Affordable Car Repairs Help Seniors

Wednesday, March 1, 2006

Affordable Car Repairs Help Seniors— The Opposite Will Drive Seniors Out Of Their Cars (NAPSA)—Whether they’re on the road to retirement or already living on easy street, America’s seniors depend on their cars and trucks. Yet trend watchers say many seniors may soon lose the right to decide where to have their vehicles repaired. Instead, they will have to take their cars, trucks and SUVs to expensive car dealerships to have repairs done. Opponents of this car dealer monopoly say that it would raise the repair costs for seniors by 20 to 40 percent, and would force them to go to mechanics they would rather not do business with. Fortunately, a bill in Congress would help. Called H.R. 2048, it would guarantee all Americans the “Right to Repair” their own cars or to choose their own mechanics. Technology Drives Repairs Federal laws and new technologies have resulted in vehicles being more computerized. As a result, increased levels of technol- ogy and information are required for maintenanceand repairs. While the automakers makeall of this critical repair data available to car dealers, they limit its availability to the independent technicians. If carmakersrefuse to share all of their information, many, if not all, of the 147,000 independent repair shops could go out of busi- Older Americans are defending their right to choose their own mechanics. ness, including up to 50 percent of the American Automobile Association’s approximately 7,500 AAAApproved Auto Repair Shops. According to RetireSafe, a national organization that represents over 367,000 seniors, the loss of independent repair shops would be devastating for seniors. In addition to a significant rise in repair bills, seniors may be forced to find new mechanics—many of whom may bedifficult to physically get to, and some of whom may not provide the customerservice seniors might have grown accustomed to. RetireSafe warns that a lack of fair competition between repair shops could ultimately cost seniors the vehicles they dependon. For more information, visit www.RetireSafe.org.

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