[HN Gopher] High-Tech Cars Are Killing the Auto Repair Shop
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High-Tech Cars Are Killing the Auto Repair Shop
Author : elorant
Score : 18 points
Date : 2022-10-25 19:59 UTC (3 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (www.wired.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (www.wired.com)
| xhkkffbf wrote:
| I would definitely encourage everyone here to get an OBD-II
| dongle that connects via Bluetooth to a phone app like Torque.
| Saved me a fortune and helped me understand just what needs to be
| fixed. I don't know why these OBD-II codes aren't available
| through the dashboard touchscreen, but that's another rant.
| jbverschoor wrote:
| And car repair shops killed consumer trust in these kind of
| shops.
| bioemerl wrote:
| Why do you say that? People largely trust dealers and official
| repair way less than third party shops.
| [deleted]
| carrotcarrot wrote:
| I'm sticking with my used 2007 Camry. Easy to repair, engine runs
| fine, insurance is cheap... These new features are overrated.
| neuralRiot wrote:
| Consumers increasingly prioritized features over quality now
| they're surprised when cars last less and repairs cost more.
| carrotcarrot wrote:
| Quality is revealed over the lifetime of the vehicle, not on
| the showroom floor like features are. And quality cars tend to
| last longer, they're not a great investment for manufacturers.
| Besides, how are features and quality zero-sum? Can't you have
| both? These fancy features still make cars difficult to repair.
| fckgw wrote:
| Cars last longer than ever. 50 years ago the average lifetime
| of a car was around 100k miles and now it's more than double
| that. We have more complexity in the creature comforts like A/C
| systems, but cars are, on the whole, way better built than they
| were in the past.
| anm89 wrote:
| Do they? I tried to buy a new car last year and gave up. They
| try so hard to push all the BS feature packages on you that
| they won't actually just sell you the car you want.
|
| So the base car costs 26k. It only comes in Orange. But if you
| don't want it in orange and you want us to remove the interior
| fart smell package you are going to have to upgrade to the
| metaverse deluxe package that replaces all the windshields with
| a vr set. Unless you are a fucking moron and you can't afford
| the upgrade to 48k and you are too stupid to understand how
| great replacing every functional thing in the car with a
| touchscreen is. Then just order the orange one from the factory
| and we'll deliver it in 2026.
|
| Ok, whatever, I'll keep my 2011 Mazda that I want to get rid of
| but will still run for another 20 years if I change the oil
| once a decade
| mikestew wrote:
| And just when, at your best approximation, did consumers have
| an opportunity to vote on the issue? Oh, sure, "vote with your
| wallet" when there's a distinct dividing line between "quality"
| brand over here, and "feature" brand over here. And I would be
| negligent not to point out that you haven't even made the case
| for autos being of lower quality than in the past. Evidence
| would indicate otherwise.
|
| IOW, laying the blame at the feet of consumers is unsupportable
| bollocks. They buy what's on offer, and what's on offer is what
| makes more money for manufacturers.
| MichaelZuo wrote:
| To be fair to the parent, Toyota/Lexus is perceived world-
| wide as the archetypical 'quality' brand whereas Mercedes is
| the archetypical 'feature' brand, at least in the last
| decade.
| mikestew wrote:
| That's not "fair to the parent", that refutes the parent
| comment. Otherwise MB would be selling more cars than
| Toyota. And I don't even have to look it up to know that's
| not true.
| anm89 wrote:
| Is there any argument to be made that it's impossible to meet
| efficiency or emissions standards without this stuff?
|
| I've always been extremely against this stuff. I'd be interested
| to hear a good faith defense of the other side
| donmcronald wrote:
| It would be nice to see a focus on repairability, but I don't
| think that's ever going to happen. Even if we don't end up with
| complete parts serialization, where the manufacturers hold all
| the keys, the trend described in this article is unavoidable due
| to the complexity of systems that improve your quality of life
| when you're driving. IE: People want things like collision
| warning systems.
|
| A big part of the issue is the manufacturers don't care if a
| repair procedure is too complex or if the equipment required is
| too expensive. That's a benefit to them because it means less
| independent repair shops and dealer networks will simply pass
| that cost on to the customer because customers have no
| alternatives.
|
| My family has always purchased cars that are just off warranty,
| so about 5 years old, and driven them for 5-15 years. The less
| money we had, the longer we drove them. We've always done our own
| repairs. However, that's changing because there are some things
| we simply can't fix. My dad has never driven a vehicle that
| costed more than $100 per month and has always owned a vehicle
| that I'd consider reliable. Those days are gone.
|
| I think something that could help would be if the right to repair
| movement pushed for some kind of limited repair or downgraded
| repair mode. For example, the article talks about the complexity
| of doing a wheel alignment due to calibrating lane drift sensors,
| etc. I think vehicle owners should be able to opt out of that and
| simply lose those features if they're not required for the car to
| function. IE: Get the wheel alignment, skip the convenience
| features.
|
| Of course, we all know the opposite will happen. The vehicle
| industry will lobby the government to have those complex features
| become requirements "for safety" and the only option we'll get as
| consumers is to buy overly complex, overly expensive vehicles. I
| guess another option may be to rent or lease and never own
| anything which might be the ultimate goal of the industry
| regardless of complexity.
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