In the June 2007 issue of the "Aftermarket" magazine they printed a statement which amounts to an apology to the VM's (and Dealers if you like) for giving the Right To Repair Campaign (R2RC)to much column space in it's campaign, this has been perceived by them as biased reporting, hence the statement by Aftermarket

In their letters column a VM (Dealership) has pointed out that by the releasing of technical data, this will also put the jobs of Dealerships on the line as well.......this is their case for keeping it all to themselves

So should they have apologized?

For a very long time the Independent Garage and Dealerships have worked along side each other, competing for work. The Independent may have struggled to obtain technical information and access to repair information, but in general we got by with help from "Aftermarket Companies"....... Now times are changing

Moving The Goal Posts:
Under the smoke screen of Security and Safety the VM's have now started to restrict the flow on information ie: technical data, pin numbers, activation codes, software updates, access codes etc.........so now you need dealer equipment to replace an airbag, SRS, ABS, Lighting module etc.......now the Dealers have the upper hand!!, the Independent's are frozen out

Many Aftermarket companies have now developed scanners that will let us access these systems up to dealer level........but at quite a high cost if you work on more than one vehicle type. Hopefully other Aftermarket companies will catch up with their software

The End Game:
So now the VM's releasing that Aftermarket scanners are catching up and many are emulating dealer tools.......so what next. Well it could be the end game for Independents

By making all vehicle ECU's accessible via the Internet only, linking the DLC to the VM servers , you will have to enter your dealer ID and the server will check the ECU and only then allow access for code clearing or component fitting...........thus freezing out ALL Aftermarket scanners and Independents

The VM's are creating an monopoly for the dealers, which if i am not mistaken is breaking EU trading laws..........so please "Aftermarket" do not apologize for pleading the case of R2RC unfairly.......the case for the Dealers is unlawful, after all as your magazine name states "Aftermarket", and full of ads for Aftermarket equipment and parts suppliers, without the Independents 75% will go out of business

You have nothing to apologize for...

Peter