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We recently had a meeting with Jerry Roodhouse of the Liberal Democrats. One of the things we discussed with him was the European Block Exemption Regulations and how, if they aren’t renewed many independent garages like ours will potentially have no access to technical information for new cars.

Jerry Roodhouse promised to talk to Liz Lynne MEP about the EU Block Exemption Regulations on our behalf. Good to his word he’s done so and here is Liz’s reply:

“Dear Jerry,

Thank you for your email regarding the Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) and for highlighting your work with local garages during the election campaign period.

The Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Regulation (MVBER) concerns competition in the motor industry and contains measures enabling independent garages and repairers to access the technical information and parts they need to conduct repairs. It also ensures that these garages are allowed into networks of authorised repairers providing they meet common standards.

Concerns about the MVBER stem from euro-sceptics, some poor communication on behalf of the European Commission, independent garages, their customers and concern for the Commission’s review of the Regulation (European Commission Regulation No. 1400/2002) and the Regulation’s expiration in 2010.

In 2008 an evaluation report was carried out by the Commission and concluded that conditions for competition have improved in recent years on the markets for both new cars and repair and maintenance. The Commission criticisedmany aspects of the Regulation but singled out measures on access to parts and information as highly successful and worth keeping. The evaluation report can be viewed here:

http://ec.europa.eu/competition/sectors/motor_vehicles/legislation/legislation.html.

It is also worth mentioning that in 2007, the Commission demonstrated their commitment to the spirit of the legislation by adopting four decisions that legally bound Daimler, Chrysler, Toyota, General Motors and Fiat to commitments to provide technical information about car repairs to all independent garages in the European Union.

In February 2009, the Commission held an informal roundtable discussion on the future of the car block exemption regulations. Although no decisions were taken, the Commissioner recognised the diversity of views that existed and the Commission stated that they would guarantee that any changes to the rules would not make life harder for independent repairers.

In December 2009 the Commission published a consultation on the detail of both the proposal to adopt a new block exemption for car repair and maintenance services, in circumstances where competition appears to be more limited and the adoption of guidelines dealing with specific issues for both motor vehicle sales and repair. Interested parties were invited to comment by Feb 2010. Further information can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/consultations/2010_motor_vehicles/index.html

My colleague Graham Watson MEP raised a Parliamentary Question with the European Commission on the MVBER. Graham is pleased that the Commission is continuing to protect independent garages in the area of maintenance and spare parts as well as being confident that the Commission will continue to enforce the spirit of the rules and protect independent garages as it has done in the past. The Commission is scheduled to confirm the new rules on May 26th and they will apply from June 2010.

I am also aware that you plan to keep in regular contact with local garages and I am happy to provide any further information that they may need.

I hope this information is useful to you.

Kind regards,

Liz Lynne MEP.”

If you would like to contact either Jerry Roodhouse or Liz Lynne about this you can do so with these links:

Jerry Roodhouse – Facebook Page
Liz Lynne MEP for the West Midlands

We would like to thank both Jerry and Liz for their input and look forward to further discussions with them and with our new MP, Mark Pawsey.

Following meetings with three of the Parliamentary Election Candidates for Rugby, we are pleased to announce that Cory’s Car Repairs will be taking the issue of Block Exemption to our MEPs for clarification and to raise support for independent garages.

We had some very productive meetings today and yesterday with the following:

Mark Pawsey – Conservative
Jerry Roodhouse – Liberal Democrat
Roy Sandison – Green Party

All three were very supportive of our campaign to get to the bottom of what exactly is happening with the EU and its Block Exemption Regulations. They have all pledged their help to us in communicating with Brussels via our MEPs and also with research into understanding the legislation and its time-frame.

We wish them all the best of luck in tomorrow’s General Election.

To find out more about Block Exemption read our blog article Changes to EU Legislation on Car Servicing: Have Your Say. You can even sign the Right to Repair Campaign’s petition while you’re there.

Since March 2002, car owners have been able to have their vehicles serviced and repaired by independent garages without affecting the manufacturer’s warranty providing:

1. The parts used match the original specification
2. The manufacturer’s service schedule is followed

But those regulations are due to expire this year (2010).

If the current Block Exemption Regulations are not renewed:

• Repair costs could increase dramatically
• The number of independent garages may decline
• As consumers, we risk losing experts with specific abilities such as auto-electricians, air conditioning specialists and body repairers
• Many successful small businesses may be forced to close and make their staff redundant
• We may have to wait longer to have our cars repaired as franchised dealers will be too busy
• We may have to travel much further to a garage
• Motoring organisations, such as the AA, RAC and Green Flag may have difficulty obtaining some of the information required to effectively diagnose and repair faults
• Car servicing could become more expensive – risking neglect of service schedules

The independent motor trade along with motoring organisations across Europe are campaigning for the retention of Block Exemption in its current form as neither ‘Type Approval’ nor ‘Emissions legislation’ will secure the required level of access to technical information for cars that are already in service.

The Right to Repair Campaign (R2RC)

The Right to Repair Campaign has been created by the independent automotive aftermarket in response to these potential changes in legislation in Europe.

If the campaign fails then later this year we can all expect a reduction of choice on where we can get our vehicles repaired and an increase in the cost of garage services.

Cory’s Car Repairs supports the Right to Repair Campaign. Visit the website www.r2rc.co.uk to find out more.

Most importantly, please sign the petition and write to your MP/MEP.