How Independent Shops Are Navigating Restrictions on Vehicle Repair Data
As vehicles become more complex and access to necessary repair data continues to be restricted, independent auto repair shops have been working to find a solution that works for their business, reports FOX 32 Chicago.
One shop experiencing this is Ted's Auto Clinic of Chicago, Illinois. Owner George Geropoulos and his brother Chris took the shop over from their father, who opened it in 1982.
Though they have customers that have relied on them for over two decades over going to a dealer, they’ve been forced to turn some customers away due to the increasing limitations on what vehicles they’re allowed to operate on.
Once the gateway computers seen in newer vehicle models began entering the automotive market in 2017 and 2018, automakers became much more restrictive with who could access these computers within the vehicles.
Shops trying to obtain the scan data they need to repair a newer, computerized vehicle will typically be forced to pay a monthly subscription fee to do so. These fees can range anywhere from $65 a month to $40,000 a year, which for Geropoulos, is something his shop can’t afford.
“If a manufacturer requires a $40,000-a-year subscription, we’re just not going to service those cars because we don’t have enough volume of that specific vehicle to afford the subscription,” Geropoulos explained.
As Jeffrey Cox, President of the Automotive & Maintenance Repair Association, explained, the increasing complexity of vehicles can hinder an independent shop’s ability to perform even simple repairs, such as replacing a power window module.
“There are many more shops in the aftermarket than on the dealership side. So if you start to squeeze down on the aftermarket, consumers are really going to feel that,” said Cox.
This sentiment was echoed by Donny Seyfer, who serves as executive officer of the National Automotive Safety Task Force. His organization works as a middleman between automakers and independent repairers to communicate each sectors' needs to the other.
While bills like the Repair Act seek to provide independent auto repairers the right to access necessary repair data, in the meantime, some shops have moved towards offering specialized services, allowing them to hone in on jobs they know they will be able to do.
“Our biggest problem is we are asking way too much from a single individual to know and we need to re-think what we all do in our professions,” Seyfer said. “I think we are now saying there are 14 systems on the vehicle. Doctors don’t specialize in 14 systems. Yet we’re asking technicians to do that.”
San Jose Automotive Center of Chicago has been one of the first to do this, now specializing in automotive diagnostics and repairing electrical failures.
“Some of these vehicles require six, seven, eight hours of diagnostic time,” said the shop’s owner, Tomi Oliva. “We’re expected to know everything but in terms of our trade we’re still the least paid per hour.”
