Brussels rules could help car owners

The European Commission has ordered the special relationship between car manufacturers and their respective dealerships to be broken up, amidst fears that consumers are not receiving a fair deal.

According to The Times, from the 1st June, car-makers such as BMW, Renault and VW will be forced to provide smaller, independent establishments with car parts and technical specifications.

With repairs totalling nearly half of the day-to-day running costs of an average car, owners can be forced to part with hundreds of pounds of cash for cars that require annual servicing, MOTs and new parts.

The Commission are hoping that the new legislation will generate more competition amongst repair garages, providing the consumer with greater choice, at a competitive price.

In a press release cited in The Times, The Commission announced: ''Car manufacturers will no longer be able to make the warranty conditional on having the oil changed or other car services only in authorised garages.''

Commission antitrust official, Joaquin Alumnia commented in The Wall Street Journal that the thinking behind the legislation was solely the consumer, saying: ''I strongly believe the new framework will bring tangible benefits for consumers by bringing down the cost of repairs and maintenance that represent an excessive share of the total cost of a car over its lifetime.''

It has been warned that any manufacturer caught shutting competitors out the market will be subject to the full force of EU antitrust regulations.

 

Joleen Costello, Leicester, Ford Ka

Francesca Armstrong, Brentwood, Vauxhall Agila