smirnoff_rules
10th September, 2008, 06:55 PM
EU plans add to financial burden of UK motorists
By David Millard Transport Editor
Last Updated: 12:01pm BST 05/09/2008
Millions of motorists face increasing bills to have their cars fixed because of EU plans to scrap a rule which enables thousands of garages to carry out services and repairs cheaply.
The changes mean car manufacturers will no longer be forced to provide parts and computer codes to independent garages so they can carry out repairs on the vehicles.
Instead motorists will have to have their cars fixed at the manufacturer's dealership workshops, where charges are up to 40 per cent more. The average hourly charge at an independent garage is ?55.63 compared to ?94.70 at a dealership garage, according to recent figures.
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It comes as a further blow to cash-strapped drivers who are already struggling to cope with high fuel bills and at least 13 million of whom face the threat of a more expensive road tax charges from next March.
The AA believes the changes, which will take effect from 2010, will hit as many as 20 million motorists.
David Gerrans, group development director of Warranty Direct, a company which insures thousands of cars against mechanical breakdown, said: "It would be a disaster. It would force up prices towards what the main dealers charge rather than the independents. "If you look at consumer surveys, they show that most people are happier with the work done by small garages."
Since 2002 motorists and independent garages have been protected by an arrangement known as "Block Exemption". In simple terms it means that the motor industry must provide both the parts and computerised information that independent garages, who are normally considerably cheaper than main dealers, need to carry out routine repair work.
The EU is now expected to scrap Block Exemption from 2010 arguing that it is unnecessary. This would protect the position of 6,000 garages linked to main dealers, but undermine that of around 20,000 independent operators. It is these garages many drivers turn to, especially as cars get older and their warranty expires.
Edmund King, the AA's president., said: "As a result drivers may have to surrender the right to choose where they have their cars serviced, pay more for repairs, drive further to the garage, and have their repairs delayed because fewer garages are attending to more cars. That is quite simply unacceptable." He warned that the changes could lead to the loss of thousands of independent garages. "We may have to wait longer to have our cars repaired as franchised dealers will be too busy and we may have to travel much further to a garage. "Car servicing could become more expensive ? risking neglect of service schedules"
If computer information about how vehicles work is withheld, it could be harder for roadside rescue organisations to diagnose faults after a breakdown. A spokesman for the European Commission said that motorists who buy new cars after the changes would be protected by competition laws, which have already been used to ensure that manufacturers continue to provide information to independent garages.
Meanwhile the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that it would bring in a "code of practice" to protect independent garages and consumers when the rules are changed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/graphics/branding/tcuk_400x82_normal.gif
By David Millard Transport Editor
Last Updated: 12:01pm BST 05/09/2008
Millions of motorists face increasing bills to have their cars fixed because of EU plans to scrap a rule which enables thousands of garages to carry out services and repairs cheaply.
The changes mean car manufacturers will no longer be forced to provide parts and computer codes to independent garages so they can carry out repairs on the vehicles.
Instead motorists will have to have their cars fixed at the manufacturer's dealership workshops, where charges are up to 40 per cent more. The average hourly charge at an independent garage is ?55.63 compared to ?94.70 at a dealership garage, according to recent figures.
advertisement
It comes as a further blow to cash-strapped drivers who are already struggling to cope with high fuel bills and at least 13 million of whom face the threat of a more expensive road tax charges from next March.
The AA believes the changes, which will take effect from 2010, will hit as many as 20 million motorists.
David Gerrans, group development director of Warranty Direct, a company which insures thousands of cars against mechanical breakdown, said: "It would be a disaster. It would force up prices towards what the main dealers charge rather than the independents. "If you look at consumer surveys, they show that most people are happier with the work done by small garages."
Since 2002 motorists and independent garages have been protected by an arrangement known as "Block Exemption". In simple terms it means that the motor industry must provide both the parts and computerised information that independent garages, who are normally considerably cheaper than main dealers, need to carry out routine repair work.
The EU is now expected to scrap Block Exemption from 2010 arguing that it is unnecessary. This would protect the position of 6,000 garages linked to main dealers, but undermine that of around 20,000 independent operators. It is these garages many drivers turn to, especially as cars get older and their warranty expires.
Edmund King, the AA's president., said: "As a result drivers may have to surrender the right to choose where they have their cars serviced, pay more for repairs, drive further to the garage, and have their repairs delayed because fewer garages are attending to more cars. That is quite simply unacceptable." He warned that the changes could lead to the loss of thousands of independent garages. "We may have to wait longer to have our cars repaired as franchised dealers will be too busy and we may have to travel much further to a garage. "Car servicing could become more expensive ? risking neglect of service schedules"
If computer information about how vehicles work is withheld, it could be harder for roadside rescue organisations to diagnose faults after a breakdown. A spokesman for the European Commission said that motorists who buy new cars after the changes would be protected by competition laws, which have already been used to ensure that manufacturers continue to provide information to independent garages.
Meanwhile the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said that it would bring in a "code of practice" to protect independent garages and consumers when the rules are changed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/portal/graphics/branding/tcuk_400x82_normal.gif