Expensive Safety Tech Means More Totaled Cars

You know all those radar sensors, cameras and other super advanced technologies on your new car that make you feel safe. Not only do they help you avoid accidents, they’re making it easier than ever to total out your car.

Automotive News just ran a piece highlighting this problem, which has been the subject of quite a few industry publications for a few years. For example, if you damage a taillight that has safety sensors embedded in it, the cost of replacement can be multiple times higher than for a regular taillight.

As is pointed out in the article, airbags are one of the biggest culprits. Automakers are cramming more and more into cars, inflating the cost of their deployment. If your fender bender triggers the airbags, while body damage might only be $1,00 or so to repair, replacing multiple airbags could run several thousand dollars, depending.

Even more infuriating is if you get in a crash and you have defective Takata airbags that you’re waiting on to have replaced, your vehicle might be totaled just for that reason. Insurance companies are trying to eliminate the risks of shrapnel-shooting airbags, and you can’t really blame them since it could be your life on the line. But it’s still frustrating.

Salvage yards are raking in the dough, thanks to this problem. Maybe it’s time to get into that business?