'Right to repair' activists looking to close loophole that benefits dealerships

Seven years after Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly approved the 'right to repair' ballot question, a tweak is in the works.

On Tuesday 'right to repair' activists will file papers for a ballot question in 2020 that would close a loophole involving wireless communication between car manufacturers and new car owners.

Independent repair shops fear that communication is closing off that business.

The initial proposal passed by an astounding two million vote margin in 2012.

"The highest passing ballot question in Massachusetts history," said Tommy Hickey of the Right to Repair Coalition.

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But some are warning that time has caught up with the state's 'right to repair' law, which forced car manufacturers to allow independent repair shops access to proprietary computer codes needed to fix cars.

"It's been way easier for independent repair shops," Hickey said. "Consumers are getting their cars fixed where they want."

But independent repair shop owners see a new threat: the built-in wireless communication between car manufacturers and new car owners.

"That little screen will pop up and say, 'hey Jim, you're due for an oil change,' or, 'hey we'll come in and rotate your tires,'" said Barry Steinberg of Direct Tire and Auto.

The concern for independent repair shops is that those seemingly helpful reminders will actually be self-serving because they'll come with recommendations and even incentives on where best to get those repairs done.

The independent repair shops say it's all about getting the consumer back into the car dealership to spend some money. By putting sensors in important places such as the brakes, they can remind the consumer that things need to be repaired.

Steinberg says that, for new car dealerships, service and survival go hand in hand.

"Car dealers don't make any money on selling cars," he said. "They make their money on brakes on shocks and tires and oil changes."

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Steinberg makes money on the same things, though, he says, less of it for any given service than a new car dealership. Still he fears some consumers, seeing a wireless message from the manufacturer, will feel compelled to take their new vehicles back to dealerships.

"It's a scare tactic and it's big brother telling you the consumer what to do," Steinberg said. "It's your car. It's not mine, it's not theirs, it's your car. You have the choice."

Boston 25 News contacted the Massachusetts State Automobile Dealers Association, which represents new car dealerships, for a comment on the ballot initiative, but they did not respond by the time of publishing.

Cox Media Group