Consumers secure win on car repairs
Australians will be able to turn to their own trusted mechanic and will no longer be forced to get repairs from new car dealers under laws passed by the federal parliament on Thursday.
The new laws will force new car manufacturers to offer the same diagnostic, repair and servicing information they give to their own dealers, to third party repairers which they can buy at a fair market price.
“The Australian Parliament has torn down the new car repair monopoly,” says Alison Elliott, consumer rights expert at CHOICE.
“When your car needs fixing, it should be your choice as to who repairs it. The complicated nature of modern car design means many manufacturers have locked out third party repairers from helping people because they have not had access to the information necessary to fix new cars. Whether you trust your local mechanic or the original car dealer more, the choice should be yours,” says Ms Elliott.
- A study on the new car retailing industry conducted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in 2017 concluded that voluntary methods of information sharing had not been effective.
- The scheme will mandate that all service and repair information that car manufacturers share with their dealership networks must also be made available to all independent repairers and registered trading organisations to purchase.
“The Government has levelled the playing field for repairers of new cars. This means that Australians can once again have access to independent vehicle repairers and know that the repairer has access to the information they need to ensure that the repair will be effective and safe,” says Ms Elliott.
The laws will come into effect on 1 July 2022.
Have you bought a new car recently? Do you take your car to the dealer for repairs or an independent mechanic?
This is fantastic news ! I cannot believe that it is the Coalition Government who pushed this legislation through. I get one of our cars serviced by an independent service shop, the other by a brand dealer service shop. I'm getting seriously worried about who I am going to vote for in the next election, this Government has, over the past 2 years, passed so many pieces of legislation that I agree with. If they would only stop savaging Jobseekers and raise the Jobseeker payment, then I would vote for them!