WASHINGTON — The Coalition for Automotive Repair and Fair Information Xchange (CARFIX) is following up on a statement the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) issued on Monday that said talks had been halted between aftermarket associations and vehicle manufacturers to find some sort of non-legislative alternative to the Motor Vehicle Owner’s Right to Repair Act. CARFIX is comprised of members from the Automotive Service Association, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers and the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers. The various groups had been in discussions for the past two months.
CARFIX responded late yesterday with its own perspective on the breakdown in negotiations.
CARFIX explained that the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB), which served as a facilitator for the talks, identified several key issues that could expedite the communication of service and repair information to independent repair technicians. In its press release, CARFIX highlighted a quote from a letter authored by BBB President and CEO Steven Cole to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which stated, “Resolution appears to have been possible on many of the core issues, including strengthening and new funding of the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) process; many remedies for a third party resolution framework; rigorous time frames that would need to be observed; and dispute resolution procedures, among other items.”
CARFIX said it continues to support voluntary efforts “instead of a new federal bureaucracy” to provide access to service and repair information by independent repair shops as well as all other service providers. The groups said automakers will continue to work with members of the service industry through NASTF to resolve any problems involving motor vehicle repair. According to CARFIX, in 2004, out of an estimated 471 million repairs performed by independent automotive repair businesses, NASTF received only 48 requests regarding the availability of service information or access to diagnostic tools. Auto manufacturers have investigated and responded to all of the requests, the group said.
For more information about CARFIX, visit: www.carfixinfo.com.
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