Recital 16

(16) Since the obligation to repair imposed on manufacturers under this Directive covers defects that are not due to the non-conformity of the goods with a sales contract, manufacturers should be able to provide repair for a price paid by the consumer, or for free. The charging of a price should encourage manufacturers to develop sustainable business models, including the provision of repair services. Such a price might take into account, for instance, labour costs, costs for spare parts, costs for operating the repair facility and a customary margin. The price should be reasonable, meaning it should be set in such a way that consumers are not intentionally deterred from benefitting from the manufacturers’ obligation to repair. The price for and the conditions of repair should be agreed in a contract between the consumer and the manufacturer and the consumer should remain free to decide whether that price and those conditions are acceptable. The need for such a contract and the competitive pressure from other repairers should encourage manufacturers who are obliged to repair to keep the price acceptable for the consumer. The repair obligation might also be performed for free where the defect is covered by a commercial guarantee, for instance, in relation to guaranteed durability of goods. To incentivise consumers to have their goods repaired outside of the legal guarantee, a manufacturer should be able to offer a loan of a comparable good for the duration of the repair, which is expected to be returned once the consumer receives the repaired good.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-10-12 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.