The deals on spare parts and warranty repairs that bind franchised dealers and car manufacturers are to be broken up. From June 1 2010 new laws mean that car manufacturers will no longer be able to refuse to supply independent repair shops with technical information or spare parts.

According to the European Commission, repair and maintenance accounts for 40 per cent of the cost of owning a car. Joaquín Almunia, the Competition Commissioner, said the new antitrust regulation would provide consumers with tangible benefits. “[It will] bring down the cost of repairs and maintenance that represent an excessive share of the total cost of a car over its lifetime,” he said.

The Commission wants to open up the repair market to greater competition and stop manufacturers from stipulating in warranties that work must be done in its dealer network.

“Car manufacturers will no longer be able to make the warranty conditional on having the oil changed or other car services only in authorised garages,” the Commission said. However, service agreements struck with individual dealers will still be valid where specific work is provided free under the warranty, the Commission said.

The AA said that the ties between manufacturers and dealers had been a big obstacle in extending the scope of roadside repair operations. “Getting access to the repair codes allows the AA to repair at the roadside rather than sending the car to the dealer’s workshop,” an spokesman said. “It allows independents to have access to the same data and offer a competing service.”

Manufacturers will no longer be able to control the provision and distribution of spare parts. In the past, some manufacturers have resisted supplying parts to independents, although that is now rare, motor dealers say. Of more concern are restrictions that prevent the supply of parts direct from component manufacturers rather than from the carmaker.

The Commission said that it was targeting three practices imposed by manufacturers: restrictions on the sale of parts by authorised dealers to independents; the ability of independent manufacturers to supply parts directly to repair shops; and spare-part manufacturers’ ability to put their trademark on the parts.

The motor industry has long recognised that more money is made repairing and servicing old cars and selling parts than in selling new cars. In hard times, dealers may see new car sales as a loss leader for the more profitable business of annual servicing and repairs.

So lucrative is the repair business that car manufacturers are beginning to venture into the market directly with their own chains of repair shops. In Germany, Volkswagen has launched a chain focusing on the low-cost end of the repair market.

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

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