BOSTON — A coalition representing more than 1,500 independent automotive repair shops and related industries this week filed the Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, legislation that would guarantee equal access to automotive repair information for independent repairers and their customers.
The Right to Repair Act would protect Massachusetts consumers’ right to have their cars repaired wherever they choose without concern that their chosen shop will not have full access to the needed tools and information to complete the repair. The legislation puts independent repairers on a level competitive playing field with dealer repair shops by requiring car companies to make available the service information and tools needed to work on their highly sophisticated vehicle computers.
The newly filed bill, cosponsored by state Sen. Stephen J. Buoniconti, D-West Springfield and state Rep. Garrett J. Bradley, D-Hingham, will now allow vehicle owners or repairers to seek legal redress if they have been denied equal access to information by filing a complaint with the state attorney general’s office. The legislation would also permit the attorney general to bring civil action to enforce the law.
The legislation would apply only to cars manufactured in 1994 and later.
The Massachusetts Right to Repair Coalition includes the New England Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, the Massachusetts Auto Body Association, the Massachusetts Independent Automobile Dealers Association and the New England Tire & Service Association. Also supporting the Right to Repair movement in Massachusetts is the National Federation of Independent Business, the Massachusetts Retailers Association, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality and the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association.
For more information about the Right to Repair campaign in Massachusetts and the full text of the Massachusetts Right to Repair legislation, visit: massrighttorepair.com
