Providing testimony on S. 2617 are, left to right, John Vallely, Bill Haas, Dale Feste, John Cabaniss and Greg Dana.

On July 30, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce and Tourism held a public hearing on customer choice in automotive repair shops. The hearing reviewed this issue as well as Sen. Paul Well-stone's Motor Vehicle Owner's Right to Repair Act, Senate Bill 2617.

The Automotive Service Association and coalition partners have been working with the House and Senate for over a year to prepare legislation and to educate members of Congress about the gaps in service information for the aftermarket. S. 2617 is a companion bill to House Resolution 2735. This hearing provided a public forum for the issue as well as encouraged those members of Congress involved in protecting the rights of the independent repairer.

Testifying at the hearing were Dale Feste, AAM, of Dale Feste Automotive, an ASA member from Hopkins, Minn.; John Vallely of McLean Marathon Service, an ASA member from Elgin, Ill.; Bill Haas, AAM, ASA vice president of divisions, education and training; John Nielson, director, Automobile Association of America; John Cabaniss, director, Association of International Automobile Manufacturers; and Greg Dana, vice president, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers.

Earlier that day, John Francis Jr., AAM, and his son, John Francis III, ASA members from West Chester, Pa., conducted a service information demonstration on the U.S. Capitol lawn, illustrating the gaps in service information as provided by original equipment manufacturers.

The briefing was led by Wellstone, D-Minn., and attended by Dan Frohlich, AAM, ASA national chairman, and Geralynn Kottschade, AAM, ASA executive committee member. There were a host of media representatives including CNN, Cox Cable TV, CNBC, other network affiliates and major daily newspapers. This is the fourth ASA service information demonstration in Washington, D.C., and the second for John Francis Jr. and his son.

Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., chaired the subcommittee hearing, which was well-attended by repairers and parts distributors from around the nation.

Feste testified about the specific problems independent repairers face when they are unable to obtain sufficient, timely service information at a reasonable cost. Feste concluded his testimony by saying: “Senator Wellstone's bill, Senate Bill 2617, assures the repairer emissions and non-emissions information. It makes sure that as state governments, under federal direction, test these vehicles in critical non-attainment air quality states that we have the information to repair and maintain those vehicles in an effort for cleaner air. Senator Wellstone's legislation promises the vehicle owner that the safety systems in that vehicle have been repaired with the most accurate and timely information available in the marketplace.”

Vallely said having the ability to economically access, accurately diagnose, and properly repair computer-controlled systems is crucial to any automotive repair shop's future.

Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., makes a point during ASA's Capitol Hill service information demonstration. Looking on are, left to right, John Francis III, John Vallely, Bill Haas and Dale Feste.

“Without access to diagnostic procedures from the manufacturers, we, the aftermarket, would be prohibited from repairing many current and future automobiles and light trucks,” Vallely said. “If this were allowed to happen, the number of vehicles that we would be able to repair would diminish and eventually force us out of business.”

Haas discussed the economic impact on 178,000 repair shops nationwide. He said, "The aftermarket's most recent analysis included 1.08 billion repair orders or incidents of service. This is the number of service opportunities when the consumer drives a vehicle to our business. This represented total sales of $123 billion.

ASA surveyed its national leaders from across the country and determined that today 15 percent of all incidents of service are rejected due to a lack of information. This amounts to 161.44 million rejected incidents of repair annually. The loss to our industry is $18.24 billion. This means significant technician job losses and local economic impact.

Independent repairers will see numbers of rejected repairs increase exponentially over the next few years.

Dorgan concluded the hearing by calling on the industry, both vehicle manufacturers and the aftermarket, to try and reach some solution to the service information problem. Dorgan, as has Wellstone in the past, made it very clear that if this problem could not be resolved soon, he would try to move legislation, S. 2617, on the floor of the Senate.

In addition, two very significant items came out of the hearing:

• The subcommittee will write to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), calling on the EPA to finalize the emissions service information regulation.
• The subcommittee will request that the Federal Trade Commission review the gaps in service information as they apply to the independent repairer.

ASA will continue to work with the Senate on this issue. ASA, through the National Automotive Service Task Force, will maintain a dialogue with the vehicle manufacturers in a good-faith effort for an industry resolution.

A significant step towards resolution will be the finalization of the emissions service information regulation. ASA met with EPA officials recently in Ann Arbor, Mich., to discuss the progress of the proposed regulation.

Without question, the aftermarket is making progress on the service information issue. It has not been resolved, but significant steps have occurred in the right direction. ASA believes the independent repairer has not been made whole without being provided the same service information as provided the new car dealer - in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost.

Bob Redding is the Automotive Service Association's Washington, D.C., representative. He is a member of several federal and state advisory committees involved in the automotive industry. For more information about the legislative activities of ASA, visit www.TakingTheHill.com.

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