How much will maintaining a high tech car cost you?

How much will it cost you to maintain the high tech bells and whistles in a modern luxury car? That's the question asked by Kate McLeod of Forbes. Her report opens with the story of Jennifer Matthews, who had to pay $6,000 to replace navigation system in here Lexus after the dog flew into it under hard braking. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. What happens if other delicate electronics like your rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, radar sensors or keyless systems get damaged? Replacing a rear camera, for example, is $4,000. According to the Highway Loss Data Institute, other common expensive components to replace include: Xenon headlights ($1,600), (up to $3,700), adaptive headlights ($2000), power-heated turn-signal side mirrors ($443), and reverse/parking-assists ($900).





Many of the above prices don't include the cost of labor.

Why are some of these component so expensive? Often, it's due to the fact that they are integrated to other systems, or modular in design. For example, cracking the glass on many Xenon headlights means the whole unit must be replace. Or, in the case of Ms. Matthews, a damaged navigation system screen meant the entire computer-screen combo had to be replaced.

But minor accidents are only part of the equation. What happens when these gadget-filled cars go out of warranty? Already, certain types of repairs to old cars end up exceeding the value of the car itself. Will delicate high-tech parts make some luxury cars worthless down the road? Maybe not, but we suspect there will be a lot of 745s with broken iDrives that never get fixed.

Which begs the question: are automakers doing enough to keep the cost of high-tech parts down, and to make replacing them easier? Recently, a consumer group accused automakers of gouging the prices for replacement digital keys. The so-called smart keys can cost between $150 and $300 to replace. Moreover, as previously mentioned, many integrated parts are expensive to repair. Should a car need a new computer just because it needs a new key? Should the navigation screen be integrated to the processing unit? Should it be impossible to replace the glass cover on Xenon headlight units? This type of manufacturing might save the automaker money at the factory, but it certainly doesn't help consumers.

Another issue raised by McLeod is crashes. The cost of replacing airbags can be very high in minor accidents. However, the benefit of such technologies outweighs the costs associated with them. The best automakers can do is ensure these devices never deploy unless they are absolutely needed. And in recent years, they have done well in this regard.

Of course, when it comes to high repair costs, gadgets aren't the only problem. High-tech manufacturing methods can also be very costly. In October, we cited an LA Times report that looked at BMW's construction methods that can make for costly fender-benders.

For example, the new BMW 5-series and 6-series models are constructed with "many of the same techniques you might find at the Northrop Grumman F-18 assembly plant in El Segundo."? These new cars use rivets, epoxy adhesives and aluminum structures in the front end to save weight.

The BMW system features an aluminum firewall and aluminum frame rails that extend forward, all riveted and glued to the rest of the car's steel structure. The entire front structure weighs just 100 pounds, giving the car a perfect 50/50 weight distribution.

Unfortunately, due to the limitations of aluminum, if the front end of one of these new Bimmers gets tweaked by more than a millimeter in a relatively light front collision, the entire front structure might need to be replaced.

The Leftlane Persprctive: In the end, technology has undoubtedly made cars much, much better. However, we think automakers could do a better job of making these gadgets easier to fix. We also think automakers should consider whether motorizing and digitizing every aspect of a car is necessary.

Kate McLeod's article: Full report at Forbes.