Your Car Is Smarter, But Fixing It Will Cost You
Key takeaways
- Today's vehicles are more reliable in many ways, but maintenance costs now include a lot of tech and driver-assist equipment that can be expensive to replace.
- Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) have moved from luxury to standard equipment in just a few years.
- Ten years ago, a stone chip that spread into a crack was annoying but less than $300 to fix.
Why this matters: an automotive development that could shape industry direction or buying decisions.
Today's vehicles are more reliable in many ways, but maintenance costs now include a lot of tech and driver-assist equipment that can be expensive to replace.
alvaro gonzalez|Getty Images. The advanced driver-assistance systems you'll find on modern cars provide many safety benefits, but they can also cost you in repair costs and insurance premiums.Something as common as a cracked windshield can become complicated and pricey because of special equipment needed.If you're shopping for a car, be aware of future expenses and talk to your repair shop and your insurer so you are prepared.Pull into any parking lot today and your car scans for pedestrians, measures the gap to the car ahead, and prepares to brake before you even lift your foot. Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) have moved from luxury to standard equipment in just a few years. They provide safety, but there's an uncomfortable side effect: when modern cars get damaged, fixing them can be very expensive, and that flows straight into your insurance premiums.
Ten years ago, a stone chip that spread into a crack was annoying but less than $300 to fix. Today, that same crack on a new vehicle can run over $1000, because behind the rearview mirror sit one or more cameras feeding your lane-keeping, automatic braking, and adaptive cruise systems. If the windshield is replaced without recalibrating the camera, then the ADAS will not work properly.