In a new opinion piece in aftermarketNews, Ian Musselman, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at LKQ Corporation – a leading aftermarket parts manufacturer and founding member of the CAR Coalition – urges Congress to pass “vital” right to repair legislation like the REPAIR (H.R. 906) and SMART (H.R. 1707) Acts.
With consumers already battling “sky-high repair prices,” automakers’ anticompetitive repair restrictions put additional strain on customers and businesses alike by reducing competition and limiting affordable choices. Musselman writes:
“If you bought a car, you own it. Or, at least, you should. Automakers are placing unnecessary, unfair restrictions on who can repair and service vehicles and which parts they can use – effectively stripping car owners of their right to exercise choice in the car repair process and blocking independent businesses from competing in the market.”
– Ian Musselman, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at LKQ Corporation
As he notes, independent repairers and aftermarket manufacturers alike “share a common goal” of providing their customers with “quality, affordable repair and maintenance options.” Yet OEMs’ “arbitrary limits” on vehicle data access and increasing design patent abuse are effectively squeezing independent shops out of the market.
Musselman relays a recent conversation with a Utah-based independent shop owner whose customer, a local small business owner, needed to replace a truck hood that was covered by an automaker’s design patent. Unable to use aftermarket alternatives, they were forced to wait months for the automaker-branded part – putting “the customer and his small business at financial and reputational risk.”
These unfortunate challenges are becoming increasingly commonplace across the country – threatening the very foundations of our economy:
“This isn’t just unsafe – it’s un-American. Fair competition is a hallmark of the U.S. economy, and correcting behaviors that unreasonably threaten free enterprise should be the goal of sound policymaking in Washington.”
– Ian Musselman, Senior Vice President of External Affairs at LKQ Corporation
Luckily, Musselman notes, independent business owners and consumers are saying “enough is enough.”
With support from “more than 60 combined bipartisan cosponsors and nearly 80% of American car owners,” the SMART and REPAIR Acts would level the playing field and ensure independent businesses can offer consumers quality, affordable vehicle repair options. Join the movement and call on Congress to advance these bipartisan bills today!
Click here to read Musselman’s full piece in aftermarketNews.
