U. S. Win for Right to Repair

The New Jersey Assembly has passed the Motor Vehicle Owners’ Right to Repair Act by a vote of 49 in favour, 22 against, and eight abstaining. Introduced by assemblyman Reid Gusciora, the Right to Repair Act ensures that New Jersey independent repair shops will have the same access to service information, tools, and software that vehicle manufacturers make available to their new car dealers. Passage came only days after the Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee approved the Right to Repair Act by a 3-2 vote. During the hearing, independent repair shops from around the state testified about the problems they experience in obtaining access to information and tools needed to repair their customers’ vehicles. Shop owners explained that they often are forced to tell their customers that the dealer is the only place to go for certain repairs or, in some cases, they will take the vehicle back to the dealer themselves rather than tell the customer they cannot complete the repair.