AAIA Testifies Before Subcommittee Hearing on Right to Repair Act

BETHESDA, MD - May 17, 2006 - On behalf of national and state aftermarket groups, consumer groups and small business organizations, the Automotive Aftermarket Industry Association (AAIA) today urged Congress to "wait no longer, but to move as soon as possible to enact the Motor Vehicle Owners' Right to Repair Act of 2005 (H.R. 2048)." The statement is part of a testimony given by Aaron Lowe, AAIA's vice president for government affairs, at a hearing held before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection.

"While AAIA has fully supported the legislation, we were hopeful last summer that a non-legislative agreement could be reached that would call for a third-party voluntary enforcement program," Lowe said. However, Lowe explained to the subcommittee that those negotiations broke down over three key issues: availability of aftermarket tools with all capabilities necessary to repair vehicles; access to issues necessary to initialize and repair anti-theft immobilizer systems; and how the organization that oversees the agreement will be governed.

Lowe outlined the steps that AAIA and other aftermarket groups had taken to bring the groups back to the table to negotiate on the remaining issues, only to be rejected by the manufacturers. Based on the car company response, Lowe said, "It appears clear to us that the manufacturers, despite all of their public talk, do not want to resolve this issue and are hoping the legislation goes away."

While Lowe stated that the current discussion targeted at formalizing the National Automotive Service Task Force (NASTF) is a step in the right direction, "The discussions currently taking place at NASTF appear to be making changes that will move us further away from an acceptable agreement. The bottom line is that we should not be reinventing the wheel, but instead be building on the progress that we made in the Better Business Bureau negotiations."

About AAIA
AAIA is a Bethesda, Md.-based association whose more than 8,000 member companies and affiliates manufacture, distribute and sell motor vehicle parts, accessories, service, tools, equipment, materials and supplies. Through its membership, AAIA represents more than 100,000 repair shops, parts stores and distribution outlets.