> It's insane that these cars are designed in such a way that even minor fender benders cost tens of thousands to repair. Twenty years ago I paid about $2000 -

> It's insane that these cars are designed in such a way that even minor fender benders cost tens of thousands to repair. Twenty years ago I paid about $2000 - not inflation-adjusted, that figure - to put a new bumper on an Audi whose owner, looking back, no doubt had much better reason than I to leave our respective insurance companies out of the matter. At the time it was a shocking amount. These days, even the inflation-adjusted equivalent - nearly five grand! - seems like something a lot of car owners are happy, or at least willing, to swallow.