Minor Fender Bender? That Will Be $42,000, Please
The complexity of modern vehicles is inflating auto-repair bills.
When car insurance and auto-repair bills were much, much cheaper.
Photograph: Hulton Archive via Getty Images
Modern cars are marvelous, except when they need fixing — in which case the bill for even a seemingly minor dent can easily reach four or even five figures. Consumers and fleet owners are being stuck with huge repair bills while auto insurers are hiking premiums. Regrettably, this type of inflation could prove very sticky.
There isn’t a simple explanation for why car insurance prices have suddenly gone through the roof: Soaring used car values, an uptick in dangerous driving, rising theft, spare part and technician shortages have all contributed to insurers’ burgeoning losses. Another less-explored issue is the increasing complexity of fixing vehicles; and, unlike some of those other factors, that won’t change once supply chains and labor markets revert to normal.