The Massachusetts Government Shouldn’t Interfere with Auto Repair

The Massachusetts government has made the decision to "stick its nose" in the auto repair industry.

According to an article posted on The Washington Post’s website, “Mass. Considers Landmark Auto-Repair Legislation,” Massachusetts would become the first state in the nation to “approve the so-called auto right-to-repair law.”   Many people within the industry are wondering if the passage of this law will spur similar legislative efforts in other states.

The article starts out with a story of a woman who took her Honda vehicle to a regular repair shop.  The mechanic couldn’t fix the problem with her vehicle because the shop didn’t have the software.  Apparently, the only places that have this software are Honda dealerships.

Mom-and-pop repair shops are pushing for legislation that would make auto manufacturers, like Honda, provide diagnostic and software information.   They are willing, however, to pay a price for this information. How generous of them.

Opponents of this bill argue that releasing this information would allow aftermarket parts companies to make “inexpensive parts in foreign countries without incurring research and development costs.”  According to Charles Territo, a spokesman with Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, “this is a thinly veiled attempt by parts manufacturers to lower the cost of remanufacturing original equipment of manufacturer parts.  Once this information is released, that intellectual property will be in China by the end of the month.”

Here’s my take – auto manufacturers can give whatever they want in terms of technology. The government shouldn’t be forcing them to provide this information, if they don't want to.