Lights gone on the car? It’ll set you back €1,000

WE’VE all heard of daylight robbery – well, now it’s headlight robbery as replacing a single unit on some of Ireland’s best-selling small cars can cost upwards of €1,000.

A survey has found how drivers who buy higher-spec cars with LED or High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights could be facing a huge bill if their car lights are damaged.

And with some models you may have to replace the entire sealed headlight unit as bulbs cannot be individually replaced.

A study of 13 models by What Car? magazine found that replacing a traditional halogen bulb costs a few euros on average.

However, changing the entire headlight unit on even small cars can now cost a fourfigure sum with some models.

The Irish Daily Mail asked manufacturers the price of replacing lights in Ireland for the same models that featured in the What Car? survey.

A VW spokesman confirmed that ‘to replace the LED lights on a Polo GTI, the cost, including VAT, is €1,049 vs €211 for the halogen unit. However, it should be noted that usually only occurs in the event of a significant accident’.

The spokesman added: ‘In some models and in some cases the whole unit does need to be replaced but this is usually following a collision, and this can cost significantly more than to replace a halogen bulb.

‘But this is a premium product with premium performance and longevity and here in Ireland, tends to be fitted more on performance or higher-specification models, where the customers expect the best possible technology in their car.’

The Mail also asked Suzuki if Irish drivers would have to replace headlamps on a Swift SZ5 at a similar cost to the €760 quoted in the What Car? survey.

A spokeswoman said the price of the LED unit in Ireland is €560.

A spokeswoman replied: ‘Suzuki can confirm that the LED headlamp assembly on certain new Swift models is of a sealed design and would need to be replaced as a whole unit in the unlikely event of failure.

‘However, this type of headlamp unit is covered by the manufacturer’s warranty which helps give peace of mind to our customers.’

Honda’s Jazz EX model also featured in the survey for its pricey replacement lights.

John Donohoe aftersales director of Universal Honda Ltd, said: ‘The Jazz EX model along with some more of our Honda models do have LED headlights. Also all of our cars now have day time running lights which, in most cases, are also LED. In addition many rear lights are now also LEDpowered. LED headlights can be expensive to replace but in reality they should only need to be replaced as a result of a road traffic accident or other interference.’

Replacing the Jazz EX unit would cost €746, he confirmed.

The Audi A5 has High Intensity Discharge (HID – sometimes known as xenon) units which can be less pricey than LEDs. But it still costs €259 to replace lights on at least one type of A1 (see panel), a spokesman said.

The other two small cars surveyed were the SEAT Ibiza and Vauxhall Corsa (sold here as Opel). Prices for SEAT and Opel had not been obtained by the Mail by the time of going to press.

BMW, which pioneered High Intensity Discharge bulbs, was not included in the What Car? survey but the Mail asked them to price standard halogen bulbs versus its new xenon range.

A spokeswoman said a xenon bulb costs €242 to replace compared to €15 for a halogen version for a BMW 5 series. Whether or not the whole unit would need replacing – costing a four-figure sum – would depend on the car, model and light, she added.

George Brennan Motor Factors of Walkinstown, Dublin, confirmed that LED and HID lights can be very expensive.

And he pointed out that new indicator lights in mirrors cost €50 to replace – compared to 50c for the old bulbs.

‘Everybody thinks they are brighter and a good idea but they can be very pricey,’ he added.

He said he hasn’t come across a €1,000 light change yet but has noted costs of €400 to replace lights on certain models of Audi.

Halogen bulbs have been the standard in most cars since the early 1960s and cost as little as €2.95 to replace. They generally last about 1,000 hours.

In the early 1990s BMW developed the High Intensity Discharge lights that have gradually been adopted in many high-spec cars. They last for about 2,000 hours and are three times brighter than halogen bulbs.

By the mid-Noughties, some companies had started developing LED lighting, which is ultra efficient energy-wise and does not contain mercury.

They also have an incredibly long lifespan, of up to 40,000 hours which could see out the lifespan of the car.

What Car? consumer editor Claire Evans, who spearheaded the research, said: ‘The longevity of HID bulbs makes them a viable option on a new car.

‘However, if you are buying a used car as a second household vehicle or as a first car for a son or daughter, you – and they – could be landed with a massive repair bill for a blown bulb that could even render the car a write-off due to it being uneconomical to repair.’

Designed to last a lifetime ‘They can be very pricey’