Legal changes mean independent will gain garage work from franchised dealers

Franchised dealers are vulnerable to losing service business to the independent garages as EU legislation levels out the playing field.

According to the Independent Garage Association (IGA), recent surveys have shown independent garages taking an increasing market share of service work despite difficulty carrying out certain functions. This limitation will soon be removed, allowing independents to carry out every part of a service and repair for their customers.

EU legislation coming in to force will support the existing right of consumers to take their car, no matter how old, to any garage they choose. Garages who demonstrate their integrity will be certified to have access to all the functions required to service, repair and update modern cars.

The Independent Garage Association (IGA) has been working in Brussels for many years to see this legislation come to fruition, and through the RMI’s UKAS accredited business, RMISC, will offer garages certification against the ISO standard that will give them access to the relevant information from any manufacturer to be able to fix any car.

IGA Director Stuart James commented: “The IGA has worked tirelessly to see this legislation through, and RMISC is positioned to be the first certification body for this type of information in Europe.  This is the largest change to the current structure of the UK motor industry and professionally run, independent garages will flourish. It has been advantageous for independents that the franchised sector has not picked up the gauntlet of genuinely meeting consumer needs in terms of price and quality. This new change will allow independents to seize the opportunity, take the initiative and increase their share of service and repair work even further.”