Illegal to work on your car

[RedRyder]

Even if some kind of legislation did come around, it wouldn't include cars manufactured before a certain date. Just like how a car made before seatbelts were standard still doesn't have to have them to be road legal. Won't affect me, I don't plan on buying a car newer than 2012 simply due to how overly-complicated, electronics-plagued, and expensive they are becoming.

Automakers can keep their appliances.

 

[kn0x47]

on the upside, if something like this eventually happens then i bet more people will just start building hotrods and restoring more cars

 

[james'99]

Even if some kind of legislation did come around, it wouldn't include cars manufactured before a certain date. Just like how a car made before seatbelts were standard still doesn't have to have them to be road legal. Won't affect me, I don't plan on buying a car newer than 2012 simply due to how overly-complicated, electronics-plagued, and expensive they are becoming.

Automakers can keep their appliances.

+1

on the upside, if something like this eventually happens then i bet more people will just start building hotrods and restoring more cars

This would be awesome!

 

[ryan s]

proof of "disastrous consequences"? where do GM ignition switches and toyota floormats fall in this discussion? "not quite as disastrous"?

also, good luck trying to stop it! that DMCA has worked so well to stop torrenting--err, wait...

 

[nexTOme]

proof of "disastrous consequences"? where do GM ignition switches and toyota floormats fall in this discussion? "not quite as disastrous"?

also, good luck trying to stop it! that DMCA has worked so well to stop torrenting--err, wait...

Exactly my point in regards to GM and Toyota overlooking simple mistakes.
This is ridiculous.

 

[james'99]

also, good luck trying to stop it! that DMCA has worked so well to stop torrenting--err, wait...

What are you trying to say?!?! Haha!

 

[RedRyder]

Gearheads push to preserve rights to work on their own cars

At stake is whether home mechanics can continue to fix cars in their own garages. But the possible restrictions don't only affect car enthusiasts. More broadly, the ruling could affect whether consumers can continue to choose their own mechanics. Should the Copyright Office deny an exemption to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's Section 1201, automakers could only authorize repairs at dealerships or sell the access codes necessary to repair cars to preferred service shops.

So the dealerships and their preferred shops can monopolize the auto service market. That's fair. How about, we meet halfway and automakers stop putting so much electronic bull**** in cars.

In arguing against an exemption, John Deere and General Motors have argued that motorists don't necessarily buy a car; they merely buy a license to use the car for the duration of its life.

That makes no sense, so there is no purpose to the $30k someone pays for a new car? Maybe if you're leasing. But still, no. Paying for goods and services = ownership.

But okay, if you own the car I am paying to use, then warranty it for life and pay for every maintenance interval, repair, etc. Oh, and charge me the cost of the license to drive it, not the price of the car itself.

"This has to be one of the dumbest things I've heard," he wrote to the Copyright Office. "I can't believe this is even a discussion. If I purchase a car, I own it. The freedom to do whatever I want to it is provided by my constitutional rights. Simple as that."

More common sense from one man than a whole organization.

 

[bairdandrew77]

I think one reason honda and subaru aren't on this stupid *** list is because they know a big chunk of their buyers are tuners and enthusiasts. If they make it illegal to work on cars, they just lost a very huge portion of their customers

 

[el gallo]

I think one reason honda and subaru aren't on this stupid *** list is because they know a big chunk of their buyers are tuners and enthusiasts. If they make it illegal to work on cars, they just lost a very huge portion of their customers

aint it!

 

[umop-apisdn]

Seems like some people are a bit confused here. The automakers are trying to prevent end users from modifying the code contained in the ECU. They're NOT trying to prevent you from pressing in a new balljoint or installing a new stereo.

http://jalopnik.com/carmakers-want-to-make-working-on-your-car-illegal-beca-1699132210