Current legislation now being enforced like the one passed in Massachusetts will now challenge the status quo.
New car dealerships derive much of their profit from the service department. Added pressure is OEM’s keep cutting the profit margins on new car sales making it harder to make ends meet and without the substantial money being made in the service department, many new car dealerships will suffer. Leading to lower income of their staff and could eventually lead to layoffs.
The history of the new car dealership service department can be traced back to the early days of the automotive industry, when cars were first invented in the late 19th century. At that time, cars were still considered a luxury item, and there were very few repair facilities available.
Intake: According to a new report from the Boston Globe, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell has been cleared by a federal judge to begin enforcing the state’s right-to-repair law, effective yesterday.
The embattled law mandates that automakers provide consumers and independent repair shops with wireless access to a car’s telematic data to diagnose the vehicle’s performance so that independent shops can better repair ailing cars. Automakers say that the law puts their data security at risk and argue that the law is poorly drafted and hard to obey.
The law was overwhelmingly supported by voters in a 2020 referendum, but automakers last Thursday asked U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock for a temporary restraining order to stop Cambell from enforcing the law.
Woodlock criticized the law in an online hearing but said that because the law had such strong support, he would not grant the restraining order—thereby paving the way for Campbell to enforce it. “The people have voted on this and that’s the result,” said Woodlock. “I am loath to impose my own views on the initiative.”
Exhaust: Woodlock said that carmakers could still seek a preliminary injunction against the law, which is a more complex and time-consuming process, but in the meantime, automakers will be forced to share telematics data with independent shops in Massachusetts.
Right-to-repair laws are a hot topic right now as cars get increasingly computer-controlled. In February, the House of Representatives introduced new legislation that aims to support the idea at a federal level. As of this writing, that legislation is still in the introductory stage. Let’s hope it moves through quickly. — Nathan Petroelje
