LATEST NEWS | Two New White Papers Prove Need for National Vehicle Right to Repair Laws

USE THE FORM BELOW TO EMAIL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS NOW!

Tell Your Member of Congress to Support the REPAIR and SMART Acts Now!

If you’ve had a crash, you deserve to choose where you go for your repair. You may have a trusted local body shop where you know you’ll get better prices. But auto manufacturers want to limit your choices. They are actively working to squeeze independent parts-makers by holding onto patents for unreasonable lengths of time. They also don’t want you to be able to control the data that *your own vehicle* generates.

This is unacceptable and anti-American.

The CAR Coalition – a collection of independent parts-makers, insurers and retailers – wants you to have choices. We are fighting for you in Washington. There are two pieces of legislation in Congress right now that are designed to prevent a range of threats to vehicle owners – the SMART Act and the REPAIR Act. Read about them below and use this form to email your Member of Congress to tell them to support both Acts NOW.

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WHAT THE REPAIR ACT WILL DO

Guarantees vehicle owners can get the parts, tools and information they need to choose aftermarket parts.
Requires automakers to give consumers the critical information, software and tools they need to fix their vehicles.
Requires automakers to give consumers access to their vehicle data needed for repair and maintenance.
Requires NHTSA and the FTC to propose new rules to guarantee consumer access to vehicle data and provide cybersecurity.

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WHAT THE SMART ACT WILL DO

Reduce automaker patents on collision repair parts from 14 to 2.5 years.
Allow aftermarket parts makers to make and test parts during the newly defined patent period.
Allow aftermarket parts makers to sell a collision repair part after 2.5-year patent lifespan is over.
Would not prevent automakers from enforcing patents against other automakers during 14-year patent lifespan.

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DO YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR COLLISION-REPAIR EXPERIENCE? THE FTC WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT IT! CLICK HERE TO TELL THEM.

EXCLUSIVE NATIONAL SURVEY: CONSUMERS OVERWHELMINGLY WANT CHOICE IN REPAIR (CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE)

The CAR Coalition is committed to preserving and protecting consumer choice and affordable vehicle repair

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CAR Coalition partner ABPA has launched the MyPartsChoice website to ensureconsumer parts choice and right to repair options are not terminated or compromised by car companies.

VISIT SITE

Our Mission

The CAR Coalition is a group of independent automotive parts and repair companies, associations and insurers committed to preserving and protecting consumer choice and affordable vehicle repair by ensuring competition in the market.

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Our Key Principles

The Truth About Car Parts

A Cost Comparison

Front bumper cover w/headlamp washer

Part Sold by Automaker

$1005.00

Alternative Part

$632.00

You Save:

$373.00

Front bumper cover LIMITED

Part Sold by Automaker

$507.00

Alternative Part

$373.50

You Save:

$133.50

Rear bumper cover w/Parking Sensor

Part Sold by Automaker

$547.00

Alternative Part

$439.60

You Save:

$107.41

Rear bumper cover w/o Parking Sensor

Part Sold by Automaker

$502.00

Alternative Part

$404.50

You Save:

$97.50

Rear bumper cover w/Parking Sensor

Part Sold by Automaker

$554.00

Alternative Part

$418.50

You Save:

$135.50

Rear bumper cover w/o Parking Sensor

Part Sold by Automaker

$332.00

Alternative Part

$263.50

You Save:

$68.51

Rear bumper cover w/Parking Sensor

Part Sold by Automaker

$440.00

Alternative Part

$354.50

You Save:

$85.50

Grille assy LIMITED

Part Sold by Automaker

$472.00

Alternative Part

$353.09

You Save:

$118.92

Grille assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$407.00

Alternative Part

$265.98

You Save:

$141.03

Hood panel assy al

Part Sold by Automaker

$820.00

Alternative Part

$569.00

You Save:

$251.00

Hood panel assy al

Part Sold by Automaker

$849.00

Alternative Part

$698.15

You Save:

$150.85

Hood panel assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$940.00

Alternative Part

$565.00

You Save:

$375.00

LT Front fender assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$357.00

Alternative Part

$242.17

You Save:

$114.83

LT Front fender assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$234.00

Alternative Part

$190.27

You Save:

$43.74

RT Front fender assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$357.00

Alternative Part

$242.17

You Save:

$114.83

RT Front fender assy

Part Sold by Automaker

$234.00

Alternative Part

$182.68

You Save:

$51.33

LT Headlamp assy composite al

Part Sold by Automaker

$299.00

Alternative Part

$201.50

You Save:

$97.50

RT Headlamp assy composite al

Part Sold by Automaker

$299.00

Alternative Part

$190.75

You Save:

$108.25

Front bumper cover XLS/XLS Sport

Part Sold by Automaker

$435.87

Alternative Part

$313.50

You Save:

$122.37

Front bumper cover prime

Part Sold by Automaker

$585.63

Alternative Part

$438.00

You Save:

$147.63

Front bumper valance spoiler

Part Sold by Automaker

$136.40

Alternative Part

$116.00

You Save:

$20.40

Front bumper valance spoiler

Part Sold by Automaker

$136.40

Alternative Part

$89.50

You Save:

$46.90

Grille assy w/XLT model=w/o ironman package

Part Sold by Automaker

$378.63

Alternative Part

$277.48

You Save:

$101.16

Grille assy eddie bauer mode

Part Sold by Automaker

$408.70

Alternative Part

$343.05

You Save:

$65.65

Hood panel assy al

Part Sold by Automaker

$883.66

Alternative Part

$672.16

You Save:

$211.50

Hood panel assy al

Part Sold by Automaker

$1049.63

Alternative Part

$861.38

You Save:

$188.25

LT Front fender assy base mode

Part Sold by Automaker

$391.53

Alternative Part

$281.80

You Save:

$109.73

LT Front fender assy GT

Part Sold by Automaker

$358.72

Alternative Part

$275.50

You Save:

$83.22

LT Front fender assy al

Part Sold by Automaker

$387.34

Alternative Part

$320.50

You Save:

$66.84

RT Front fender assy base mode

Part Sold by Automaker

$415.13

Alternative Part

$281.50

You Save:

$133.63

RT Front fender assy GT

Part Sold by Automaker

$359.19

Alternative Part

$252.50

You Save:

$106.69

Rear gate shell Styleside

Part Sold by Automaker

$884.25

Alternative Part

$551.00

You Save:

$333.25

Equal on Safety: Watch Crash-Test Video of an Independently Made Bumper vs. a Factory Bumper

Many independently produced parts are certified by a third party to demonstrate their quality and comparability to the automaker branded part. As an example, the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) provides comprehensive standards for aftermarket part certifications. Here are CAPA front bumper crash tests performed by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the industry gold standard for vehicle safety testing. Two 2008 Dodge Ram 1500 pickups were put through a series of crash tests; one of the pickups was fitted with an independently made bumper fitting the requirements of CAPA, a CAR Coalition member. Results for both pickups were nearly identical, as the video shows.

Spiraling Cost to Repair

(Dept. of Labor Consumer Price Index)

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News Updates

New Expert Analysis Finds that Without Legislative Action, Vehicle Owners will Pay Significantly More for Repairs

White Paper: The Right to Equitable and Professional Auto Industry Repair Act

White Paper: Protecting the Consumer Patent Law Right of Repair and the Aftermarket for Exterior Motor Vehicle Repair Parts: The SMART Act, H.R. 1879, 117th Congress

See All News

Our Members

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