Right to Repair Bill Proposed! LOVELY!

[Woodz428]

Originally Posted by Rare Iron

This is the way I read it. Say you are a garage door installer & repairman, & you have all the latest tricks, technology, & experience that sets you apart from all the other service people in your area - you make a good living at it because you are so good. Now the government steps in & says you have an unfair advantage & need to share your knowledge, tricks, tools, & experience with all the others that do the same thing in your area. Maybe you are a factory guy that works for the manufacturer & you are better because you have the special tools & service manuals, plus you know your product better than anyone else. The government can step in & dictate to you that you must enable your competitors to compete with you on an even keel, & you must supply them with the means?

No matter what spin you put on this, it's plain wrong! If this bill comes to be, it will also affect the big truck dealers (Peterbilt, Kenworth, Freightliner, etc.) & I'll tell you firsthand, there is LOTS of proprietary technology & repair equipment with those guys. This is one step away from abolishing PATENTS on products - think about it.

I think that you may be misreading it, if this is the complete text of the legislation. Using your example it didn't appear to me from what was posted that it would affect any "tricks" of the trade that you referenced. I know I have many,many tricks I have accumlated over 40+ years and freely share them...with whom I choose. they would have a tough time making me share anything that I don't wish to. I believe it is mainly aimed at repair info, as a Patent holder , I don't see how that would impact anything as far as patents go.
My interpretation,and I am extremely constitutional, is that it would prevent manufacturers of any item from being able to withhold info anyone that are not dealers. Since very few cars wind up in dealers after a year or so I can see where there may be an adjustment for a couple year period, but the problem I see is that the dealers themselves put sales ahead of service, so they need to clean up their act before they could attribute any loss of revenue on this legislation.
Now, from a purely observational point, I would think there are already some laws in effect that would cover this. It reminds me of the girl that hit a bicyclist(locally) while she was downloading ringtones... the police didn't even ticket her because there was no law that addressed that. I seemed to think wreckless driving would have been one. It seems to describe wreckless driving to a T.
I don't believe they can force any company to release the info for free and they may have a charge for some of that info. But if you are making money off of it then you should be willing to pay. Again, at some point the length of time that they can charge for that info should have a determined period, just like a Patent. Recall and update info is pretty easy to get in this area and I don't know how this would alter that.

[Rare Iron]

Well, here's more about this subject already going on in MASS: http://www.wickedlocal.com/danvers/n...to-Repair-bill

Also, here's a thread I started on corvetteforum.com on this same subject. Their points of view are very different than the viewpoints here so far: http://forums.corvetteforum.com/poli...o-repairs.html

I see this as more government control that is eroding our free enterprise system & spreading the wealth that many have earned for themselves. It's always been a cat & mouse game with the OE's & aftermarket repair & parts businesses. I like the fact that I can find & go to a mom & pop repair shop for technical repairs on a late model & save money, but for our federal government to forceably step in & make it law that proprietary technologies are revealed from the technology holder is just wrong in my book. I sure hope Boeing, MacDonell Douglas, & General Dynamics aren't going to be subject to this!

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by Rare Iron

I see this as more government control that is eroding our free enterprise system & spreading the wealth that many have earned for themselves.

Careful.

Don't turn an automotive topic political, or we will help you spend more time on the Corvette forum.

thanks
ron
ClubCobra Moderator

[Rare Iron]

Originally Posted by computerworks

Careful.

Don't turn an automotive topic political, or we will help you spend more time on the Corvette forum.

thanks
ron
ClubCobra Moderator

Sorry - not really trying to turn this political, but there is a LOT of politics creeping into our everyday lives lately (that shouldn't have to)! This topic I felt would really be of interest to people like us.

[computerworks]

Originally Posted by Rare Iron

Sorry - not really trying to turn this political, but there is a LOT of politics creeping into our everyday lives lately (that shouldn't have to)! This topic I felt would really be of interest to people like us.

It absolutely is an interesting topic. We discourage political creep here.

[Great Asp]

Originally Posted by Woodz428

I think that you may be misreading it, if this is the complete text of the legislation. Using your example it didn't appear to me from what was posted that it would affect any "tricks" of the trade that you referenced. I know I have many,many tricks I have accumlated over 40+ years and freely share them...with whom I choose. they would have a tough time making me share anything that I don't wish to. I believe it is mainly aimed at repair info, as a Patent holder , I don't see how that would impact anything as far as patents go.
My interpretation,and I am extremely constitutional, is that it would prevent manufacturers of any item from being able to withhold info anyone that are not dealers. Since very few cars wind up in dealers after a year or so I can see where there may be an adjustment for a couple year period, but the problem I see is that the dealers themselves put sales ahead of service, so they need to clean up their act before they could attribute any loss of revenue on this legislation.
Now, from a purely observational point, I would think there are already some laws in effect that would cover this. It reminds me of the girl that hit a bicyclist(locally) while she was downloading ringtones... the police didn't even ticket her because there was no law that addressed that. I seemed to think wreckless driving would have been one. It seems to describe wreckless driving to a T.
I don't believe they can force any company to release the info for free and they may have a charge for some of that info. But if you are making money off of it then you should be willing to pay. Again, at some point the length of time that they can charge for that info should have a determined period, just like a Patent. Recall and update info is pretty easy to get in this area and I don't know how this would alter that.

I agree with Woodzie!

The dealer will always have the largest database of warranty and repair tips since it's their car. Most "non-dealers" that repair cars today charge something less than the dealer does. So there is already competition.

It would be hard for a single mechanic, or even a single independant repair center to be good at many brands. Even with the data in hand, experience still wins.

I am against the government getting involved, just more laws, more inforcement, more paperwork, more money.

E