LETTER: Garages not looking for a free lunch

We agree with the title of your editorial of Feb. 9, "Right to repair, but not for free," however your conclusion about the "right to repair" issue is unfortunately based on falsehoods being spread by car manufacturers. No one is "forcing manufacturers to give away their (repair) information."

The language of H. 228 as originally and re-drafted by the state Consumer Protection Committee says that we seek the same information for the diagnosis, service and repair of any motor vehicle that the manufacturer makes available to its authorized dealers at reasonable cost as compared to what the dealer pays. No one is asking for a free lunch.

What's more, we do not want trade secrets and proprietary information, only repair information, which by definition is already in the public domain and is not and should not, for that matter, be a secret. Your editorial contends that the information belongs to the car manufacturers because they build the cars. But what about the consumer?

The consumer buys that car, usually at a steep price. Are you suggesting some CEO in Detroit, or Europe for that matter, still owns the car and should make it so the consumer can't shop around for the best service and price? Again, we want repair information, not blueprints and trade secrets.

You go on to say that repair shops can buy most of the information they need. The key word is "most." If they only get "most" then that means there is "some" they don't get. Your local repairer Glenn Giammalvo is correct, saying he can get most but not all the information.

Imagine that: Independent repairers spend thousands each year for high-tech scanning tools and online access to repair procedures, motorists spend tens of thousands of dollars on a new car, but they aren't allowed to get all the repair information.

The repair information independent garages can't get results in customers being turned away to the dealer to complete a repair, at a significantly higher price. The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition released an economic impact study late last year showing that vehicle repairs cost an average 42 percent more at new car dealerships than at independent repair shops.

Let dealer and independent garages compete based on good service and fair price, not on who controls computer codes, and let the consumer decide who should repair the car that they purchased.

Art Kinsman
Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition

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