The Parts Act and what it means for the home mechanic

The United States Congress is currently considering a piece of legislation known as The PARTS Act. House Resolution 3889 (available on Thomas.gov) is the Promoting Automotive Repair, Trade and Sales Act (PARTS) and is designed to amend parts of the law that protect many design elements under patent and trademark so that they can be copied by after-market parts makers for use in repairs and refurbishing.

Currently, many components on newer cars are protected under patents, including body panels, grille work, and more. This gives the automaker a monopoly on those parts and any purchase of them for repair or replacement. While this is often a boon for auto manufacturers, it is the reason a headlight on a 2010 sedan can be hundreds of dollars to replace.

The Act would attempt to change this by altering how much or how broadly patents could be taken for a new vehicle, thus allowing after market manufacturers to make replacement parts unimpeded by patent protections that previously kept them from doing so. This would lower prices and increase competition. Opponents say it would open up competition to foreign makers and knockoffs.

But considering that 73% of the auto body parts sold as replacements for collision repairs are made by the original manufacturer, only 12% are made by competitive manufacturers and 15% supplied by junk yards. Those numbers, according to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA), mean a $1 billion or more per year repair bill footed by American drivers through insurance premiums.

These numbers are narrowing as automakers, including all of the major manufacturers, raise the number of patented parts by up to 600% (Ford, Honda, and Toyota are the most active in this regard).

In 2010, a similar bill was introduced that allowed for the patenting of overall designs, but not individual components of the design. This bill lost in committee after heavy lobbying by the auto industry.

To further bolster this new attempt, however, CFA points out a new survey that shows that most after-market parts now include lifetime warranties, where as most original equipment manufacturer parts do not. This attests to the rising quality of after-market makers.

The fate of HR 3889 is uncertain as it still sits in committee. But it could be a boon to the DIY auto repair mechanic as parts, especially collision repairs, would become competitive and see a resulting drop in price. That's good for all of us.