With many South Africans feeling the harsh economic impact of the Covid pandemic, 2021 is definitely the year to exercise caution, preserve one’s assets and shop around for the most competitive prices.
Good news for motorists is that restrictions on servicing and buying vehicle parts have been lifted following the publication by the Competition Commission of the final Right to Repair guidelines in December.
For those consumers who may have been away on a much needed December break and missed the news, Les McMaster, Vice Chairman of the Motor Industry Workshop Association (MIWA) and a director of Right to Repair South Africa, (R2RSA), a Section-21 not-for-profit organisation, unpacks the four main benefits for South African Motorists:
- Freedom to shop around
- Freedom of choice during the warranty period: This is a big win.
- Insurance work:
- Access to technical information and training by Independent Service Providers (ISP’s)
McMaster says the guidelines clearly encourage OEMs to make technical maintenance and repair information readily available, including information stored electronically or in the cloud, to ISPs. To be fair to all parties the OEM may impose reasonable conditions, including the requirement that the ISP must sign a confidentiality undertaking.
“All of these aspects are great news for the consumer, increasing competition and allowing easier access to the market by independent service providers. Ultimately more competition always leads to better prices, better quality and better service. We can see that Right to Repair is gathering momentum globally too, following wins at the end of last year in Massachusetts and Australia. This bodes well for our local motoring public,” concludes McMaster.
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