AGCO Automotive Repair Service - Baton Rouge, LA - Detailed Auto Topics

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The Cost of Modern Vehicle Technology

More and more automakers are turning to hi-tech gadgets to lure buyers. Almost no thought is given to cost/benefit. More than ever car buyers need to be extremely wary. High tech can easily turn into high cost, quicker than you might imagine.

Price is not the same as cost, maintenance and repair must be factored in

Before most reasonable people part with their hard-earned money, they weight benefit, relative to the cost. For instance, when I make a purchase I try to weigh the cost against my need/desire and my other options. I will not buy a 24 carrot gold coffee cup, because the cost far outweighs any benefit.

Car makers seem to have lost sight of this. Vehicles that recognize speech, have hard drives, touch screen controls and exotic navigation systems are commonplace. Highly technical devices also tend to break and when they do command absurd prices to repair.

For instance, voice recognition modules may cost thousands to replace. An onboard hard-drive can easily cost over a thousand dollars. The cost of maintaining these gadgets can be staggering.

Modules control interior lighting, outside mirrors and even power windows. These can easily cost over $500.00 and require special programming to replace and they break a lot.

HID headlights are very expensive to replace

Even less obvious features, like HID headlights can be obscenely expensive. A replacement headlamp assembly for a Lincoln LS can cost over $2500.00 per side. Headlamp bulbs in the $250.00 range are fairly common and some require removal of the bumper to replace.

maintaining new automotive technology can be very expensive

Twenty inch and even larger tires offer no real benefit, other than styling. Very tall tires can easily cost over $300.00 per tire to replace. Vehicle traction control is a feature most people do not realize is even on their vehicle, until the service traction control light pops on. It may cost several hundred to several thousand dollars to repair.

General Motors and others are also specifying very expensive oils and replacement fluids in their newer vehicles. Dexos motor oil is required in all 2011 and newer GM products. Dexos and it’s equivalent oils is not cheap, normally around $8.00 to $10.00 a quart. Not using the specified oil will void the vehicles warranty.

Over priced extended warranties, full of loop holes are also of little help. These companies are professionals at making money off of policy holders. They collect the money up front and every claim they deny increases their profit. What sounds very good up front may prove an expensive disappointment when it comes to collecting on a claim.

Perhaps automakers feel the dependable basic transportation of yesterday lasted too long. Maybe they simply feel people will buy what they offer. There are fewer and fewer options. The days of a vehicle giving years of low cost service may soon be behind us?

Post or Read Comments (1)

Junebug - August 16, 2012
Louis, I am going through your Detailed Topics and really enjoying them. But I have to comment on this one. You start out by saying that the high technology in new cars is too expensive and offers little benefit. I have to agree that systems that parallel park the car, automatically apply the brakes, and respond to voice commands only create lazy drivers. But safety systems like ABS, vehicle stability control, electronic brake force distribution, and advanced SRS are worth every penny. Do they make the car safer? Absolutely. Do they make the car more expensive? Not necessarily. When these systems first come out, they are reserved for expensive luxury cars. But after a few years, these systems tend to trickle down to even the economy cars. Take my 1996 Nissan for example. I bought it new and it cost a little over $28K. It came with a V6, 4-wheel disc brakes, and 2 airbags. No ABS, as that was an expensive option. Compare that to my 2008 Toyota which also cost a little over $28K. It came with a larger V6 with variable valve timing, 4-wheel disc brakes with ABS, EBD, VSC, LSD, traction control, and 8 airbags. It's clearly a safer car than one made 12 years earlier for about the same price. Now I knew that all this technology would be expensive to repair, and so did the dealership. When I bought the car, they tried to sell me an extended warranty for something like $1800. Having done my homework, I knew that the exact same warranty could be bought from another Toyota dealer in Kansas for $659, and I could buy it any time before my 3yr./36,000 mile factory warranty expired. So I waited until about a month before my 3/36 was up and I bought the warranty. For less than the price of a rebuilt alternator from the discount parts store I'm covered until the end of 2016. I'm betting Toyota that between now and then, something will break and cost more than $659 to repair. I consider this cheap insurance. Now I must stress that this is the Toyota factory extended warranty with 0 deductible, not some aftermarket fly by night warranty. For most things like electronics or appliances, I agree, an extended warranty is a waste of money. But if I can get the factory extended warranty for a good price, it makes sense to protect my $28K investment and avoid a huge repair bill in the future. An extended warranty on a car isn't automatically a bad deal IF you do your homework.

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