“But they said it would save me money….”
There are such fascinating technological changes occurring. Each day brings something new. I am old enough to remember when you actually had to wind up a window and if it was cold, you actually had to scrape the ice off your mirror. Now? The average American car is over $35,000. Why? Technology.
Bumpers that used to cost $400 now cost $2,400 with all of the sensors and built in safety features. Mirrors that used to cost $75 now cost $1,800. Why? Heaters, motors, blind spot detectors. Windshields used to cost $375, and we just paid $4,400 for one that needed to be at the dealer for 3 days to adjust the accident avoidance sensors in the new windshield.
If the you are told that all of this new technology will save you money on your car insurance, it may not be accurate. Some of this technology makes our lives easier like a mirror with a heater and motor in it. This doesn’t save you any money, it just increases the cost of the repair.
Insurance, like baseball, loves statistics. Some of this technology is so new, there just isn’t enough information for any insurance company to gauge its effectiveness at helping to avoid accidents. Even then, the technology doesn’t prevent the deer from running into you, the tree or hail from falling on the car, and it certainly doesn’t prevent the car without the technology from causing the accident.
Will all of this help in the future? Probably. Will it help right now? Not all of it, and in some cases it is just going to make insuring cars more expensive. Questions about the impact to the cost of your insurance when buying a new car? Just call us and we can review all of that for you.