Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Ticking Time Bomb in Your Dashboard - The high cost of aging air bags
The American Spectator ^ | Eric Peters

Posted on 02/27/2012 6:50:44 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife

Air bags -- driver and front seat passenger air bags -- have been mandatory in cars since the mid-1990s. That means there are now millions of older cars on the road with air bags. These air bags are ticking time bombs, financially speaking (and otherwise; more on that below) because of the ever-less-favorable ratio between the value of the car itself and the cost to repair the car if the air bags go off.

Here's what I mean:

Let's say you own a 2000 model Toyota Corolla. It's still running great and you hope to be able to drive it for at least another five years -- a reasonable expectation given the durability of newer cars. At twelve years old, it still has a lot of useful life left. And because it's paid-off, you have very low fixed costs, transportation-wise.

But, here's the catch.

Your 2000 Corolla is only worth about $3,500 or so, retail. But the cost to replace the air bags, if they go off in an accident, will be in the neighborhood of $1,500-$2,000. Which means, even before you take fixing the actual car into account, the projected repair costs have already come dangerously close to the "50 percent of retail value" threshold -- at which point, most insurance companies will refuse to fix the car. Instead, it will be "totaled" and you will be given a check for the retail value -- usually, a lowball number. Rarely will you receive a check adequate to buy an equivalent vehicle.

........... (A 2002 NHTSA study found that "…nearly all vehicles more than seven years old are scrapped if they are involved in a crash in which their airbag deploys.")

(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: airbags; cars; government; insurance
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101 next last
To: Nervous Tick

Thank you for the information and advice.


41 posted on 02/27/2012 7:41:24 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 29 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

It’s a decision each of us have to make individually, a gamble. You lost unfortunately, but the car is still driveable and you are doing exactly what I would do, drive it till the wheels fall off,or put it on Craigslist for $4,000 and see if you get a customer.


42 posted on 02/27/2012 7:42:38 AM PST by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife
Aging air bag.


43 posted on 02/27/2012 7:43:24 AM PST by central_va ( I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Joe the Pimpernel

Thank you. That’s really a wide swing.


44 posted on 02/27/2012 7:43:34 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf
And, finally, we drive with our 19 lb Maltipoo on our lap. Wonder what would happen...

Can you say, "abstract art"?

45 posted on 02/27/2012 7:44:59 AM PST by dfwgator (Don't wake up in a roadside ditch. Get rid of Romney.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

>> And, finally, we drive with our 19 lb Maltipoo on our lap. Wonder what would happen...

My guess: you’d have a 17 pound Malti (that’s what you get when you subtract two pounds of poo from a 19 lb Maltipoo) compression-welded onto your abdomen. It would be like a beer gut that occasionally barks. :-)


46 posted on 02/27/2012 7:45:31 AM PST by Nervous Tick (Trust in God, but row away from the rocks!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf; Shimmer1

Deer hits car ping.


47 posted on 02/27/2012 7:45:54 AM PST by null and void (Day 1133 of America's ObamaVacation from reality [Heroes aren't made, Frank, they're cornered...])
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: Venturer
I thought at one time there was a law that bumpers had to be able to withstand a hit of 5 MPH, I don’t know what happened to that ruling, but todays plastic bumpers backed with styrofoam will not withstand anything without damage.

Manufacturers say those "bumpers" absorb the impact and not the people. ????

Then the people get soaked by the manufacturers for replacement parts.

48 posted on 02/27/2012 7:46:28 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife

49 posted on 02/27/2012 7:48:28 AM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet - Mater tua caligas gerit ;-{)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Venturer

I picked up all the pieces of the mirror housing and the mirror (which had not broken), used cuttings from a coke can as an internal skin with JBWeld and remanufactured the mirror housing, plugged in the electrical connections, snapped on the mirror, and the whole thing works great again - even the heater and electric adjustment. IOW, all damage is cosmetic. I’ll not be selling it. We put $1,200 into the AC just before our drive out here from Seattle in June. When the car is washed it STILL looks brand new from the right angles. ;-) And with that 100 mile a day commute, it is the perfect car to wear out. It’s comfortable, has butt warmers and leather seats, has a killer stereo, high performance package, everything works. It’s kinda nice getting pampered on my commute, actually. It gets about 27 mpg, which is acceptable. I’ll probably even replace the timing belt and water heater again at 190k, but I might do it myself like I did on my Lebaron convertible...


50 posted on 02/27/2012 7:49:34 AM PST by cuban leaf (Were doomed! Details at eleven.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Venturer

What do you do when the insurance company will not sell comprehensive coverage WITHOUT collision coverage? Both or none. It’s an association, farm bureau, with still better rates than anywhere else.

I also hate that they mandate social security numbers on all drivers to write us a policy period.


51 posted on 02/27/2012 7:49:45 AM PST by George from New England
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife

After absorbing the high cost of replacing my airbags once, I now disable (using the keyswitch) the passenger side AB on my F150, when I have no passengers.


52 posted on 02/27/2012 7:53:01 AM PST by jaydubya2
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Joe the Pimpernel

There is not enough statical evidence in the Universe to distinguish 99.999% and 100.000%.


53 posted on 02/27/2012 7:53:59 AM PST by Lonesome in Massachussets (Ceterum autem censeo, Obama delenda est.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Lonesome in Massachussets

I got an advertisement recently for a new vehicle (Acura I think) with TEN (10) airbags. C’mon — getting ridiculous.


54 posted on 02/27/2012 7:54:44 AM PST by George from New England
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife

Aren’t fenders (bumpers) required equipment?
............................................................

A piece of 2X6 makes a better bumper than the ones they put on cars today.


55 posted on 02/27/2012 7:55:33 AM PST by Venturer
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: JoeProBono

Oh my! Ohhhhh..


56 posted on 02/27/2012 7:56:06 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]

To: Cincinatus' Wife

I have respected Eric Peters in the past, but I don’t accept his word. The fact that he offers no evidence tells me he has none.


57 posted on 02/27/2012 7:56:53 AM PST by Atlas Sneezed (Author of BullionBible.com - Makes You a Precious Metal Expert, Guaranteed.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: cuban leaf

>> used cuttings from a coke can as an internal skin with JBWeld

Hey, that’s pretty clever. I think I’ll give that technique a try sometime!


58 posted on 02/27/2012 7:58:31 AM PST by Nervous Tick (Trust in God, but row away from the rocks!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: WestwardHo

I was in a head-on collision and believe the airbag probably saved my life .Yes ,I did have my belt/shoulder strap on.The other driver ran a red light at 50 to 60 mph ,both cars were totaled.All survived but bruised.When a local car dealer where I was shopping for a replacement car realized which crashed car I wanted to replace ,he and his employyee were amazed .They had seen my car after the crash and were sure the driver must have been killed.


59 posted on 02/27/2012 8:01:12 AM PST by hoosierham (Freedom isn't free)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

Comment #60 Removed by Moderator


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 101 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson