Posted on 07/04/2023 2:37:57 PM PDT by nickcarraway
New cars and trucks are packed with sensors and technology that protect and pamper drivers and passengers. But those features are also raising the cost of repairs after accidents.
The average cost of making damaged cars good as new has soared 36% since 2018, and may top $5,000 by the end of this year, according to Mitchell, a company that provides data and software to insurance companies and auto repair businesses. That big increase is the main reason that insurance premiums have been soaring — up 17% in the 12 months through May.
New SUVs and pickup trucks, including a rapidly growing number of electric models, have become so complex and luxurious that seemingly simple repairs can cost a small fortune, auto experts said. Insurers are often on the hook for much of those costs, leading them to raise their rates.
Materials designed to crumple or deform in a crash to protect pedestrians or passengers, for example, can be hard or impossible to repair. Many bumpers must be replaced after low-speed dings because the safety sensors embedded in them may no longer work properly after repairs. Other systems, even some that do not appear to be damaged, must be inspected or recalibrated.
“The modern digital architecture is so advanced that systems beyond point of impact are being disrupted,” said Ryan Mandell, director of claims performance for Mitchell. “Getting a car back to pre-loss condition is harder than at any point in history, and will only become more challenging.”
Industry experts have been particularly focused on the cost of repairing electric cars and trucks, which aren’t built like gasoline cars and have different parts. In addition, many mechanics aren’t trained to work on them. In recent months, news reports and stories shared on social media about astronomical repair bills for electric
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I think of this every time I see one of the local 30-somethings at the grocery store walk away from her minivan and press a button on her keyfob that makes the rear door close itself. Aren’t you clever! Wait ‘till it breaks.
Deer, that’s why - they’re everywhere!
Yup, get your hands on solid made, basic, good reliable model, older cars now. They can have issues but if you avoid bad designs (known as bad overall, bad engines, bad transmissions, rusting issues, or bad electrical issues), you may fare better.
So much of new cars, under the hood, is plastic now. That stuff doesn’t do well over time, and components that used to be metal are plastic, and not lasting as long. Sometimes they break trying to get around them or removing them to fix another area/part.
Why?
Computer Complexity.
Give me a pre-‘75 American vehicle any day. No catalytic converter to be stolen, no computers, no air bags, easy to work on yourself, real chrome bumpers, and cheap repairs (if the parts are available).
Still drive my 93 Yukon that I bought new, 200K miles and everything still works and runs like new still. I have never had a single light burn out in this SUV, they are all original, but my 2500HD Silverado work trucks, which I have 3 still, and my Chevy Colorado go thru headlight bulbs annually
Saw a u tube on this. The fly by wire nature of the new cars is a factor. There is a little plastic dingus deep inside the dash of these cars that redirects the fan flow to where the driver wants it. Being plastic it fails. The tell is a clicking sound when you set, say, the defroster, you know, so you can see. The cost of getting at this thing is somewhere near three grand. The part itself is cheap.
I make slow go on my jalopies but I keep going.
This month I should have a large amount of medical red ink gone so progress can be made and I really don’t have much else better to do for a hobby.
I bought a new Audi A4 in 2017. It has every electronic feature one could imagine. It has been rock solid for $120k miles.
And that is why I'm sticking with my 2000 Civic. Simple. And works reliably getting me from A to B (isn't that what a transportation vehicle supposed to do?)
Yup the blend door actuator. The entire dashboard has to be removed to change it. This used to be controlled by a mechanical cable.
BS
They pack those cars with propriety plastic parts made in China and worth $15 but which they charge $350 for a weird shaped headlight.
Long gone are the times of square or round sealed beam from Walmart. Now every car company MAKES you buy their junk. Some are so nasty you can even buy an after market radio anymore because many of the vehicles features are incorporated into the proprietary head unit.
Disposable cars (not made to be overhauled) with designed obsolescence (part availability over time), proprietary parts, where maintenance by the end user was an after thought in design and is discouraged, lots and lots of plastic (plastic gets brittle over time), more use of adhesives which also give out over time (example headliner). These cars are made to be expensive when they break and people have been “trained” to get a new car every 3, 5, or 6 years while they talk about saving the environment.
The modern car has become a disposable product.
I just spent over $90 on an oil change when it used to be $45. They even admitted the costs recently doubled.
But inflation is at 8% annual.
It’s not the car. Tech pay has pretty much stayed flat while requiring more from the tech
Insurance and building costs are eating shops alive.
Power doors and gates are like escalators when they stop working.
You just have to do the work yourself
Have a 2001 beater with a heater for dump runs and other messy stuff, have kept it going with duct tape & bubble gum.
It now needs a $1,500 catalytic converter job.
That’s just parts.
Never again.
We can have cars 25+ years old that don’t need any emissions tests.
Lease depreciating stuff (new cars), buy appreciating stuff (real estate). Getting a ‘98 K1500 for just a few sheckels. No more Cat Crapola ever again.
tune up 1k
4 cyl Nissan
one plug - wire / diagnostic
350 ( the easy plug )
2 wks later
other 3 plugs - wire
650 ( remove the manifold )
runs good
I am keeping the 2011 Chevy HHR until it falls apart. It has 70k miles and only item replaced so far are the tires. Even the original battery is still operating which scary. And original brake pads still working. Never was in shop for any repairs. All I have done is oil changes and 1 cabin filter change.
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