The Tech That Keeps You from Totaling Your Car Might Actually Total It Easier in a Crash Stef Schrader - Jalopnik
go to original May 24, 2017

Getting Used to the New Automobile Technology: Buyers who have held on to their cars for a long time may feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle when they shop for a new one. (The New York Times)

How’s this for a catch-22? Automakers are including more complicated safety features such lane departure warning systems, automatic emergency braking and more airbags that are intended to keep you safe in the event of a crash, or in some cases, keep you from crashing entirely. But if you do crash, your car’s probably going to get totaled a lot easier, as modern-day safety features are a lot more expensive.

Senior vice president of insurance underwriter Risk Theory Bob Tschippert told Automotive News:

In the past, if you had a front-end collision, you had damage to the engine or the front end. But now, with the number of airbags that can run from $1,000 up to $4,000 and all the sensors up front, you’re seeing more totals.

The more expensive each component is to replace, the more the total for repairs nears the point at which an insurance company deems your car less expensive to junk than it is to repair.

The gigantic Takata airbag recall backlog has thrown another wrench in the system. Insurance companies are more prone to declare a vehicle with unreplaced Takata airbags a total loss in hopes of speeding up that recall process.

At least salvage auctions and junkyards are making bank on this problem. The amount of vehicles totaled by natural disasters has dropped over the past 10 years, but Americans driving more (with more expensive tech in new cars, no less) has more than made up for it.

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