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Lately I've been talking with people about newer vehicles and some of the stories have been appalling. One lady said that a headlight replacement cost her over $200 because they had to take off many of the front end components to access the headlight bulb.
It got me thinking - even "new" cargo vans still use the old-style rectangular sealed-beam headlight units that were so popular on vehicles from about 1975 through 1990. The "passenger" variants of those vans have newer-style headlights with a fancy replaceable bulb hidden behind a model-specific plastic lens. My initial hypothesis is that the commercial-style vehicles that still use these older-style headlights do so because it's far easier and less expensive to replace a $10.00 sealed-beam headlight than it is to do a replacement job on a headlight that would cost many times that much if the work were done at a dealership.
Is this true? Are these cargo vans and the like engineered for ease and cheapness of repair, on the demand of the business owners who buy the vehicles? Or is there a different reason that I'm not yet considering?
There is a bit of a cargo van renissance going on right now, stalwarts like the Ford E-Series and Chevy Express are being replaced in favor of things like the Ford Transit and the Fiat van pictured above.
The older style van stuck with these lights because they were cheap and easy to replace. However, at providing light they are so-so. The newer vans have better lights, but they are more expensive to replace.
I drive a cargo van and nobody has designed it for cheapness of maintenance and repair. The engine is designed so that the spark plugs are inaccessible. The dog house has to be removed and even then parts are not acessable. Last tuneup cost me $600 because it is so labor intensive. The mechanic told me he'd be just as happy if I didn't bring it back.
My son, who does all the mechanical work for our family, refuses to work on the van if it involves trying g to get into the engine compartment.
I need a cargo van so I've spoken to owners of other brands and they all say that tuneup are difficult and expensive. So switching to a different brand doesn't help.
I haven't had a headlamp changed yet so I don't know if that is simple. Difficulty of repairs can easily be judged by the amount of cussing coming from the shop and how bad the words are.
Lately I've been talking with people about newer vehicles and some of the stories have been appalling. One lady said that a headlight replacement cost her over $200 because they had to take off many of the front end components to access the headlight bulb.
It got me thinking - even "new" cargo vans still use the old-style rectangular sealed-beam headlight units that were so popular on vehicles from about 1975 through 1990. The "passenger" variants of those vans have newer-style headlights with a fancy replaceable bulb hidden behind a model-specific plastic lens. My initial hypothesis is that the commercial-style vehicles that still use these older-style headlights do so because it's far easier and less expensive to replace a $10.00 sealed-beam headlight than it is to do a replacement job on a headlight that would cost many times that much if the work were done at a dealership.
Is this true? Are these cargo vans and the like engineered for ease and cheapness of repair, on the demand of the business owners who buy the vehicles? Or is there a different reason that I'm not yet considering?
Most of those vans were designed with the utility base model price point. Just basic no frills design.
I have not seen or worked on one vehicle where it's taken more than a 5 minutes to R&R a headlight bulb. It's usually slide clips or a few screws. They don't make it that complicated. The composite headlamp housing is usually removed as a unit. In some cases the bulbs themselves are pretty pricey. If it's a HID/LED type bulb it could be $100+ For the part alone to replace. With dealer labor charge of 90-110 bucks yeah a bulb can cost $200
I drive a cargo van and nobody has designed it for cheapness of maintenance and repair. The engine is designed so that the spark plugs are inaccessible. The dog house has to be removed and even then parts are not acessable. Last tuneup cost me $600 because it is so labor intensive. The mechanic told me he'd be just as happy if I didn't bring it back.
My son, who does all the mechanical work for our family, refuses to work on the van if it involves trying g to get into the engine compartment.
I need a cargo van so I've spoken to owners of other brands and they all say that tuneup are difficult and expensive. So switching to a different brand doesn't help.
I haven't had a headlamp changed yet so I don't know if that is simple. Difficulty of repairs can easily be judged by the amount of cussing coming from the shop and how bad the words are.
I did a tune-up on my 1987 Dodge Ram B250, and it was fairly easy for even a rank amateur such as myself. Of course, it had a carburetor... could that have anything to do with it?
Most of those vans were designed with the utility base model price point. Just basic no frills design.
I have not seen or worked on one vehicle where it's taken more than a 5 minutes to R&R a headlight bulb. It's usually slide clips or a few screws. They don't make it that complicated. The composite headlamp housing is usually removed as a unit. In some cases the bulbs themselves are pretty pricey. If it's a HID/LED type bulb it could be $100+ For the part alone to replace. With dealer labor charge of 90-110 bucks yeah a bulb can cost $200
But the service life of a hid bulb is over 2000 hours. Much longer than halogen. The best money can buy hid bulbs are $180 for the pair.
Aerocynamic design mandates the headlinght styling of passenger cars. Vans are square-fronted, so no advantage can be gained by redesigning the headlight profile.
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