For decades, automotive OEMs have held a powerful advantage: control over access to their vehicles’ diagnostic and repair data. The REPAIR Act is about to change that, handing independent repairers access to that same data, enabling them to carry out more of the work that, until now, only authorized dealers could touch.
More open repair data will give customers more credible service options. For OEMs, that means they now have to compete for business they used to get by default.
But the right to data access doesn’t automatically grant independent repairers the right to the customer.
That was the focus of a recent Automotive News article by Syncron’s Ben Groeneveld, who argues the while the legal fight has been about access, the real fight for OEMs is what comes next.
For years, OEMs and their dealer networks benefited from advantages that were difficult for the independent aftermarket to challenge. Proprietary diagnostic access, restricted repair information, service history, parts ecosystems, and authorized dealer networks all helped keep customers inside the OEM channel.
Right to Repair shifts that balance. As access becomes more open, OEMs can no longer rely on restricted data as the foundation of customer retention.
But knowing what is happening with a vehicle is one thing. Knowing which parts to stock, where demand is building, how to price the job, when to reach the customer, or how to make the repair easier for the customer to understand, approve, and complete is quite another.
That is where OEMs still have the upper hand. They have the brand relationship, the installed base visibility, and the dealer network.
The challenge, and the opportunity, is turning that into a customer experience an independent repairer will struggle to match — with or without open data access. That means knowing what the customer is likely to need, having the right part available, giving them a clear view of cost and timing, and making it easy to choose the authorized network again next time.
For most customers, the dealer network is the brand — it's the only part of the OEM they ever actually deal with.
That makes it critical for OEMs to make sure dealers have the right part, in the right place, at the right time.
Retail inventory management programs give OEMs a way to treat dealer inventory as an extension of their own distribution network. Instead of every location making stocking decisions in isolation, the OEM can use network-wide visibility to understand where demand is building, where inventory is sitting, and where parts need to move. That includes smarter replenishment and dealer-to-dealer transfers, so inventory already in the network can support demand before a delay reaches the customer.
For dealers, that means better parts availability and efficiency. For OEMs, it means the dealer network is better equipped to deliver the availability, speed, and consistency that make authorized service worth choosing.
As the aftermarket becomes more competitive, OEMs need alternative ways to keep customers inside the authorized network.
That’s why extended warranties, preventive maintenance agreements, and multi-year service contracts are becoming more strategically important. These agreements can give customers greater cost predictability and a stronger reason to return to the dealer network over time.
For OEMs, they also create a more stable revenue model. Instead of competing for each service visit or parts purchase one transaction at a time, the relationship is established earlier and managed over a longer period.
But a service contract also carries risk.
When an OEM sells a three- or five-year agreement, they are taking a view on what that customer, vehicle, or asset will cost to support over time. That means understanding how failure rates, mileage, vehicle age, parts costs, labor, supply disruption, and customer behavior may change across the life of the contract.
That is difficult even in stable market conditions. It becomes much harder when parts costs move quickly, supply chains remain unpredictable, and service demand shifts with an aging installed base.
Many organizations still price these agreements using static assumptions and spreadsheet-based models that struggle to keep up with the real cost of delivery. As a result, what looks like attractive recurring revenue at the point of sale can become a margin issue later.
For service contracts to become a real competitive advantage, OEMs need the ability to price them with the full cost-to-serve in view, then continue managing the economics as conditions change. That is what allows them to give customers more certainty on cost and coverage without taking on risk the business cannot see.
Right to Repair doesn't just open one door. It raises the stakes on every decision a customer makes — the next repair, the next contract, the next purchase.
Independent repairers and aftermarket chains will use open data access to compete harder for customers. Some will move quickly to build stronger service relationships, better outreach, and more convenient repair experiences.
OEMs still have advantages, but they only matter if the customer feels the difference.
That means using data to anticipate demand, aligning the dealer network around availability and service consistency, and making the authorized channel easier to choose and easier to stay with.
The fight ahead is not over who has access to the data. It is over who gives the customer the best reason to come back.
Ben’s full article is available to Automotive News subscribers here.