Mechanics flex muscles
UNFAIR: ‘OEMS ARE HOLDING CONSUMERS TO RANSOM’
Independent vehicle repair industry representatives are lobbying for changes to practices in the sector.
Independent car repairers have joined a movement to break the hold carmakers have over the spares and repairs industry.
Independent vehicle repair industry officials are meeting automotive manufacturers this week to lobby for changes to practices in the aftermarket repairs sector they say are unfair to consumers.
Motor Industry Workshop Association (Miwa) chairperson Les McMaster says original equipment manufacturers (OEM) are holding consumers ransom by not allowing independent mechanics to work on their models while they are under warranty.
Miwa represents 2 500 independent vehicle repair workshops across South Africa.
Breaking the code
A n increasing number of vehicle spares are being coded by OEMs who are not sharing these codes with repairers who fall outside of their franchised networks, MacMaster says.
Some OEMs are extending warranties to 10 years, which effectively means consumers are forced to shoulder excessive costs for long periods, he said.
While the vehicle is under warranty, you’re forced to use only an OEM-approved repair shop to service the vehicle or risk having the warranty removed and losing the service plan you paid for upfront.
In SA, unlike in Europe and the US, service plans are included in the upfront unit cost of a vehicle.
Hartmut Röhl, president of the European aftermarket association FIGIEFA, says OEMs in Europe manufacture only 20% of the components of a car. The rest are produced by specialised component manufacturers.
Whose car is it?
In conversation with a senior VW executive in Germany, Röhl was told – relating to repairers – “we do not want that anybody fumbles around with our cars.” To which Röhl replied: “You forgot, it’s no longer your car. You sold it ...”
Miwa is part of the worldwide coalition on Right 2 Repair that is lobbying for independent repairers to gain spare information through a centralised portal.