Electric cars will be cheaper to make than gas vehicles but with much higher repair and insurance costs

boem@lemmy.world to Technology@lemmy.world – 191 points –
Electric cars will be cheaper to make than gas vehicles but with much higher repair and insurance costs
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They should be cheaper to repair since there are less parts. The added costs are related to design decisions.

When things are welded together instead of paneled, it’s more expensive. When battery packs have to be replaced in their entirety instead of individual packs or cells, it’s more expensive. Etc. Etc.

Exactly. Example: on the Tesla Model 3, many of the panels (such as the rear quarter panel) are glued on instead of bolted/clipped on. So if you graze a stationary object and damage that (it happens), you're on the hook for a very expensive repair since you need a repair shop that specializes in how to deal with that (plus the actual time to do the repair, which is more complicated). Update the designs to make them more repair friendly and the cost of ownership comes way down.

What car has removable rear quarters? I can't think of any that aren't welded on to the C-pillar/roof/trunk.

Surely you don't mean to imply built-in obsolescence, do you?