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They frequently do for more expensive repairs, e.g. a $3k transmission replacement. An oil change is $100, vs tens of thousands for the car, or less than 1% th

They frequently do for more expensive repairs, e.g. a $3k transmission replacement. An oil change is $100, vs tens of thousands for the car, or less than 1% the cost. Batteries on the hand are over $100 to replace for a phone that was likely only $1k brand new and now worth only a small fraction of that.

Wowfunhappy 4y ago
Thanks, I don't drive and always get screwed up when I try to use car metaphors. But your transmission replacement is a better example: A $3K repair for a $10K car is 30% of the car's value, so much more than a $100 battery replacement for a $500 phone. (And, I've had shops replace my phone's battery for less than $50.)
- zenexer 4y ago
  A transmission repair is not a normal repair you should expect to experience unless your car is quite old, though. I've never owned a new car, and I've never had a transmission die on me. By the time it's getting close to that point, the whole care is on life support anyway. Any regular repair a normal car needs is probably something the average person can do with little to no technical knowledge. Changing the battery, headlights, or oil in your car is trivial compared to changing the battery in most phones. That's a subjective assessment, but I think I'm a fairly average person when it comes to repairing phones and cars: I don't do either on a regular basis and have no special experience that would enable me to do either type of repair better than the average person. I'm good at breaking phones when I try to replace batteries, but I have yet to break a car when changing the oil or headlights. I shouldn't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components--I don't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components. I shouldn't need to take my phone to a shop to replace disposable components, yet here we are. I can try to do it myself, but I guarantee if I try to replace the battery in my Nexus 6P or first-gen Pixel, I'll crack the screen. Even repair shops probably have high failure rates on battery replacements for those two devices.

Wowfunhappy 4y ago

Thanks, I don't drive and always get screwed up when I try to use car metaphors. But your transmission replacement is a better example: A $3K repair for a $10K car is 30% of the car's value, so much more than a $100 battery replacement for a $500 phone. (And, I've had shops replace my phone's battery for less than $50.)

zenexer 4y ago
A transmission repair is not a normal repair you should expect to experience unless your car is quite old, though. I've never owned a new car, and I've never had a transmission die on me. By the time it's getting close to that point, the whole care is on life support anyway. Any regular repair a normal car needs is probably something the average person can do with little to no technical knowledge. Changing the battery, headlights, or oil in your car is trivial compared to changing the battery in most phones. That's a subjective assessment, but I think I'm a fairly average person when it comes to repairing phones and cars: I don't do either on a regular basis and have no special experience that would enable me to do either type of repair better than the average person. I'm good at breaking phones when I try to replace batteries, but I have yet to break a car when changing the oil or headlights. I shouldn't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components--I don't need to take my car to a shop to replace disposable components. I shouldn't need to take my phone to a shop to replace disposable components, yet here we are. I can try to do it myself, but I guarantee if I try to replace the battery in my Nexus 6P or first-gen Pixel, I'll crack the screen. Even repair shops probably have high failure rates on battery replacements for those two devices.