bureau of automotive repair jobs
Long wait times for car repairs become the ‘new normal’ amid calls for more auto workers
When Nathan Woodrow’s car was damaged in an accident last August, he didn’t think it would take close to a year to have it fully back to normal.
“The whole front needed repairing,” he said.
While the bulk of the work was finished by January, an issue with the headlights and bonnet paint caused a delay.
“In that time I moved to Toowoomba [from Brisbane],” Mr Woodrow said.
“I went back and forward with the insurer … and in April they contacted me again and I was finally able to get it booked in for mid-August,” he said.
Mr Woodrow said local repairers told him the delay was just due to a “huge” backlog in cars needing repair work done.
“I’m happy to wait. I can drive my car as it only needs a minor rectification,” he said.
“But it’s just absolutely crazy that I’ve got to wait so long for my car to be 100 per cent fixed after an accident.”
Up to ‘four times’ more work
Greg McGuire, owner of Powers Smash Repairs in Toowoomba, likes
Right to repair pact rejected by major players
Image credit: Depositphotos.com
*Editor’s note: This story has been updated with reaction from the Tire Industry Association
An apparent agreement between three groups representing auto repairers, collision shops and automakers in the US on automotive right to repair is being met with pushback from two of the biggest automotive aftermarket organizations in the country.
The Auto Care Association, which includes representation of the distribution, auto repair, tools and equipment and other sectors, bluntly called the “so-called” pact “a thinly veiled attempt to confuse lawmakers and drivers” in the headline of its press release.
MEMA Aftermarket Suppliers, which represents the supplier end of the aftermarket, said in a separate statement that the deal “falls short.”
The agreement between Automotive Service Association (ASA), the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRA) and Alliance for Automotive Innovation (AAI) includes promises to guarantee automotive repair choice for consumers across all vehicle technologies while affirming the 2014 national agreement on right to repair .
The trio said the new deal includes access to diagnostic and repair information, education and training and a level playing field for future advancements.
The Auto Care Association was critical of the details, noting that as an original signatory to the 2014