How do Technological Advances Affect Vehicle Maintenance Costs
The advance of technology seems to increase at an exponential pace. This progress affects every aspect of human life on Earth; from grocery shopping to music recording, from exercise to dieting, from education to art. While whether this advancement is positive or negative stands to debate, its presence is undeniable fact.
So, how about vehicle maintenance costs? Considering the near-universal prevalence of automobiles in modern society, service on all of these cars, trucks, and other four-wheeled workhorses proves to be essential. In a sense, they are ultimately just tools, but tools that transport our children, commute us to work, and even provide pleasurable recreation. Keeping them in top-notch shape is a priority, and leads one to budget for such related expenses. How are they affected by new technologies?
Increase – In some ways, the impact of new technology on service and maintenance costs on motor vehicles has been to increase them. For example, many old-school gearheads will still lament the complexities of newfangled fuel injection systems, remarking that they only know how to work on a carburetor system. In other words: Due to their knowledge becoming obsolete, they now must pay a dealer or garage to do such work for them.
This is a specific example, but the phenomenon is definitely more widespread. Everything from the bracket mounts on a replacement headlight to the on-board mp3 player can now be ever-more sophisticated than anyone would have dreamed of such components being 10 years ago. Not only does new technology require more in-depth training to diagnose and treat, but will often require more man-hours of work to fix as well, driving up repair bills at the local auto shop.
Decrease – However, the opposite holds true as well: Some technological advances actually decrease maintenance costs on motor vehicles. Such instances can be seen in the way many parts at now made at a higher quality, thus allowing them to last longer. Some drivers may notice that their windshield wipers or brake pads last longer than they used to at one point in history.
One of the most commonly cited examples of this phenomenon is the oil used in today's engines. The new synthetic formulas actually maintain a high function even into 4-5,000 miles, despite the “change your oil every 3,000 miles” remaining a common norm. From the mathematically superior treads on new tires to the exotic metals used to build parts of your transmission, having these components last longer will obviously result in fewer trips for repair, thus lowering the total lifetime maintainence cost for the vehicle.
And so the advance of technology ends up on the same side of history as many other debateable topics: Some specific examples support one viewpoint, while others support the other. In this case, more sophisticated technology simply results in both increasing yet also decreasing service and maintenance costs on today's cars, depending on how you frame the argument. At any rate, at least the vehicles themselves are becoming more advanced overall.
