Accidents can happen at any time and place; this is why automobile manufacturers add several different safety features to their vehicles. Airbags and seatbelts are two of the most important safety components of a car. Seat belts, if worn properly, will keep you in place (instead of getting thrown out through the windscreen) during an auto crash.
Furthermore, an airbag is designed to reduce head and chest injuries during a crash. The pillow-like safety component of your car works by inflating quickly after a frontal car crash. In case you don’t know, airbags deploy after your vehicle’s sensors have detected a collision. But what exactly will happen to the value of a car after airbag deployment?
Airbag deployment will lower the value of a car. It costs between $1,000 to $6,000 to replace a vehicle’s airbag. With that said, the cost of replacing the airbag and other damages are some of the factors that make cars lose their value.
Is it okay to buy a car after an airbag deployment? Do deployed airbags lower the value of a car? Is it possible to sell a car with deployed airbags? Is a car still good after the airbags are deployed? These are the frequently asked questions that you’ll find answers to as you read through the rest of this article.
Should I Buy A Car After Airbags Have Deployed?
Let’s start by talking about what “airbags deployment” really means.
An airbag is an essential component of a vehicle. Unlike the side airbags, the front airbag has been a standard requirement for all vehicles since over 2 decades ago.
Both the front and side airbags offer several different benefits. For instance, the front airbags are effective for minimizing driver fatalities in frontal auto crashes. As for the side airbags, they are designed to protect the driver’s head and reduce the risks of death when driver-side auto crashes occur.
Here’s how both frontal and side airbags work; first, you need to understand that both airbags are inflated cushions. As soon as the driver encounters an accident, the sensors inside the car will sense and understand how serious the crash is.
If the auto crash is not something serious, the sensor won’t signal the airbag. However, for a severe accident, the sensor will send a signal to the airbag’s inflator, which is expected to respond by filling the bag with gas in a very short period. If this happens, what it means is that your vehicle’s airbags have deployed.
Buying the car depends, to a large extent, on the factors listed below:
- How much is the owner of the vehicle willing to sell it?
- The cost of replacing the vehicle’s airbags and additional damages
- Your budget
You need to consider the three factors above before going ahead to buy a car after airbag deployment. So, start by asking yourself whether or not the asking price for the vehicle is worth it. While doing that, don’t forget to also consider how much it will cost you to replace the airbags and fix other minor pages on the vehicle.
In all cases, a car crash often lowers the value of a car. So, with the car’s airbags deployed, it means you should be able to get the vehicle at a reduced price. If the price isn’t reduced after the airbags have deployed, my advice is that you need to stay away from purchasing the car.
Do Deployed Airbags Lower The Value Of A Car?
One of the four main steps to follow after the airbags have been deployed is the replacement of the airbags. Unfortunately, getting a new airbag for a car can be very expensive. In case you don’t know, it costs between 1,000 USD and 10,000 USD to replace a deployed airbag.
Having a deployed airbag will automatically reduce the value of your car. If you’re going to be selling the vehicle after the airbags have deployed, you’ll certainly sell at a lower price. That’s so because you have to consider the costs of replacing the airbags and fixing other damages around the vehicle, such as the airbag control module.
That said, the bottom line is that deployed airbags will certainly lower the value of a car. That’s so because it costs thousands of dollars to replace an airbag. In addition to that, you’ll also pay a few bucks to reprogram your airbag control module or replace the component with a new one.
Can You Sell A Car With Deployed Airbags?
Of course, you can always sell your car with deployed airbags to another person. For you to do that, the best you can do is to keep the buyer aware of exactly what is affecting the vehicle. In addition to that, you’ll need to lower the price at which you’re going to sell the car, considering the cost of airbags replacement.
Is A Car Still Good After The Airbags Deploy?
Some people often say that if you have a car with a deployed airbag, it means the end of the road for the vehicle. If you’ve ever taken that seriously, this might be the best time for you to start taking it with a pinch of salt.
No doubt, having a car with the airbags deployed will certainly reduce the value of the vehicle. However, this doesn’t make the vehicle less good for your personal or business purposes.
As long as the auto crash or collision doesn’t cause big damages to the entire car, you can always use your vehicle after a deployed airbag. Most times, only two components are affected in this type of situation; they are the airbag itself and the control module.
As long as both the control module and airbags are replaceable or fixable and the damages on the vehicle are not much, it means the car is still good after the airbags deployed.