Overdrive

September 2016

Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info

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46 | Overdrive | September 2016 I f you've had serious repairs done this year by anyone other than a dealer representing your truck or engine brand, you might well have enjoyed lower costs and less downtime, thanks to an agreement that took effect Jan. 1. That's when independent aftermarket shops and dealers of competitive makes finally were granted access to formerly proprietary heavy-duty repair information. A year ago, trade organizations signed a Right to Repair Memorandum of Understanding. It covered access to heavy-duty service information for late- model trucks sold in the United States and Canada. The MOU required OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) to license this information and the associated tools at "fair and reasonable" prices, says Tim Blubaugh, vice president of the Engine Manufacturers Association, one of the groups that signed the agreement. "The truck owner is getting a faster response," says Marc Karon, Commer- cial Vehicle Right to Repair Coalition chairman and president of West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Total Truck Parts. "They also now have an opportunity to shop for better value, better service and better pricing." Years ago, when Karon and the Com- mercial Vehicle Solutions Network, an association of independent parts and service distributors, started to look at how they could unlock off-limits service opportunities, they studied how many heavy-truck dealerships were located in a given state and then approached state legislators with their findings. "It shocked us when we actually laid it out on a map that there are a whole lot of areas where there isn't a dealer- ship within 100 miles of a guy that owns a truck," Karon says. "When these [onboard] computers fail, sometimes you can't even drive the truck, so you have to have the truck towed to the dealership, which is a lot of miles." Karon's West Palm Beach facility is 70 miles from the nearest Detroit dealer, in Fort Pierce. Prior to the MOU, "I would have to have a truck towed to the Detroit dealer, pay them a couple hundred bucks, have it towed back and then stick the custom- er with a $300-to-$400 tow bill on top of the repair, which may be $50," he says. "Because of the MOU, I can buy that Detroit software and don't have to tow it up to Fort Pierce." To compound the problem of proxim- ity, being forced to remain within the dealer network put more pressure on dealer-licensed shops that sometimes were overwhelmed by work. This meant even more downtime for customers. To add insult to injury, prior to the MOU, drivers who found themselves at a strange dealership with an out-of- warranty issue often had even longer wait times. Under the MOU, the aftermarket was granted access to diagnostic informa- tion for all vehicles built after model- year 2009 weighing more than 14,000 pounds. That includes wiring diagrams, information-locating sensors, the ability to reflash and reset onboard comput- ers, as-built VIN-to-OE part number information and any specialized tools required to complete vehicle diagnostics. Widening the availability of the information also brought into play the expertise of repair professionals not Easier repairs Before the agreement, having a truck towed long distances to one of its proprietary brand deal- ers would add substantial costs and downtime. Proprietary info, tools no longer restricted to brand dealers BY JASON CANNON

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