Automobile Cost of Ownership

Comments

• yogibearbull

  June 26

  I recently changed auto insurance because the previous insurer kept raising premiums and was no longer competitive in my state.
  
  So, I shopped around and found a major insurer with much lower premium.
  
  I thought I was pretty smart!
  
  Now, on 6-mo renewal, my premium is up +16% ! The Fed is worried about inflation in 2-3%.
  
  I should have known - lure new customers with low initial quotes & then raise premium immediately.
• TheShadow

  June 26

  This was originally published in WSJ. There is another related article about the cost of replacing headlights. There was an Audi with specialized headlights which cost several thousands of dollars to replace.
• msf

  June 26

  The cost to fix damaged cars has increased by 28% since 2021.
  Seemingly minor damage to vehicles
  
  Tell me about it. I recently was in a fender bender (my fault, first time in over two decades and I wasn't at fault for that earlier one). 2MPH. Front fender dented, minor scratch to side mirror and some scratches along side of car (more dust than scratches). Cost to repair? Almost $7K.
  
  Fortunately I never dropped my collision insurance. And after 5 years without accidents, I supposedly have accident forgiveness. I'll see what my premium is in six months.
  
  The shop did a magnificent job, and they were really helpful. (And I feel sorry for the workers who did the repairs in near 100 degree heat.) Still, numbers like this show why insurance costs are so high.
  
  (This happened one block from home. Statistics show that 75% of accidents occur within 25 miles of home, 52% within five miles. I've made the grade, I'm another statistic.)
  https://hutzlerlaw.com/what-percentage-of-car-accidents-happen-close-to-home/
• yogibearbull

  June 26 edited June 26

  Many products these days are unrepairable or hard to repair. Some cheap TVs are all sealed and you cannot even open it to check or fix anything.
  
  This is slowly getting to cars too.
  
  I have read that in many car models, to replace the headlights, they have to disassemble the entire front portion and then put it back. So, that's what adds to the time and labor.
  
  I had a car once that had a difficult access for battery and required special tools to replace it.
  
  Even DIY oil changes in some cars are tricky.
• Sven

  June 26

  Part cost contributed to higher insurance this year. Our 12-month premium increased 7%.
  
  Many auto parks came from overseas, Higher cost today due to tariffs, easily 10+%, and they were passed to the customers. My auto mechanic confirmed that. Labor rate at show stay flattening. Only materials produced domestically are oils (especially synthetics), and some hydraulic fluids.
  
  EVs accidents that damage the battery cells located on the floor may get the vehicle totaled. Many insurance companies do not want to replace the entire battery. OEM Tesla battery cost $20-25K.
  
  “Bait-and-switch” is common among insurance companies. We have hand the same scenario as @yogibb above.
• Mark

  June 26

  YBB said "I have read that in many car models, to replace the headlights, they have to disassemble the entire front portion and then put it back. So, that's what adds to the time and labor."
  
  I can vouch for that. Had to replace a passenger side headlamp bulb in a 2009 Silverado.
  It took over an hour and a half, many cuss words, and a few shredded knuckles. FWIW I replaced the driver side bulb in 10-15 min just 6 mo earlier.
• DrVenture

  June 26

  TheShadow said:

  This was originally published in WSJ. There is another related article about the cost of replacing headlights. There was an Audi with specialized headlights which cost several thousands of dollars to replace.

  This is why it is very easy to mechanically "total" a car. Some expensive parts, some very expensive labor and some hidden damage and a 3 year old car is hardly worth fixing in many cases.
  
  OTOH, the likelihood you would need to replace a headlight assembly, sans a collision, is really low. BUT, most people would be surprised to discover that many automotive parts are not plug-and-play. They require being implemented (coded) into the car's software upon replacement. Another cost, that requires manufacturer's software/equipment. The reason is that many parts have discrete controllers (processors) built into them, with unique calibrations or identities.
  
  As to the aforementioned Audi headlights - these are really amazing for sure. They can identify an oncoming car and rather than turn off the high-beams, they only dim the portion that is aimed directly at the oncoming vehicle. This allows you to still see your path while driving at night. And not blind oncoming drivers. It is called variable-light-distribution, and extremely helpful to older drivers, in particular. Usually, it is only equipped on the higher end vehicles in the lineup. We are talking $100K+ Audis, etc.
  
  I know, TMI. Hey, I am a car guy.
  
  
• DrVenture

  June 26

  yogibearbull said:

  Many products these days are unrepairable or hard to repair. Some cheap TVs are all sealed and you cannot even open it to check or fix anything.
  
  This is slowly getting to cars too.
  
  I have read that in many car models, to replace the headlights, they have to disassemble the entire front portion and then put it back. So, that's what adds to the time and labor.
  
  I had a car once that had a difficult access for battery and required special tools to replace it.
  
  Even DIY oil changes in some cars are tricky.

