ALEXANDRIA, VA — The Coalition for Auto Repair Equality (CARE) announced that the National Grange, the nation’s oldest general farm and rural public interest organization with more than 2,800 local, county and State Grange chapters in 37 states, has joined the coalition of supporters for the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act, H.R. 2048.
Said David Parde, president of the Coalition for Auto Repair Equality, (CARE), “We welcome the National Grange’s support of this critical legislation. The action taken by The National Grange illustrates just how strongly consumers all across America support the protection of the rights of consumers and small businesses.”
The National Grange, which was founded in 1867, joins other notable consumer and business supporters in the coalition such as AAA and National Federation of Independent Business.
As part of this year’s National Grange priority legislative issues, National Grange grassroots delegates adopted the following policy statement under the heading Consumer Protection Law: “The National Grange requests federal legislators to pass legislation that allows independent vehicle maintenance facilities or car dealership garages to have access to the technology/programming needed to repair all makes of vehicles so that the consumer has a choice of where to take his/her vehicle for maintenance and repair.”
According to Leroy Watson, legislative director, National Grange, “The Motor Vehicles Owners’ Right to Repair Act is a critical reform that puts the needs of consumers first yet also protects the legitimate interests of automobile dealerships and other repair shops. The Motor Vehicles Owners’ Right to Repair Act clearly addresses the goal of our Consumer Protection Law Policy Statement by helping to assure the consumer has the option to choose the repair shop and the replacement parts to service and maintain their vehicles.”
According to Watson, this bill is in direct response to the current automotive technology, which effectively “locks out” car owners from taking such action. Due to the growing presence of vehicles with On-Board Diagnostic systems, required by the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, some repair facilities have found it increasingly difficult to obtain the necessary information they need to repair newer vehicles. This means that later model cars can sometimes only be serviced at automobile dealerships, making shopping around for the best prices and most convenient service locations difficult for the consumer.
Watson added, “These non-dealership repair options are especially important for people living in rural communities, where licensed automobile dealerships may be located more than 100 miles away from independent repair facilities. We are eager to learn how to participate in the coalition and possibly coordinate some activities to help get the bill passed.”
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