Costly electric car problem looms for Aussie drivers: 'It's crazy'
An EV owner has shared his confronting experience fixing his car, as an expert weighs in to say things will only get worse.
An Aussie panel beater has revealed the huge cost of electric car repairs after he damaged his eight-week-old MG in a collision, revealing a confronting problem many drivers could soon face. It comes as an automotive expert told Yahoo News Australia electric vehicle parts prices are set to soar even higher as the market is flooded with cheap imports.
The MG owner was shocked by the quote for a replacement front bumper which was $2500 at trade cost and $3000 at retail and didn’t include flaps, grills, vents or garnishes.
“I thought it was a misprint but no, that’s the cost,” the man wrote online. “I looked for a second-hand bar, no go! Bugger all availability. My last phone call I got very lucky, only one available in Melbourne I could find and it’s the same colour.”
The Victorian man said he drove 500km to pick up the bumper bar, which had a few minor paint chips, from a wrecker’s yard for $770.
Many people commenting on the post said they had already noticed that EV parts were very pricey, with one sharing: “Well as some early ZS EV owners found out, the charging [socket] door is like $800 on its own.”
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Electric vehicle technician Gerry Marson, owner of Sydney Hybrid and Electric Cars, told Yahoo News Australia while replacement and repair costs were high across the automotive industry, he predicted this would get much worse as up to 50 Chinese car manufacturers flood Australia with cheap EV imports.
He said there is no explanation of where the spare parts for the vehicles would be coming from.
“It’s crazy,” he told Yahoo News. “The government should be responsible. The problem is, they will sell well as people gravitate to these vehicles as they’re cheap.”
EV mechanics like 'brain surgeons' working out complex tech
Marson said EVs are highly sophisticated and tech heavy so a large part of a mechanic’s job was now in diagnostics making them almost like “brain surgeons” trying to work out the problem and how to fix it.
“Every car is an individual case, we need to understand the problem and the underlying cause before we can make a repair or effect a good result,” he said. “That part is more difficult than the actual repair. You need to be vigilant.”
Sourcing vehicle parts from overseas and finding a specialist mechanic qualified to undertake the repair pushed expenses up further, meaning a “major fail” could cost between $10,000 and $15,000.
Marson predicts a large number of imported EVs will end up being sent to a car “graveyard” as owners hit with huge bills decide their three or four-year-old EV bought for $20,000 isn’t worth repairing.
Sophisticated tech in EVs makes repairs costly
Marson said many customers didn’t realise the true cost of ordering replacement parts, while other sophisticated extras and tech safety features such as lane assist, drive assist and auto pilot, required specialised software to work and added extra expense.
“As problems start to occur, you cannot get this and you can’t get that,” he explained. “It doesn’t matter whether it’s diesel, petrol, hybrid or EV if you have an engine or software problem. You can’t even change a headlight without software.
“EVs are more expensive to repair but overall, even a patrol engine water pump can cost between $600 to $1000. That would be $50 in my day, those days are gone. All this modern technology all around us comes at a huge cost.
“The worst part is seeing the customer’s disappointed face when you say: ‘Sorry sir, it’s a $14,000 spend.’ You have to pick them up off the ground.”
Marson said he recently had a “hell of a time” dealing with a Chinese manufacturer who was insisting on charging freight on warranty parts, adding extra costs which are ultimately passed on to the customer.
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