Posted on 11/14/2022 7:27:34 AM PST by DFG
The owner of a Hummer electric truck was shocked to learn replacing his tail lights is a rather expensive venture.
“Had a shocker today,” the owner wrote in a Hummer EV Facebook group. “A new passenger side rear light for the Hummer EV; $4,040 just to buy it.”
Car review website the Drive confirmed General Motor’s list price for one tail light is $3,045. Without factoring in labor, the list price for a set of tail lights runs for nearly $6,100, a cost equaling more than 5% of the Hummer EV’s MSRP.
“The taillights in the Hummer EV have small microcontrollers installed within them. These chips control unique lighting functions in their respective lights,” the Drive suggested as a reason for the high price. “Additionally, the Hummer EV is a fairly limited-run vehicle thus far, meaning parts are generally more expensive until economies of scale kick in.”
Maintenance expenses, in addition to software mishaps that have left EV drivers stranded , have drawn criticism in relation to the United States’s push toward electric vehicles.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonexaminer.com ...
“I think if someone built a simple, comfortable, reliable and affordable car he could clean up.”
That’s been tried several times. Kaiser/Fraizer and a variety of minis and there’s a number of perfectly good cars made by mainstream manufacturers all of which fit the bill. But low end, comfortable transportation does not act as a penis analog and therefore is shunned by younger buyers. The buyer of high end technomobiles is actually a lease customer. People don’t actually buy high end cars because they’re after the glitz. They lease them and any problems are taken care of by the dealer. At the end of the lease, he leases the latest and greatest. These people would be idiots to actually buy and hold, since once they go off warranty it takes real money to keep them on the road. Essentially, they’re three-year cars. I watched an enthusiast video on a four door Porche. He had kept track of every expense. After 100,000 miles he’d spent an additional $15000 on maintenance, some of which he did himself. So, call it $20000 if he’d taken it to the dealer. Practically all of the parts are dealer only items.
The idea of owning a car for twenty years is long gone. (Except for me. I own a ‘48 Plymouth and a ‘52 Pontiac, but they aren’t practical for daily drivers.) Probably the last cars that could be long term practical cars were built about 2010.
I’d be happy to get my first car back...a ‘51 Chevy stick! Nothing on it you couldn’t fix yourself.
Do you think car warranties are wirth it?
I have a 2008 Chevy Duramax 3500 dually. My FIL has a 2019 Duramax dually. To replace his side clearance lights from GM is $75 per light fixture (amber and red on each dual fender side - $300 for all four). For me, it’s about $10-$15 for new bulbs. Difference? LED fixtures vs standard. This LED light crap means even more waste in the landfills (suck it greenies) than before. Cuz you can’t just replace the bulbs in these things. Have to replace the whole damned fixture.
Apparently low bid supplier for headlights. Used crappy components and the HID lights emit a lot of heat resulting in insulation failure. No doubt the other one is waiting for the right bump in the road to short out. Volvo knows but if you don’t go to an authori$ed dealer, too bad for you. Headlight alone is $840 on line. Probably twice that at the authori$ed dealer.
I was speaking with a friend last week who’s Audi engine crapped out at 183,000 miles. Despite regular routine maintenance. Only $14,000 to replace.
So what did he do? He bought a new Audi.
SMH
That was a great scene! Everything in that movie was great, but William Macy took the cake! The perfect sleazeball!
Too late.
The wife has a 328i.
We found a local shop that specializes in imports and can beat dealer maintenance cost by at least 50%.......if not for that we’d be screwed.
“he was bemoaning the fact that he just had to replace one tire at a cost of $400.”
Can’t you buy cheaper tires? Are the rims designed to not fit the cheaper tires?
“...the Hummer EV is a fairly limited-run vehicle thus far,...”
They all are, thus far.
Within 5-7yrs, they’ll all be gone, and mfgrs will have spent TRILLIONS to design and manufacture them. Millions of those POS junkers will sit in fields next to the rusting, decaying factories.
This should drive more people into public government transportation. They'll really enjoy that.
Overpriced? a $4,000 tail light? That’s the understatement of the month....lol
What’s a pair of headlights go for? $10,000?
I bought a headlight for a Toyota 4runner last summer for $45.
Spare the tape spoil the job
Red Green
Since it was only one tire I guess he wanted it to be the same as the other 3 tesla oem.
They are pretending the average consumer can afford to spend like the Pentagon...
;-)
That’s the truth. Leased a new BMW years ago and drove off the lot with the rear wheels roaring (both bearings). Before we could get back two days later, the fuel pump was making a racket. Car was trouble. In self-defense, we bought the extended warranty to get us thru the 5 year lease. At least the dealership sold it to us for wholesale.
Never again.
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