Right to Repair Is an Agricultural-Equipment Fight Right Now, But Every Construction Equipment Owner Should Be Watching It

Oct 5

6 min read

Right to Repair Is an Agricultural-Equipment Fight Right Now, But Every Construction Equipment Owner Should Be Watching It

If you've seen headlines about Right to Repair and construction or farm equipment, it's worth being precise about what's actually happening: the laws passed and currently being debated are agricultural-equipment legislation, not construction-equipment legislation. Colorado passed the first dedicated agricultural equipment right-to-repair law in 2023, and several other states have introduced similar agricultural-focused bills since. There is no comparable construction-equipment-specific right-to-repair statute on the books anywhere in the country as of this writing. That distinction matters, and it would be dishonest to claim otherwise just because the issue sounds relevant to every equipment owner.

Why This Still Belongs in a Construction Equipment Financing Conversation

Here's why it's worth understanding anyway, even if no law covers your excavator or skid steer today. The manufacturers at the center of the agricultural right-to-repair fight, John Deere chief among them, build both farm equipment and construction equipment using a lot of the same underlying technology: proprietary diagnostic software, telematics systems, and dealer-gated parts programming that determine who can perform certain repairs and recalibrations. A legislative or policy shift that changes how John Deere handles diagnostic access and parts programming on its agricultural side has a real chance of eventually reaching its construction and forestry equipment too, simply because a lot of that technology infrastructure is shared across both business segments inside the same company.

That's a reasonable thing for an equipment owner to watch, but it's a very different claim than saying construction equipment is currently covered by right-to-repair law, and we're not going to overstate it. What's genuinely true today is that dealer-gated diagnostics and repair access already shape how every major manufacturer's construction equipment gets serviced, right-to-repair law or not, and that reality affects an owner's maintenance costs and machine uptime regardless of what legislatures eventually decide.

What Dealer-Gated Diagnostics Actually Means for an Owner Today

Most modern construction equipment, across every major brand, relies on proprietary diagnostic software to read fault codes, recalibrate replacement components, and in some cases even authorize certain repairs to proceed. An independent mechanic or an owner's own maintenance team can often do routine service work without issue, but a deeper repair, especially one involving emissions systems, engine control modules, or major hydraulic components, frequently requires dealer-level diagnostic access that isn't available to anyone outside the authorized dealer network. That's simply the current reality of how equipment gets serviced, independent of any pending legislation.

For an owner, that means factoring dealer proximity and service-network depth into a purchase decision just as seriously as the machine's specs, something covered in more depth when we looked at how a large dealer network like SMS Equipment's actually protects a Komatsu owner. A machine with weaker regional dealer support can mean longer waits for exactly the kind of repair that only a dealer's software can authorize, which is a real operating cost even though it has nothing to do with right-to-repair policy specifically.

Engine Sourcing Is Part of the Same Conversation

Diagnostic access isn't the only place where a manufacturer's engineering philosophy shapes long-term ownership cost. Kubota builds nearly every diesel engine in its own equipment lineup in-house, while John Deere's PowerTech engines are also largely built in-house, with a documented Yanmar-sourced exception on several compact models. Whether an engine is factory-built or third-party-sourced affects parts availability, warranty structure, and who's actually authorized to work on it, which circles back to the same dealer-access question that makes diagnostic software such a live issue.

None of this should scare a contractor away from any particular brand. Every major manufacturer BFC finances, from Kubota to John Deere to CAT to Komatsu, runs some version of dealer-gated diagnostics on at least part of its lineup, so the question isn't which brand avoids the issue entirely, it's which brand has the dealer density in your specific service area to make that gating less of a practical problem day to day.

What the Agricultural Fight Actually Changed in Colorado

Colorado's Agricultural Equipment Right to Repair Act, which took effect in 2024, requires manufacturers to make diagnostic tools, repair manuals, and software access available to independent repair shops and equipment owners on fair and reasonable terms, specifically for agricultural equipment sold or used in the state. It was the first law of its kind in the country, and it followed years of farmer advocacy over exactly the kind of dealer-gated diagnostic access described above, applied to tractors and combines rather than excavators and skid steers. Several other states have introduced similar agricultural-focused bills since, with varying levels of progress, but as of this writing none of them extend to construction equipment.

The manufacturers affected by Colorado's law, and by the similar bills under discussion elsewhere, didn't rebuild their diagnostic systems from scratch for agricultural equipment only and leave construction equipment on a completely separate technology stack. Deere, in particular, has spoken publicly about expanding its own voluntary right-to-repair commitments across more of its product lines following the political pressure around the agricultural fight, which is exactly the kind of spillover effect worth watching even though it's voluntary policy, not binding law, on the construction side.

Why This Matters for Resale Value and Financing Terms

A machine that's harder to get serviced independently can see its resale value affected over time, particularly once it ages out of factory warranty and an owner starts weighing dealer service costs against the machine's remaining useful life. That's a real factor equipment lenders think about when assessing collateral value on an equipment loan, even if it's rarely discussed openly. A contractor buying a machine with strong regional dealer support, all else being equal, is buying into better resale value down the line, which is worth factoring into a financing decision the same way horsepower or bucket capacity gets factored in.

None of this changes the fundamental financing math. Deposit requirements continue to vary by borrower rather than by brand: a contractor with strong credit and an established track record typically qualifies for a lower deposit regardless of which manufacturer they're financing, while a newer business should expect something in the broader 10–40% range depending on how the whole file reads.

It's also worth remembering that this entire conversation is still evolving. Legislative sessions in several states revisit agricultural right-to-repair bills year after year, and it's plausible, though by no means certain, that a construction-equipment-specific version eventually follows the same path the agricultural fight took. Nothing here should be read as a prediction about when or whether that happens, only as a reason to pay attention to the underlying technology trends that are already shaping service access regardless of what any legislature ultimately decides.

What a Contractor Can Actually Do With This Information Today

Since no construction-equipment right-to-repair law exists to lean on yet, the practical move for a contractor isn't to wait for legislation, it's to ask pointed questions before buying: how far is the nearest full-service dealer for this brand, what's their documented turnaround time on a diagnostic-gated repair, and does the manufacturer offer any independent-shop or owner-level diagnostic access on this specific model line already, voluntarily, ahead of any law requiring it. Some manufacturers have gotten ahead of the pressure building in the agricultural space by rolling out owner-level diagnostic apps or expanded independent-shop programs on select construction equipment lines already, without being forced to by statute.

That kind of due diligence belongs in the same conversation as financing terms and machine specs, not as an afterthought. A contractor who asks about service access before signing a purchase agreement, rather than discovering the gap the first time a major component fails three years into ownership, is in a much stronger position regardless of how the broader legislative picture eventually shakes out.

Right to Repair laws currently on the books, starting with Colorado in 2023, are agricultural-equipment specific; no dedicated construction-equipment right-to-repair statute exists today.
Shared diagnostic and telematics technology across a manufacturer's agricultural and construction equipment means the agricultural fight is still worth watching, even without overstating its current reach.
Dealer-gated diagnostics already shape real-world service access and cost on construction equipment today, independent of any pending legislation.
Engine sourcing, whether in-house or third-party, affects long-term parts availability and who's authorized to work on a machine.
Dealer density in your own service area matters more for day-to-day ownership cost than which specific brand you choose.