According to a new national poll, more than 83% of Americans support the REPAIR Act (H.R 1566, S. 1379), which would create a national vehicle right to repair law, ensuring consumers’ right to choose how and where they fix their vehicles, and 77% support the SMART Act, which would amend patent laws to give consumers more vehicle repair choices.
The poll conducted by The Tarrance Group, and commissioned by the CAR Coalition, found support for vehicle right to repair is strongly bipartisan, with 84% of Republicans and 82% of Democrats backing the REPAIR Act.
“The numbers don’t lie,” said Justin Rzepka, CAR Coalition executive director, in a news release about the poll. “Vehicle owners believe they should be in the driver’s seat when it comes to repairing their own vehicles and accessing their vehicle data, not the auto manufacturers.”
The CAR Coalition, composed of insurance companies, parts providers and industry associations, says access to the data that vehicles collect is required for an increasing number of repairs, but automakers want to restrict access to that data to force consumers to use OEM parts and dealerships for repairs, where prices are higher and choices are fewer.
According to the CAR Coalition, the REPAIR Act would ensure that vehicle owners and the independent repair shops they choose have access to the data needed to fix their vehicles, while the SMART Act would enact patent reforms that would allow aftermarket manufacturers to produce parts that are equivalent to and less expensive than OEM parts, increasing consumer choice and lowering prices.
Other key findings from the survey:
• 98% of respondents said it is important to them to be able to choose where they get their car repaired.
• 89% said car owners should be able to access their own vehicle data.
• 86% of Trump voters and 83% of Harris voters support the REPAIR Act.
• 78% said independent repair shops should have access to vehicle data for repairs.
• 72% said automakers should be barred from restricting data access.
• A majority of car owners prefer using independent auto repair shops for vehicle repairs.
Launched in 2020, the CAR Coalition has conducted extensive outreach to a bipartisan group of policymakers and supports federal legislation designed to protect consumer choice in the post-collision repair market.
The survey was conducted June 8-10 among 1,000 national vehicle owners and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.