  To be fair "the entire front end" is mainly a plastic facade (bumper cover) that can be removed in about 15 minutes if you know where the fasteners are located.
  
  And even if you could open that cheap TV, there would be nothing inside you could fix. Just a couple circuit boards, with very minute components baked on. Though I did help a neighbor replace a soldered-in-place fuse on a cheap TV, that got taken out in a lightening event a few years ago.
  
  Most people do not want to hear it, but things like TVs are basically obsolete in about 6-8 years nowadays. I had a 10 year old TV that failed (again lightning). I was not sad to see it go, all the smart functions were basically useless. The world had moved on from the hardware embedded inside, years ago.
  
• hank

  June 26 edited June 26

  Somewhat related - I wasn’t happy with the headlights on the last car. Did some research and learned that it had reflector headlights, whereas more expensive cars have projector headlights known to be brighter. New car has projector lights. Better.
  
  More and more idiots on the highways tailgating and pulling out into traffic. This has to increase accident rates and cost of auto insurance for everyone. In addition to struggling to make payments on their big rolling houses these folks are likely paying enormous insurance costs related to moving violations or accidents.
  
  Michigan expressways are now posted 75 MPH. Many are driving 85 +. I don't mind as long as they’re sober and know what they’re doing. Small mistakes are amplified at those speeds.
• Observant1

  June 26 edited June 26

  yogibearbull said:

  I recently changed auto insurance because the previous insurer kept raising premiums
  and was no longer competitive in my state.
  So, I shopped around and found a major insurer with much lower premium.
  I thought I was pretty smart!
  Now, on 6-mo renewal, my premium is up +16% !
  [snip]
  

  I've had similar experiences on several occasions.
  I shopped around and found auto insurance with low premiums.
  Twelve to 18 months later, premiums increased significantly above the initial amount
  and were no longer competitive.
• Observant1

  June 26 edited June 26

  "I recently was in a fender bender (my fault, first time in over two decades and I wasn't at fault for that earlier one). 2MPH. Front fender dented, minor scratch to side mirror and some scratches along side of car
  (more dust than scratches). Cost to repair? Almost $7K."
  
  That's crazy!
  Since it's become so expensive to repair damaged vehicles,
  it's not surprising that insurance companies often opt to "total" them instead.
• DrVenture

  June 26 edited June 26

  One thing to take into consideration is that what may appear to be mere scratches on the paint, can require a respray (and all the associated prep) to make undetectable. Scratches that are not all the way through the clear coat can be polished out. Even by a talented amateur. Scratches into the base coat and/or primer will require a respray. Depending on the car's color, the whole side may need to be resprayed, so that there is no obvious mismatch between panels in different lighting conditions. In that case, trim needs removal, the whole car masked off against overspray, then sand, repair, two coats of base and then clear coat, followed by a wet sand, polish and reassembly. All by skilled professionals.
• Derf

  June 26

  DO you think any of these totaled autos are snapped up at bargain prices & sent else where to be fix. When we head deep into TX. , it's not a surprise to see a line of older models heading to Mexico to be fixed.
  A few years back I met a person who bought damaged Mercedes. Once purchased they were sent over seas to be repaired at lower cost & resold. Hard to believe he made his living this way.
• DrVenture

  June 26 edited June 26

  No doubt that some end up in foreign countries where they can be cobbled back together. Places where they pay no attention to the myriad check engine (money) lights on the dash, or the missing airbags. And a Carfax with bad juju is merely an after thought.
  
  Some go to stateside auctions for purchase and repair by enterprising individuals. Keeping in mind that a branded (salvage/flood) title will reduce a car's value precipitously. In certain cases, a car repaired with parts from other wrecked cars, will need to be re-programmed by the manufacturer. Who can, at will, refuse to do the programming. This can render the car completely inoperable. All the various modules have to play nicely together or anti-theft systems can refuse to allow the car to be started. This is part of the reason that flood cars are an absolute nightmare - instantly totalled.
  
  Things like this are why one can sometimes find an exotic car at auction for a tiny fraction of its original cost. As the poet Forest Gump once said, "Auction cars are like a box of chocolates...".
• shipwreckedandalone

  June 26

  I personally believe AV's will replace individual car ownership at some point. They need to get pick up response time down to less than 10 minutes. Once the industry is mature, it will be a cost comparison exercise which will be too tempting. No more vandalism worries, long waits at Discount Tire and added home floor space less the garage.
• Sven

  1:01AM

  Forest Gump once said, "Auction cars are like a box of chocolates..."

  That is so true! Cars are expensive to own and to maintain. We like to pay cash for new Honda and Toyota every 20 years. Leasing and financing to own are not worth it. To us having a reliable car is essential for work and travel. Our insurance policy still creeps up even we have clean record on accidents and traffic violations.
  
• Old_Joe

  10:44AM

  Same here.