Right To Repair laws - What say you?

http://www.autoblog.com/2012/07/11/right-to-repair-law-would-force-automakers-to-share-data-with/

The gist: Dealers should have to make repair data, full repair data, available to everyone so that non-dealership mechanics can safely and efficiently work on your cars and trucks.

How do you feel about it?

Should companies have to divulge or is this a case of tough titty?

 

BTW, this is a public poll.

 

I think they should have to divulge for the simple reason that should the owner of the car want to be able to work on the car he should have information at the ready, weather he has the tools or not. I own the car, I should be able to work on it my self if I desire...then comes the trickle effect of once the owners have the info independent mechanics will then get it from the owners.

 

I'm in the middle on this. I see the points the manufactures have but then there is the other factors involved with independents needing to work on vehicles in cases that a dealership isn't around to do so and can't properly work on said vehicle, does that make sense?

 

As much as I'd like to do everything to bring repair costs down for myself, I also don't believe that the auto companies should be held to any different standard than any other company. Apple doesn't have to supply repair guides, nor does the company that made my toaster or my hair dryer daddy so why should the auto companies? Just because cars cost more? Well, make your decision based upon actual research, test drives and warranty availability. Beyond the warranty period, it's a risk, like the rest of life, IMO.

 

I'm also in the middle. Many businesses have proprietary products that you can't work on. For instance, Microsoft doesn't let me open the source code of Windows and change it.

Seems like it should be a business's decision to make. But it blows for everybody else

 

I think once the warranty is up, they should have to release repair info at least to the owner. I'm not saying the info should be free, but at least the owner can buy repair info if he desires.

 

But a towel doesn't require electricity, no moving parts.

 

I am selfishly biased on this one. I will stay out of it. This has been in the wings for the last 6 years. As a dealer/distributor we are advised constantly to prepare to make our proprietary software available to the public.

EDIT: fWONk it. I am concerned from a business standpoint, for obvious reasons. We currently, at our discretion, sell ALL manuals to our customers if they want them. We don't have to, but we do. We also make available a customer level diagnostic software for some of the engines we sell. We do not make available the distributor level/factory level software that we utilize to make horsepower and calibration changes.

That said; just with the level of commitment to our customer that we have already put forth, we now spend a good portion of our day supporting the software and literature that we have made available. We can't charge them for the support. We offer training through our training centers, but they do not want to pay for it. It has just opened a massive can of worms.

Anyhow, I could go on and on about this subject.

I guess I am in the middle. I get it. I would love to have it for my own personal products. Being on the other end of it though, it is a disaster. It will only get worse, and a handful of dealers will disappear because of it. When it all levels out, you can count on the price of vehicles/products going up.