{"id":267464,"date":"2026-08-18T10:58:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/267464\/"},"modified":"2026-08-18T10:58:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T10:58:06","slug":"marc-pane-dont-let-automakers-decide-who-fixes-your-car","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/267464\/","title":{"rendered":"Marc Pane: Don\u2019t let automakers decide who fixes your car"},"content":{"rendered":"

When President Trump signed his presidential memorandum, \u201cLowering the Cost of Living by Promoting the Freedom to Fix<\/a>,\u201d he recognized a simple principle: Americans should have the freedom to choose who repairs the products they own. As the owner of Pane\u2019s Garage in Scranton, I can tell you that\u2019s exactly how it should work. Unfortunately, that\u2019s becoming harder to guarantee in today\u2019s automotive repair market.<\/p>\n

Every day, customers bring their vehicles to my shop because they trust us to fix them honestly, stand behind our work, and often save them money compared to the dealership. That\u2019s how independent repair shops have competed for generations. We earn our customers\u2019 business by providing better service and better value. That\u2019s the way competition is supposed to work.<\/p>\n

Today, that competition is under threat.<\/p>\n

Modern vehicles depend on software, sensors, diagnostic codes, and wireless data as much as they do engines and transmissions. Increasingly, shops like mine have to send customers to the dealership\u2014not because we lack the training or equipment, but because manufacturers decide who gets access to the information needed to fix modern vehicles.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not how competition is supposed to work.<\/p>\n

The problem extends far beyond my shop. More than 63 percent<\/a> of independent repair shops report encountering these data restrictions every day or every week, and many are forced to send customers to dealerships simply because they cannot access the information needed to complete routine repairs. Those restrictions cost independent repair shops an estimated $3.1 billion<\/a> each year, and those costs ultimately get passed on to drivers.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania families are already feeling the squeeze. Vehicle maintenance and repair costs have risen 43.6 percent<\/a> since 2019, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Dealership repairs cost about 36 percent<\/a> more, on average, than the same repair performed by an independent shop. For many families, that\u2019s the difference between an affordable repair bill and another financial headache.<\/p>\n

Congress can restore competition by passing Congressman Neal Dunn\u2019s REPAIR Act. The legislation would ensure that vehicle owners and the independent repair shops they choose have access to the same diagnostic information, software, and repair tools already available to dealership service departments. It doesn\u2019t tell anyone where to repair their vehicle, require the use of certain parts, or give independent shops special treatment. It simply ensures dealerships have to compete for customers instead of locking everyone else out.<\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t get into this business to fight policy battles in Washington. I got into it because I enjoy fixing cars and helping people in my community. When customers walk through my front door, they\u2019re not thinking about vehicle data or software access. They\u2019re thinking about getting to work, taking their kids to school, or making it to a doctor\u2019s appointment. They deserve the freedom to choose the mechanic they trust\u2014not the one an automaker chooses for them.<\/p>\n

This shouldn\u2019t be a partisan issue. More than 85 percent<\/a> of Americans support a national right-to-repair law because they understand what\u2019s at stake: competition, consumer choice, and lower costs. Independent repair shops like mine don\u2019t want special treatment. We just want the opportunity to compete fairly.<\/p>\n

President Trump got it right with the Freedom to Fix memorandum. Now Congress should finish the job by passing Congressman Neal Dunn\u2019s REPAIR Act with its core protections intact, not a watered-down substitute that leaves automakers in control and consumers with fewer choices. My customers deserve the freedom to choose the mechanic they trust. Congress should preserve that freedom by passing Congressman Neal Dunn\u2019s REPAIR Act.<\/p>\n

Marc Pane is the owner of Pane\u2019s Garage in Scranton, Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When President Trump signed his presidential memorandum, \u201cLowering the Cost of Living by Promoting the Freedom to Fix,\u201d…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":267465,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[112770,17264,201,2311,112771,112772,178,180,179],"class_list":["post-267464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-scranton","tag-automobiles","tag-free-market","tag-lackawanna-county","tag-must-read","tag-repair-act","tag-right-to-repair","tag-scranton","tag-scranton-headlines","tag-scranton-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=267464"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/267464\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/267465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=267464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=267464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=267464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}