Car repair costs spiral: 480 euros for an airbag ring
A Spanish workshop reports that an airbag ring has gone from 80 to 480 euros, and that renting now accounts for 26.69% of new car registrations in Spain
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Car repair costs spiral: 480 euros for an airbag ring
How much does it cost to keep a car on the road today? Judging by what workshops are reporting and what owners are saying among themselves, the answer is uncomfortable: more and more. A saloon with barely 89,000 kilometres on the clock arrived at the workshop with a faulty airbag ring. The internal cables of the reel had broken from use, a common failure. The fix imposed by the manufacturer: replace the entire control unit. 480 euros for a fault that used to be solved by swapping an 80-euro standalone part.
The mechanic telling the story, Kike from Talleres Piba in Daimiel (Ciudad Real), repeats it in every video: the problem of the coming years will not be buying a car, but paying to keep it running. His thesis is not an isolated one. During the same teardown he came across another detail: the original screws rounded off when tightened to the specified torque, even though they thread into plastic. "Is it possible the material is that bad?", he asks himself. His conclusion is that they are designed for a single use.
From 80 to 480 euros: the part that can no longer be repaired
The trend the workshop describes trinc a clear pattern. Manufacturers design assemblies that cannot be disassembled or replaced separately. Only entire modules can be swapped. The customer pays six times more for a fault that used to be minor. It is not an isolated case: on recent Korean models, scrapyards have reported 1,980-euro headlights and 11,800-euro screens. The comparison with a 400-euro wing mirror on a car from twenty years ago —90 euros at a scrapyard— sums up the leap.
Some argue this policy responds to a logic of planned obsolescence: if the repair costs almost as much as the car's value, the owner ends up replacing it. Others point to a less conspiratorial reason: the electronic integration of safety systems forces entire modules to be replaced. Either way, the effect on the wallet is the same.
Renting is eating the market: one in four cars is no longer bought
Maintenance costs go a long way towards explaining the rise of car renting in Spain. During the first half of 2026, this model reached 26.69% of total registrations. One in four cars is, in fact, rented. Ten years ago it was a rarity. The arrangement lets you forget about insurance, taxes and repairs, but it also turns the driver into a permanent tenant of an asset that will never be theirs.
Kike's warning goes further. Back in September 2025 he claimed that the service life of many components had been cut by around 300% and that owners of new cars would face repairs costing hundreds of euros just a few years after purchase. His example: paying more than 40,000 euros for a car and facing 500-euro repairs at the five-year mark. If the trend continues, he predicts, the car will once again become an asset only the rich can afford, as before the 1960s.
The workshop's answer: twenty-year-old cars and scrapyard parts
Faced with this scenario, some drivers have taken the opposite route: keeping older vehicles on the road. A 2006 car or a Citroën C15, a design from the 1970s, can be repaired with scrapyard parts at a fraction of the official price. The maths is simple: a 400-euro wing mirror at the dealership can be found for 90 at a scrapyard. The strategy works as long as the ITV (Spain's mandatory roadworthiness test) and traffic restrictions allow it.
Another camp points to Chinese cars as the way out: drive them until the loan is paid off, sell them and buy another. It is the use-and-throw-away logic applied to the car. The problem, they warn, is that this policy also takes its toll on the consumer in the long run. And meanwhile, public transport in big cities remains the alternative reserved for those who cannot afford the upkeep of their own vehicle.
The question is not whether the car is becoming a luxury item. It is how long the market will take to admit it.
How much does it cost to keep a car on the road today? Judging by what workshops are reporting and what owners are saying among themselves, the answer is uncomfortable: more and more. A saloon with barely 89,000 kilometres on the clock arrived at the workshop with a faulty airbag ring. The internal cables of the reel had broken from use, a common failure. The fix imposed by the manufacturer: replace the entire control unit. 480 euros for a fault that used to be solved by swapping an 80-euro standalone part.
The mechanic telling the story, Kike from Talleres Piba in Daimiel (Ciudad Real), repeats it in every video: the problem of the coming years will not be buying a car, but paying to keep it running. His thesis is not an isolated one. During the same teardown he came across another detail: the original screws rounded off when tightened to the specified torque, even though they thread into plastic. "Is it possible the material is that bad?", he asks himself. His conclusion is that they are designed for a single use.
From 80 to 480 euros: the part that can no longer be repaired
The trend the workshop describes trinc a clear pattern. Manufacturers design assemblies that cannot be disassembled or replaced separately. Only entire modules can be swapped. The customer pays six times more for a fault that used to be minor. It is not an isolated case: on recent Korean models, scrapyards have reported 1,980-euro headlights and 11,800-euro screens. The comparison with a 400-euro wing mirror on a car from twenty years ago —90 euros at a scrapyard— sums up the leap.
Some argue this policy responds to a logic of planned obsolescence: if the repair costs almost as much as the car's value, the owner ends up replacing it. Others point to a less conspiratorial reason: the electronic integration of safety systems forces entire modules to be replaced. Either way, the effect on the wallet is the same.
Renting is eating the market: one in four cars is no longer bought
Maintenance costs go a long way towards explaining the rise of car renting in Spain. During the first half of 2026, this model reached 26.69% of total registrations. One in four cars is, in fact, rented. Ten years ago it was a rarity. The arrangement lets you forget about insurance, taxes and repairs, but it also turns the driver into a permanent tenant of an asset that will never be theirs.
Kike's warning goes further. Back in September 2025 he claimed that the service life of many components had been cut by around 300% and that owners of new cars would face repairs costing hundreds of euros just a few years after purchase. His example: paying more than 40,000 euros for a car and facing 500-euro repairs at the five-year mark. If the trend continues, he predicts, the car will once again become an asset only the rich can afford, as before the 1960s.
The workshop's answer: twenty-year-old cars and scrapyard parts
Faced with this scenario, some drivers have taken the opposite route: keeping older vehicles on the road. A 2006 car or a Citroën C15, a design from the 1970s, can be repaired with scrapyard parts at a fraction of the official price. The maths is simple: a 400-euro wing mirror at the dealership can be found for 90 at a scrapyard. The strategy works as long as the ITV (Spain's mandatory roadworthiness test) and traffic restrictions allow it.
Another camp points to Chinese cars as the way out: drive them until the loan is paid off, sell them and buy another. It is the use-and-throw-away logic applied to the car. The problem, they warn, is that this policy also takes its toll on the consumer in the long run. And meanwhile, public transport in big cities remains the alternative reserved for those who cannot afford the upkeep of their own vehicle.
The question is not whether the car is becoming a luxury item. It is how long the market will take to admit it.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (25 replies).
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