Eighty-two percent of vehicle owners who participated in a recent survey about The Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act favor the legislation with 62% "strongly" favoring its passage, according to The Right to Repair Coalition.
The poll was conducted by Lake Research Partners and The Tarrance Group. Results showed that 81% of vehicle owners in the 18- to 34-year-old category "strongly favor the legislation, while seniors strongly favored the bill by 72%."
"Now more than ever before during these challenging economic times, car owners depend on independent repair shops to provide affordable, convenient and effective repairs of their vehicles," says Aaron Lowe, vice president of government affairs for the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association.
"Congress must take action to ensure that the vehicle owners and not the car companies have the right to decide where their vehicle is repaired."
Independent car repair shop owners also were polled. Seventy-two percent said they had to turn away work due to lack of necessary information or tools. Sixty-nine percent reported having problems getting access to needed information and equipment to perform repairs.
According to the survey, 80% of shop owners have resorted to using "back door" channels to obtain needed diagnostic and repair data.
"This situation is inacceptable for the automotive aftermarket industry, which employs nearly five million people in 495,000 locations across the country," says Lowe. "Our repairers are not asking for proprietary information or blueprints -- just the information that allows them to complete a repair job and not have to turn business away."
