Why Your Garage Loses Jobs To Dealers – And What The UK Needs To Fix It

In a nutshell Modern vehicles generate more diagnostic data than ever before. Who gets to read that data and use it to repair your car is being decided in Brussels right now. But here in the UK, Westminster hasn’t even opened a consultation to begin discussions.

Within the auto repair industry, the IAAF, which leads the UK's Right to Repair campaign as part of the wider UK AFCAR coalition, continues to campaign on behalf of UK garages. However, recent EU progress means we are falling behind.

At FixMyCar, I see how hard skilled mechanics work to provide high-quality, reliable repairs to drivers while growing their businesses. They’re turning away jobs they could easily do, simply because they can't get the data. That should worry every driver in the country, not just the trade.

Why does Right to Repair matter?

The UK’s automotive Right to Repair campaign advocates for car owners and independent mechanics to have access to the same diagnostic codes, software tools and real-time vehicle data that official dealer networks use. Manufacturers generally justify restricting this data for cybersecurity and anti-theft reasons.    This issue impacts both driver choice and garage competition. A 2025 YouGov survey found that independent mechanics are the leading choice for many Britons’ car repair and maintenance needs, as they’re usually cheaper than dealers due to lower labour rates. However, if independent garages can't get fair access to a car's data, drivers lose that all-important choice of repairer and end up paying dealer prices, whether they want to or not.

Meanwhile, garages are further squeezed, losing out on work and revenue for jobs they can’t take on, not for a lack of skill but a lack of access.

What's happening in the EU?

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/699 became law across the EU on 3rd June 2026. It establishes a tiered model of vehicle data access, from basic diagnostics up to engine control units (ECU) and software updates. This means a garage only needs the level of access the job requires. Independent diagnostic tool makers get access from 23rd December 2026, and manufacturers have until June 2027 to provide standardised access portals, with VIN and maintenance log data following through the same year.

It also addresses valid concerns from manufacturers about cybersecurity by setting fixed rules for how much security manufacturers can add, rather than leaving it to each brand to decide on its own.

For independent garages in the EU, this closes a long-standing gap where dealers got greater access to diagnostic, repair and software data than independents did, often through expensive manufacturer-specific subscriptions or gated logins. From next year, independent workshops should be able to get dealer-equivalent access to fault codes, calibration data and even software updates through one standardised route. It essentially creates a much fairer EU auto repair market.

For drivers, it means more garages capable of working on modern, advanced software and electric vehicles. Data from FixMyCar shows that repair and maintenance bookings related to electric vehicles increased by 12.7% over the last 12 months, demonstrating that the need for similar progress is growing fast in the UK.

Ultimately drivers need more choice when it comes to car repairs and maintenance, shorter wait times and no obligation to book with a dealer because they're the only ones with the right data for their car.

Where does the UK stand on this? 

The UK's equivalent Motor Vehicle Block Exemption Order runs until 31st May 2029, roughly a year behind the EU's full rollout. As of today, there's no UK consultation yet on what replaces it or how it should be updated to reflect today’s data-heavy repair requirements. This unfortunately means UK garages and drivers could be waiting years longer for the same protections EU drivers already have in law.

The introduction of SERMI on 1st April 2026 helps, but it only closes part of the gap. It gives independent garages a manufacturer-recognised way to get vetted and then access security-related data. However, due to the SERMI scheme being voluntary,not law, and only covering security-related data, it doesn't replace the need for the UK’s block exemption order to be updated.

We polled a sample of 100 garages on FixMyCar’s network. 30% of them told us they had been forced to turn work away in the last 12 months because they didn’t have access to the data required to fix those cars.

The UK’s next steps 

Independent garages are losing out to franchised dealers on increasingly data-locked cars. According to The IMI, around 19% of UK cars now feature Level 2 autonomy, and this could rise to 40% by 2032. Garages already face barriers to accessingthese Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) for repairs, due to restricted manufacturer software. This in turn leaves UK drivers with less choice and higher prices than their European neighbours for no good reason.

The UK’s next steps must be to open a consultation on data access ahead of the 2029 Block Exemption deadline and match the EU’s tiered access model. A delay on this action will risk the UK falling behind and leave our garages negotiating data access deal by deal, or missing out altogether. The UK needs to keep pace with the EU here. Drivers deserve fair prices and real choice, and I don't think we should forget it’s independent garages up and down the country that play a key role in Britain's road safety.

Final Thoughts

In short, this is a debate about who gets to fix your car, and at what price. The UK still has time to get it right, but it doesn’t have time to keep waiting.

Amanda Webb

Amanda Webb - CEO at FixMyCar