Typical American consumers - and that's most of us - probably make these assumptions about new cars: They're all "computerized," meaning beyond the realm of repair by those of us who once had an interest or instinct for working on them, and we're all stuck with costly service at the dealerships from which we purchased them. We might have a beloved mechanic at a local garage who can do the work for less, but we probably won't go to him for repairs until the car is out of warranty. Even then, our beloved mechanic might not be able to perform the job because he doesn't have the top-secret codes that allow him to communicate with the car's computer system and shut off that annoying "check engine" light.
Understood and accepted. The whole thing might smell of scam, but that's how things have been for years, and particularly in the age of the computer chip.
Even now, with the U.S. auto industry in a tailspin and Congress willing to subsidize the purchase of new cars ("cash for clunkers"), consumer choices remain limited - at least for five years or the first 60,000 miles. Dealerships make more profit from their service departments than they do from new-car sales, and the system seems rigged to stay that way.
But buyer, be aware: There has been a quiet "right-to-repair" movement in this country for years, and those behind it - elements of the auto repair and after-market parts industries, consumer groups and the AAA - are making another push for legislative action as dealerships close and the recession takes a toll on consumers' ability to pay for service.
The right-to-repair lobby wants a kind of automotive Freedom of Information Act. There's a bill in Congress to require automakers to provide the same high-tech service information to independent repair shops that they provide to the service departments of dealerships. They want diagnostic and repair codes, updated and easily accessible, and the cool tools the mechanics at dealerships have.
"The independent repair shops are more than happy to pay a reasonable fee for that information so they can make the full repairs," says Sandy Bass-Cors, executive director of the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, representing what it calls the "$200 billion-a-year, five million people-strong Automotive Aftermarket." Some of CARE's major members are Pep Boys, AutoZone, NAPA, Midas and Jiffy Lube. The group claims 20,058 auto shops and 14,762 parts retailers, as well as that special group of Americans - the motorheads among us - who still want to work on their own vehicles.
