Slashdot Mirror
Tech To Blame For Ever-Growing Car Repair Costs, AAA Says (cnet.com)
A new study from AAA highlights the high repair costs associated with cars that have advanced safety technology. "[S]eemingly small damages to a vehicle's front end can incur costs nearing $3,000," CNET reports. From the report: The study looked at three solid sellers in multiple vehicle segments, including a small SUV, a midsize sedan and a pickup truck. It looked at repair costs using original equipment list prices and an established average for technician labor rates.
Let's use AAA's examples for some relatable horror stories. Mess up your rear bumper? Well, if you have ultrasonic parking sensors or radar back there, it could cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 to fix. Knock off a side mirror equipped with a camera as part of a surround-view system? $500 to $1,100. Windshields are especially tricky. People who own cars with windshields that have embedded heating elements already have to pony up hundreds of dollars to replace what you might think is just a piece of glass. Factor complex camera systems (like autobrake) into the mix, and not only do folks get hit with the windshield replacement, they possibly have to find a trained professional to recalibrate all that tech behind it.
Let's use AAA's examples for some relatable horror stories. Mess up your rear bumper? Well, if you have ultrasonic parking sensors or radar back there, it could cost anywhere from $500 to $2,000 to fix. Knock off a side mirror equipped with a camera as part of a surround-view system? $500 to $1,100. Windshields are especially tricky. People who own cars with windshields that have embedded heating elements already have to pony up hundreds of dollars to replace what you might think is just a piece of glass. Factor complex camera systems (like autobrake) into the mix, and not only do folks get hit with the windshield replacement, they possibly have to find a trained professional to recalibrate all that tech behind it.
So, you like a man tranny?
I know, $15 for the H4 led bulb (and possibly $20 for the glass), and a standard screw driver. Its getting so dang expensive to replace the headlight on my 48 year old car these days!
The 7 year old family car; I changed the bulb without any tools and I believe a two pack of bulbs for around $20.
p.s. - The bumpers on my car are real steel, not some fiberglass with foam backing. A few years ago someone backed into one of my bumpers and tore theirs all to shreds, mine just needed a little buffing to get the honda civic stain out.
The news I just heard is that we found the guy with the PT cruiser that hasn't rusted to shit, and actually still runs.
Slashdot still doesnâ(TM)t support Unicode after it was added to the HTML standard in 1997.
> I also drive an F250 Super Duty King Ranch ... YMMV
Your Mileage May Vary indeed.
It may vary between 10 mpg and 16 mpg.