Bob Ulrich

Editor

Bob Ulrich was named Modern Tire Dealer editor in August 2000. He joined the magazine in 1985 as assistant editor, and has been responsible for gathering statistical information for MTD's "Facts Issue" since 1993. He has won numerous awards for editorial and feature writing, including five gold medals from the International Automotive Media Association. Bob earned a B.A. in English literature from Ohio Northern University and has a law degree from the University of Akron.

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Right to Repair: The dominoes are about to fall

By: Bob Ulrich

On July 6, two days after Independence Day, the Massachusetts Senate passed S. 2517, otherwise known as the Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act. The vote was unanimous -- 38-0.

To become law, the bill now must pass muster in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, and then be signed by Governor Deval Patrick. Barry Steinberg, for one, believes both will happen.

Steinberg, owner of Direct Tire & Auto Service in Watertown, Mass., has been a vocal proponent of the Right to Repair Act as part of the Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition. After years of frustration and numerous re-introductions, the bill is closer to passage than ever before.

"We will win," he says.

A victory gives consumers the "right" to choose where they want to take their cars and light trucks for repair by requiring vehicle manufacturers to make repair information available to independent repair shops at a reasonable cost. That includes computer software, technical service bulletins and, in some cases, tools.

The bill evens the playing field. As the Boston Herald notes in a recent editorial, consumers "need the protection of competition."

Like its federal counterpart, the Massachusetts bill protects any proprietary OEM information from being divulged. It also has no effect on the warranty agreement between the vehicle dealership and the vehicle owner.

The expected passage of the Massachusetts bill may pave the way for passage of the federal bill, which was first introduced in the House in 2001. At present, there are 68 co-sponsors of United States House Bill 2057, led by Representative Edolphus Towns (D-N.Y.).

The U.S. Senate's version of the Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act, S 3181, recently was introduced by U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).

In 2002, the Automobile Service Association (www.asashop.org) “reached an understanding” with the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers to provide independent repair shops with the same service and training information they made available to their franchised car dealerships.

That understanding is not enforceable by law, which is why I am totally behind any of the Right to Repair Acts (there are others). For more information, visit www.righttorepair.org.

And if you are from Massachusetts and want to move the House members along, visit www.massrighttorepair.com to find out how you can take action.

Related Topics: Automobile Service Association, Barry Steinberg, Direct Tire, Right to Repair Act