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I agree. They also are the reason most cars now involved in an collision where one goes off are totaled. We're a lot safer, with respect to potential fatality
by bbarn 9y ago
I agree. They also are the reason most cars now involved in an collision where one goes off are totaled. We're a lot safer, with respect to potential fatality level crashes, but minor collisions that used to be a few hundred bucks at the body shop are now vehicle ending affairs.
- flamedoge 9y agowhy does it need to be totaled?
- otterley 9y ago"Totaled" is just a term of art in the insurance industry. It means that the cost to restore the vehicle is greater than its as-repaired street value. It doesn't mean that the vehicle has to be destroyed; it just means the insurer will only give you the fair market value of the vehicle as though you sold it used immediately before the accident, instead of paying for it to be repaired. The problem, though, is that when an insurance company does that, it colors the title of the vehicle (e.g. "salvage title"), which makes it harder to sell and reduces its resale value.
- ssambros 9y agoBut doesn't the vehicle become the property of the insurance company after the payout?
- ams6110 9y agoNo, you generally can buy it back for the scrap value.
- macintux 9y agoBut that means the answer to the question as posed is "yes".
- mcguire 9y agoYes. They in turn sell it, where one of two things happens. * It is parted out for spares for other cars. * Someone actually repairs and resells it. This is one of the things you have to look out for when buying a used car. It may not be difficult to repair it cosmetically, but crumple zones are one use only.
- computerex 9y agoBecause resetting the airbags can cost several thousands of dollars.
- Phlarp 9y agoTwo deployed airbags in a moderate (but not life threatening) crash likely cost $1000 each to replace, in addition to whatever other damage has been done to the vehicle.
- beat 9y agoWhich is considerably cheaper than the medical costs incurred by bouncing your face off the dashboard.
- lostlogin 9y agoAnd vastly greater than the cost of adding airbags to the car at production time.
- beat 9y agoFirst, actually adding airbags does not add thousands of dollars to the cost of a car. Hundreds, maybe. Second, I will gladly pay extra for such a highly effective safety feature. Third, I'm quite certain the medical costs saved by airbags every year will more than offset the cost of installing them on every new car. And that's just cold calculation, without bringing the moral value into it.
- lostlogin 9y agoI hope you don't think I am anti airbags, I'm not.
- 542458 9y ago> minor collisions that used to be a few hundred bucks at the body shop are now vehicle ending affairs. It's worth noting that a lot of this is due to massively improved crumple zone technology - older cars have smaller and sturdier crumple zones, meaning the cars drive away from accidents more intact (although the human being inside might be pretty messed up). New cars take much more damage in relatively small accidents to disperse as much energy as possible. Bad for resale value, but good for human survival.
- maxerickson 9y agoIt's not really the amount of energy dispersed, it's the time it takes it to happen. It's usually the kinetic energy of the body that needs to be dissipated, modestly increasing the time it takes that to happen dramatically decreases the forces involved.
- brudgers 9y agoI've got good news and bad news. OK, give me the bad news. He's dead, Jim. What's the good news? The insurance company didnt total the car!
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoMaybe wear your seatbelt next time.