Looming Change to Repair Costs Drives Auto Industry Fight
As the state legislature considers a bill to change warranty payments, unions join their bosses to make car companies pay more.
![A blue car suspended on a post against a blue sky with a sign below reading "PATRIOT AUTO SALES: LETS DEAL TODAY"](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/5HKf3N7M2yTCVe6T0g6SpQdLzJ9-RjHtcHfyti4w_xk/w:820/h:570/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/f:jpg/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9wYXRyaW90LWF1dG8tc2FsZXMuanBn.jpg)
“It takes three days to do it, but they only pay you for 8.6 hours.”
“The bill is going to create hundreds of millions of dollars in costs every single year. That cost is going to get passed on to consumers.”
![A lone catalytic converter sits displayed on a prop table. The edge of a podium and a woman's elbow are visible on the right. Elbow belongs to New York Governor Kathy Hochul.](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/a2D2CeQbk9A9vjB-HIr7Po3GgxgeuKcmnLjTpA9OEvM/w:820/h:546/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy9jYXRhbHl0aWMtY29udmVydGVyLmpwZw.jpg)
“The money will flow from the auto dealers to the technicians. We are very confident that dynamic will transpire.”
“Consumers are only willing to pay so much. You have to limit yourself to the market.”
![a giant statue of a mechanic in a blue suit and white hat next to an arrow-shaped sign reading UNITED AUTO SALES](https://imgproxy.gridwork.co/Sf7i8dgk0YCIjLw_AsI8v7e0GtylL7AEc4WDGVpA8IY/w:820/h:1185/rt:fill/g:fp:0.5:0.5/q:90/el:1/aHR0cHM6Ly9zMy51cy1lYXN0LTIuYW1hem9uYXdzLmNvbS9ueXNmb2N1cy91bml0ZWQtYXV0by1zYWxlcy5qcGc.jpg)
Correction: March 29, 2024 — This article previously stated that a proposed amendment to the bill would allow dealers to request information about manufacturers' costs; in fact, it would allow technicians and their unions to make the requests.
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