Case Study: Elevating Right to Repair Advocacy with Original Consumer Research
Client: Auto Body Parts Association (ABPA)
Service: Custom Mixed-Methods Research & Strategic Reporting
Year: 2024
The Challenge
The ABPA has long advocated for consumer choice in vehicle repairs, particularly the right to use affordable aftermarket parts. However, despite ongoing legislative efforts, OEMs continued to restrict access to parts and repair data, undermining real-world repair options and driving up costs for consumers. What the movement lacked was clear, data-driven evidence connecting these issues to the lived experiences of everyday drivers. ABPA needed more than anecdotes. They needed a story that policymakers, press, and industry stakeholders couldn’t ignore.
Our Approach
Depth Services partnered with ABPA to design and execute a full-scale research initiative, combining quantitative rigor with powerful narrative. We:
Developed a nationally representative survey focused on household income to reflect how repair delays and part prices affect drivers across the economic spectrum.
Conducted in-depth interviews with consumers who had recently experienced collisions to gather firsthand stories of frustration, financial strain, and restricted repair options.
Analyzed patterns around OEM restrictions, parts availability, and consumer awareness of their legal rights.
Synthesized the findings into a visually compelling, narrative-driven final report that connected policy implications with real human impact.
Key Findings
Consumers are facing extended delays and higher costs due to limited access to alternative parts and OEM repair data.
Awareness of the right to repair is low, even among drivers actively seeking affordable repairs.
Many participants shared stories of being steered away from independent repair shops or denied service altogether.
Data access, not just parts access, emerged as a critical barrier to affordable, fair repairs.
Impact
The report catalyzed major momentum across ABPA’s advocacy efforts:
Media & Industry Pickup: Covered in multiple trade publications and cited in national media as a key source of consumer insight.
Legislative Influence: Used as supporting evidence in Congressional briefings and hearings related to right to repair legislation.
Ongoing Strategic Value: The findings continue to support ABPA’s work, offering credibility and clarity in policy meetings, media engagements, and stakeholder conversations.
Client Perspective
“Partnering with Depth Services was a turning point for our right to repair advocacy. Dr. B led a rigorous research initiative that filled a major gap, giving us real data and personal stories to show how repair restrictions are hurting consumers. The final report has been picked up by national media, cited across industry publications, and is actively being used in Congress to push for change. It’s had an outsized impact, and continues to open doors we couldn’t reach before.” - Ed Salamy, Executive Director, ABPA
Why It Worked
Depth Services brought academic-level research design and policy-savvy storytelling to the table. By embedding rigorous methodology into a strategic advocacy campaign, we helped ABPA not only tell a better story but also tell one that’s being heard where it counts.