How Much Could a Car Repair Possibly Cost Today?

"Getting into a fender bender can be a mind bender these days. That little dent, bump or scrape seems pretty minor until you're hit with the real damage: the bill.

Some of this is inflation. The cost of car maintenance and repairs revved up 28% during the past three years. Insurance might cover the work, but higher claims can raise your premiums. Another culprit is the cost and labor required for all the sensors and computers packed into newer vehicles, shop owners and industry analysts say. Estimating the cost of repairs is getting harder even for professionals.

Scott Benavidez of Mr. B's Paint and Body Shop in Albuquerque, N.M., has more than 25 years of experience ballparking repair bills, but lately his initial guesses have been off.

"I say, 'It's going to be $1,200,' and I sit down to write the estimate and it comes out to $2,800," said Benavidez, the shop's manager and chairman of the Automotive Service Association, a national trade group.

When the dealership emailed Dusten Dussex a $2,100 quote to fix a dent and scrape on his Toyota Prius Prime, he came to a complete stop. He replied with a GIF of the "Sesame Street" character Bert fainting.

"I was disappointed that they didn't respond," said Dussex, a 33-year-old health and safety inspector in Silver Spring, Md. "I was like, 'OK, somebody doesn't have a sense of humor.' "

He plans to get a quote from an independent shop, but he may just live with the blemishes if the repair costs more than $900.

The average repair cost for an insurance claim was $4,721 in the second quarter of 2024, about $800 more than three years earlier, according to Mitchell, a technology and information provider for auto insurers.

Tech-aided safety features such as automatic emergency braking and blind-spot monitoring have been effective in reducing both minor and major collisions, according to analyses by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a research organization funded by the insurance industry. But they can add to the cost.

A decade ago, a typical car had around 10 to 30 onboard computer modules, according to Joe Marconi, a former mechanic and shop owner in Patterson, N.Y. Many now have 75 or more.

In 2024, some 26% of repairs associated with insurance claims have included recalibrating sensors, up from 5% in 2020, per Mitchell. Recalibrations add an average cost of $500.

Consider the side-view mirror. Replacing a busted one on a car from 2014 might cost about $200 to $400, including an hour of labor, Marconi said.

The same mirror on a 2024 car could have a camera and sensors for lane-change assistance, plus a heating element to keep them warm. The cost of repairs and replacements might be $1,200 to $1,500, with an additional hour of labor." [1]

1.  How Much Could a Car Repair Possibly Cost Today? Pinsker, Joe.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 11 Nov 2024: A.14.