The High Cost of Auto Repairs

[BlueBeacon]

Maintenance is important for Vehicle life............

[neartoshore]

Originally Posted by BrianLee

That's true. Regular maintenance is very important for long life of the vehicle. In my opinion, it is an investment rather than expense.

Great idea. I agree with you very much.

[elizabethadams]

I agree with ComEd123, routine check-up is necessary to avoid high cost car repair. To make the life span of your car last longer, you have to take extra care of your car. Cleaning it inside and out, change oil, tire check-up, and so on are needed.

[jjz109er]

I don't usually purchase extended warranties on products. If something is going to fail, it will most likely be under the manufacturers warranty. I've had 5 cars, 2 were new which includes my current ride, a 2011 Shelby Mustang GT500. This is the first car for which I have purchased a maintenance plan and a powertrain protection plan. Mainly because of the level of performance and the technical maintenance it requires. If you can afford it, it could be advantageous to pay up front for repairs you may face down the road and for regular maintenance.

[zzyzzx2]

The repair costs also seem high until you look at the prices of new cars that are so much higher in proportion to what they used to be.

[Johnnyx1257]

Had my cats replaced over 900 bucks

[zundapman]

IMHO automotive engineers should thake a big share of the blame for the current situation. Designs no longer take into account labor involved in the maintanance of the complex systems they put into cars and it has become intentionally difficult for the consumer to perform simple maintenance tasks. As a consequence, systems are often run until a major failure occurs rather than maintained as required.

[jeffabercrombie]

Originally Posted by Nilesh Jain

Maintenance is expensive but it is necessary too...

yeah , that's ture

[zzyzzx2]

Originally Posted by zundapman

IMHO automotive engineers should thake a big share of the blame for the current situation. Designs no longer take into account labor involved in the maintanance of the complex systems they put into cars and it has become intentionally difficult for the consumer to perform simple maintenance tasks. As a consequence, systems are often run until a major failure occurs rather than maintained as required.

It's most likely the bean counters preventing the engineers from making stuff simpler to fix. I bet the engineers want to make engine bays bigger, but the bean counters say that we can't make the hood 2" longer because the car will weigh a little more and cost $20 more to make.

[Intuit]

Originally Posted by GeorgeAdri

To give you an example. If I would not have the car insurance I would have to pay 500 bucks for the repairment of the rear bumper. I almost freaked out that time and I probably would for real if I wouldn't had the insurance with bennefits...

Greed actually has more to do with that.
It's not just the body shop repair industry.
The Healthcare industry including places that sell eyeglasses are another good example.

Companies generally have four radically different prices for what is largely the same service depending on whether the client is:
1) General consumer. (a.k.a. Joe Blow or Susie Que)
2) Business
3) Insurance
4) Government

The price is drastically higher from one to four, regardless of volume of product supplied, frequency of service rendered, or whether tax is included. Remember the $500 toilet seat ? http://hydeparkassociates.com/blog/?p=131 Greed is a major contributor toward the debt problems. (@ office-holders: *not* talking about the average govt worker and their unions you are a major problem not them)

[zundapman]

Originally Posted by zundapman

IMHO automotive engineers should thake a big share of the blame for the current situation. ...

I shouldn't bash the engineering profession alone, they have been able to significantly increase the median life cycle mileage for all levels of automotive systems. Big over the road trucks are now rated for up to a million miles with only simple routine maintenance. Consumer transport vehicles, even the cheapest, target at least 100,000 miles and many achieve 250,000 with "normal maintenance."

As a point of contrast, back in the early 1970's, my brother learned techniques for pouring babbit bearings, a core skill required of Model A Ford engine mechanics. The life expectancy for a rebuilt crankshaft with hand poured babbit with good routine maintenance is probably less than 40,000 miles since so many rebuilds are now being done by relatively untrained and inexperienced workers. Now many manufacturers warrant 100,000 miles on a power train which means that most if not all power trains can be expected with normal reqired fluid changes, to go that far without any major repair.