Why is the bodywork of cars so fragile and then expensive to repair?

Question

With all the advances in car technology these last 30 years, why does the slightest knock (like from someone opening the door of the car parked next to it) or scrape from a bramble bush result in such an expensive repair job? Can car bodies not be made tougher, or is it just a racket for the car industry?

Answer 1

There's three big factors at work in the design of a modern automobile. Style, cost efficiency, and safety.

As far as style, take headlights for example. Look at cars from the early eighties, the seventies, the sixties--all the way back to the twenties. Nearly every car-- from a lowly Chevrolet all the way up to an expensive luxury car--had the same type of headlight as other cars of its era. In the eighties, it was the small square lights, in the sixties, it was the small round lights. In the forties and fifties, it was two big round lights. Go to a car lot now and compare. No two cars have the same headlights, they're custom made of plastic now, and owners simply replace the small halogen bulb instead of the entire headlight assembly. Today's headlights are designed to enhance the aerodynamics as well as the aesthetics of the car, which results in greater fuel efficiency. The cost of replacing a headlight is high because a relatively small number of each type are produced during a car's production run.

Also, in the seventies, the government started mandating certain crash ratings. Manufacturers were forced to develop "five-mph" bumpers that could withstand a low speed (five mph) impact without damage. Before that, car bumpers were made of heavy steel and chrome plated, they were held in place by rigid brackets. But the new requirements forced car makers to develop impact-absorbing brackets that would prevent damage at low speed. Eventually, the metal bumpers were replaced by plastic bumpers, much for the same reasons as headlights were replaced with custom units. Replacing the bumpers with plastic units had a couple of advantages--first, the weight reduction and ability to increase aerodynamic efficiency resulted in better fuel economy, and also allowed for even more resiliency during low-speed impacts.

You'd be amazed how resilient modern paints are. They can stretch and bend in remarkable ways before peeling or cracking. What happens is car manufacturers look at these properties in paints when deciding what materials to make body components out of. For example, the popularity of plastic bumper covers can be directly related to the fact that the paint will bend with the bumper during minor impacts. Of course, the paint is only as resilient as the primer base beneath it, and good primer costs quite a bit. And while it's easier to work with modern urethane paints, automotive painting is a hazardous profession that requires a lot of skill and specialized equipment. Paint is comprised of several components--the pigment, activator, reducer--which all contribute to the cost of paint job. Often, matching the new paint color with the car's existing finish requires expensive computerized equipment that takes the guess work out of color matching.

Back in the fifties, cars were rigid. There was little give in a crash. The force of an impact was distributed along the frame, which was built stiff and designed to give as little as possible under stress. People often think of these older cars as safer because of their heft when, in reality, they're not. Modern cars are designed to absorb as much of the impact of a crash as possible before it reaches the driver. In many cases, this means that the frame is divided into modular sections that are strategically weakened or shaped in such a way as to bend or break during a collision. This means that the car will suffer more damage during an accident, but that damage results in energy dissipation which means that the driver will be hurt far less than if the car was rigid. Even in minor accidents, these strategically weakened sections of the frame and unibody structure can bend and fail, necessitating expensive frame work or replacement before the car can be considered drivable again.

The metal used to build cars today is much thinner than metals used years ago. Up until the mid-seventies, the sheet metal used to make cars was thick enough to head, pound, and weld in order to fix dents and crash damage. This thicker metal was harder to dent and in some ways easier to fix. By the eighties, the metal used to build cars was very thin, thus easier to ding, dent, and damage. This thin metal has increased the fuel efficiency of automobiles by reducing weight, plus it lowered the cost of manufacturing the cars. However, it takes much more time and specialized equipment to repair. Often, it's significantly quicker and thus cheaper to replace an entire panel than to repair a small area of damage, simply because the metal is so hard to work with.

Another factor in the cost of automotive repair is insurance companies. Many body shop owners readily admit that with so many insurance companies willing to pay out on claims without auditing those claims, the shops stand to make a substantial profit for work done on insurance jobs. They can get away with billing for $30+ per hour and charge more for parts than they would with a private customer. Since there's typically never a shortage of insurance jobs, it doesn't make financial sense for a shop to take on a job for less money than they would otherwise make just because a client is paying out of pocket. This has created a market force by which the cost of getting work done is slowly but steadily increasing.

Car bodies can be made tougher, but the manufacturers have to weigh in so many other factors when designing cars. The bottom line, however, does come down to money. Until it's cheaper for them to manufacture more durable cars, they won't.

Answer 2

used to be...way back 'in the day', cars were made of steel everything. steel dont give very much, and was able to take a much harder hit before damage would show up.
then sometime in the mid-80's, cars started getting lighter from more aluminum, a-frame type bodies, and less-than-steel type bumpers....still didnt have airbags as 'standard' equipment on about 90% of the cars that u'd be able to afford.
now, the cars are more aluminum framewise, lighter weight sheet metal, and plastic bumpers. the biggest reason it costs so much to fix is: collapseable zones.

in the 40's to about 1982 or '83 vintage, car sections that got hit didnt collapse. now they do. they collapse to absorb the energy of the hit and keep as much of it out of the passenger compartment as possible, with the airbag as the final 'line of defense'. in the older cars, u might wind up havin the engine shoved in ur lap from the impact. now it gets forced down and away while the rest of the engine compartment and the front end basically breaks in half, and collapses absorbing all the impact.
the front is gonna be going from impact speed to zero in a split second, but the back of the car is still going to be at impact speed until all the energy of travel speed is dissapated.

Answer 3

I'm making good profit with penny stock. Check here http://trade-pennystock.checkhere.info

Many new investors are lured to the appeal of a penny stock due to the low price and potential for rapid growth which may be as high as several hundred percent in a few days. Similarly, severe loss can occur and many penny stocks lose all of their value in the long term. Accordingly, the SEC warns that penny stocks are high risk investments and new investors should be aware of the risks involved but you can even make very big money. These risks include limited liquidity, lack of financial reporting, and fraud. A penny stock is a common stock that trades for less than $5 a share. While penny stocks generally are quoted over-the-counter, such as on the OTC Bulletin Board or in the Pink Sheets, they may also trade on securities exchanges, including foreign securities exchanges. In addition, penny stocks include the securities of certain private companies with no active trading market. Although a penny stock is said to be "thinly traded," share volumes traded daily can be in the hundreds of millions for a sub-penny stock. Legitimate information on penny stock companies can be difficult to find and a stock can be easily manipulated.

Answer 4

There are the crumple zones as others have said to protect the occupants of the car. The body must also be designed to minimise injury to pedestrians in an accident. Then you've got modern paints eg metallic, pearlescent and so on.

The cost to a paint shop of setting up properly with an oven and the filters they must have by law to reduce emmisions is extortionate. A friend of mine runs one and he paid £20k for his oven.

Answer 5

Advances in technology have actually resulted in cars being designed to 'crumple' to protect passengers from heavy impact during collision. The trade off for this safety measure is a susceptibility to dings and dents.

Answer 6

I hear what you’re saying and acknowledge that its irritating. However, we have to understand that the emphasis is put on safety. i.e. the car body, aside from looking pretty/sporty etc, is designed to absorb impact. It does this by crumpling under impact. The cockpit integral structure is incredibly strong but will not protect the occupants from the shock of impact (whiplash, etc).

Answer 7

Cars today are built with 'crumple zones', which in the event of an accident, are designed to do just that 'crumple'. Apparently this will reduce injury to the occupants by cushioning the blow of impact.

Answer 8

Go to the store instead of shopping on-line.

Answer 9

3

Answer 10

2

Answer 11

1