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The costs for spare parts and the work of car mechanics have been rising for years. Insurers and manufacturers want to keep costs within reasonable limits - and are working on improving repairability.
Car accident repairs can be really expensive, and workshop costs have recently increased further. It becomes particularly expensive if manufacturers do not pay careful attention to the later repairability of their vehicles during the design phase. In order to realize how expensive your dream car could cost you in an emergency, you don't have to be an expert yourself, but you can rely on the work of specialists like Christoph Lauterwasser. The former head of the
Allianz Center for Technology (AZT)
has spent decades working on the ease of repair of car models. It is the basis for the type class classification in motor vehicle insurance, which can change annually.
The AZT is something like the accident research department of the Allianz. In Ismaning near Munich, among other things, the crash tests are carried out, on the basis of which the vehicle insurance company makes its type classification. “To put it simply: We crash the car to see what breaks. “And then we calculate how expensive the repair will be,” says Lauterwasser, summarizing the principle. At the beginning of the year he handed over management of AZT to his successor Christian Sahr, but remains active as a consultant for the company.
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Type class has a high influence on the vehicle insurance premium
The crash tests carried out at the institute are designed in such a way that they depict typical damage such as that caused in simple rear-end collisions in city traffic. German insurers spend hundreds of millions of euros on regulation every year. Money that is ultimately collected from the insured. Especially for those who drive cars with poor type class ratings. “The type class has an enormous influence on the premium the customer pays. “The insurance costs in the least favorable type class can be 20 times higher than in the lowest – for car buyers it’s a lot of money,” says Lauterwasser. And that means for vehicle manufacturers that they have to make an effort to achieve reasonable results in the special crash tests that the AZT has developed together with international partners for new vehicle models.
Insurance companies are scientifically concerned with the repairability of cars
Crash test institutes like the AZT originated in the 1970s, when the number of cars across Europe increased sharply - and with it the number of damages and the total amount of repair costs. At that time, insurance companies still calculated premiums in a rudimentary manner, which soon turned out to be a financial risk given the constantly increasing volume of insured vehicles. So the insurance companies began to systematically and scientifically address the issue of repairability and carry out their own tests. The results also interested the manufacturers, who from then on at least partially paid attention to the subsequent accident performance when developing the vehicles.
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Repairs to cars have recently become increasingly complex and costly
Crash tests became more widely known to the public in the 1990s, when the safety organization EuroNCAP started its tests. In contrast to the AZT tests, the focus was primarily on occupant safety, which then became increasingly important as a selling point. This also had an impact on repairability, as increasingly strong and high-strength steels were incorporated into the bodies, which, after damage, could no longer simply be welded but had to be glued or riveted. And lifesavers like airbags and ESP also drive up repair costs when they need to be replaced. A development that has gained momentum in recent years with the introduction of increasingly sophisticated active safety systems with sensitive radar and camera sensors.
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Accidents have been happening as long as cars have existed - but repairs are becoming more and more expensive. (Symbolic image) © Pond5 Images/Imago
Manufacturer strives to be repair-friendly
After some spikes in the 1970s and 1990s, vehicle insurance premiums have recently reached record highs again. In addition to inflation and high raw material costs, the increasing technical complexity of vehicles also plays a role. In recent decades, manufacturers have been quite successful in making vehicles easier to repair. Lauterwasser cites the introduction of so-called section repairs as an example. In the past, damaged side members had to be completely removed up to the firewall, which was usually not possible without removing the entire engine.
So-called crash boxes are intended to simplify repairs
The fact that many things are much easier to repair today is also due to the so-called crash boxes, which can now be found in almost all new cars. These are a type of predetermined breaking points in the front of the vehicle that are easily replaceable and absorb energy in the event of a collision in order to prevent structural parts from deforming. In a car without a crash box, such as a VW Golf II, a simple rear-end collision can cause deformation from the B-pillar to the roof, which can quickly result in a total loss. With a current Golf VIII, however, the damage is limited to the front of the vehicle.
The challenge of electric cars: average damage is around 30 percent more expensive than with combustion engines
A current challenge for motor vehicle insurance is the electric car. “What we see is that the average damage to electric vehicles is around 30 percent more expensive than to combustion engines. There are different drivers. In addition to costly damage to the battery, we also see that the workshops sometimes charge significantly higher hourly rates,” says Lauterwasser.
Warning systems for damaged batteries in “critical condition”
In addition, in the event of an accident, there is a risk of a delayed battery fire, which means that the batteries have to be secured and quarantined at great expense - with corresponding storage costs. The alliance has therefore long been calling for warning systems that activate automatically when a damaged battery reaches a critical condition. “There are various technical approaches, such as detecting conductive gases, which would have to be further developed and brought into the vehicle. This could be used to warn the experts involved, such as workshops, tow trucks or fire departments,” explains Lauterwasser.
Lauterwasser: “I don’t think there will ever be zero euro crashes”
The expert also has suggestions on how repairing accident damage could become cheaper and more sustainable. “Repairs are often much cheaper than replacing parts. You don't have to buy a new spare part and you can often make repairs without having to dismantle or remove the part, which saves working time." He cites the repair of scratched headlights as a specific example. Polishing and painting are not allowed in this country - instead, the entire unit has to be replaced, which quickly adds up to four-digit amounts. “In my opinion, people in Germany should think again about allowing such repairs. There’s nothing wrong with it for safety reasons,” says Lauterwasser, who, however, recognizes clear limits to reducing repair costs. “I don’t think there will ever be zero euro crashes. If an accident occurs, there will always be a certain amount of damage. But it can be made more or less tolerable. I rather believe that future safety systems can prevent even more accidents.”
(Holger Holzer/SP-X)