United States. The Car Care Association recently released the results of a new national survey of repair shops that highlights the challenges independent repair facilities face in servicing vehicles, often forcing them to turn down business.
The results, revealed on April 10, indicate:
- 84% of independent repair shops consider access to vehicle repair and maintenance data to be the top issue for their business, outpacing other important considerations such as technician recruitment and retention and inflation.
- The majority (63%) of independent repair shops experience difficulty performing routine repairs on a daily or weekly basis.
- Half of independent repair shops (51%) report sending up to 5 vehicles per month to the dealership due to vehicle data restrictions.
- Vehicle data limitations cost independent repair shops an estimated $3.1 billion each year.
"This research sheds new light on the stark reality facing the 273,000 shops and 900,000 technicians in the United States if Congress does not act on federal right-to-repair legislation," said Bill Hanvey, president and CEO of the Car Care Association.
These new survey findings reiterate the immediate need for the bipartisan REPAIR Act, which would ensure that vehicle owners and repairers of their choice have access to the vehicle data, tools, and software needed to maintain modern vehicles.
- Advertising -"Without changes, local repair shops will be forced to turn down more and more business, leaving car owners with no choice but to pay excessive bills at the dealership. The REPAIR Act is critically necessary to protect America's vibrant network of independent repair shops that offer reliable service, convenience, and choice to millions of American drivers during the auto repair process."
Vehicle data restrictions disproportionately hurt small independent repair companies by making it more difficult for them to offer certain repair services and parts to their customers, which can leave some car owners with no choice but the dealership for some repairs, as seen in the new Car Care Association survey.
This growing trend is particularly concerning when you consider that consumers prefer independent repair shops to dealerships for vehicle repairs, according to separate research from Consumer Reports.
