed's Auto Body and Repair in Easthampton, MA, Ed has seen his share of changes in the industry since he opened shop in 1978. And like other independent repairers and auto body experts, he has had a front row seat at the debate over Right to Repair issue.

"It's frustrating when you buy the latest computer equipment and software and you still can't clear out all the sensors after you've repaired the car," says Ed. "We spend a lot of money on updates and we still have to send cars back to the dealers to clear these codes. "

Ed is also a past president of the Massachusetts Auto Body Association (MABA), an association with more than 200 active members. MABA has joined forces with the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition to register their concerns about how difficult the manufacturers have made it to complete repairs for customers.

"I had a gentleman come in with his car after he was broadsided on the right side of his Honda Accord. The job went extremely well until the end when we put the air bag back in and went to reset the sensor and couldn't. We had to take the car back to the dealer and then they told us that it didn't reset because the frame on the front seat was bent. If we had the codes for that sensor we could have ordered that part at the beginning of the job, but instead this poor guy has to wait another week and a half for that part to come in. All the while he is waiting he has to pay for a car rental," says Ed. "The last thing a customer wants to hear at the end of a job is that we have to send it back to the OE (dealer)."

Steve Regan, a spokesman for MABA, says the issue cuts across the entire independent auto body repair industry and unfairly deprives small business owners like Nalewanski with the ability to compete fairly with their dealer counterparts. "The dealer shops get this information for free and then our members pay for it and don't always get all the information they need," says Regan. "This practice creates an unfair competitive environment and has to be stopped."

The everyday reality for independent repairers is that no matter how good they are at their trade they can be hurt for lack of one piece of data. " It slows down the repairs considerably," says Nalewanski. "The customer is usually in a rental car and if they have to foot the bill for the car because they were at fault in the accident, that adds up to more delays and increased costs. For us, anytime we have to send a car out we lose money because there is a lot of administrative work involved to get those situations fixed, and we never see that money back."