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If you ever visited a showroom and ever wondered why trucks are so expensive, this article is for you.
Nowadays, a truck can cost you up to $100, 000. This trend has risen from the new features included by truck manufacturers.
So, why are trucks so expensive? This article focuses on some of the extras that a truck may have. You can decide which of these features is important for you before spending on it.
Why Are Trucks So Expensive? a Full Breakdown:
Fuel efficiency
There is a consumer outcry for cars that save more on fuel. Also, governments are coming with stringent rules on emissions. Thus, manufacturers are now making more fuel-efficient vehicles.
To make this possible, manufacturers have also come up with more options. For instance, turbo-diesel and hybrid trucks are fuel-efficient. Also, manufacturers are focusing more on making turbocharged trucks.
You should expect to pay higher if you need a more fuel-efficient truck. It is a consumer’s choice on whether they need a vehicle with these features. It is a good investment in the long run.
Safety additions
Truck manufacturing companies are trying to make their trucks safer. They do this by packing in more driver-assistant technology. Some of these new features are not easy to embed into vehicles. That means they will impact on the final cost of trucks.
Some of these technologies include brake, parking, and lane assists. Others include forward collision warning and adaptive cruise control. Although every manufacturer will brand these inventions with unique names, there are no significant differences between them.
It may be impossible to buy a cheap truck. The US government ordered car manufacturers to include cameras in their truck manufacturing. These features were to be on trucks that the manufacturers manufactured starting May 2018.
With these additions, manufacturers will not sell new models at the same conventional prices. Consequently, you will have to pay more for them. The more safety technology a car has, the more you will pay for it.
It is also important to note that these new technologies are going to do better than bad for us. For instance, brake assist can be a powerful piece of technology. This technology comes in handy, especially if you need to take an emergency halt to avoid hitting a person or car that crosses the road.
However, some other things are essential but not necessary. Some of these include parking sensors. If you can do without some of these technologies, you can save on the cost by buying a truck that has what you'll need.
Entertainment technology
Trucks are also getting enhanced technologically. Nowadays, most of them are coming with touchscreen capabilities. It will be an excellent feature for you if you like technology. But you should expect these features to have cost implications as well.
Most of the older trucks lack good entertainment features. As a result, they cost cheaper than the current set of trucks that have these new features.
A good example is Ram, which has come up with a new truck model known as the Ram 1500. This new model has an excellent interior with a 12-inch touch screen. As a result, it costs higher than its predecessors do.
Something else that will affect the pricing of new trucks is the sound system feature. You won't get a good sound system on old truck models. Still, almost every manufacturer is working towards making trucks with better packages.
These may include a sound system and good quality interiors. These additions will lead to an increase in price.
Moreover, some older truck models may come with speakers, but four or five of them. Newer models come with between 10 to 20 speakers that translate to better sound quality.
Without a doubt, you will end up paying extra for such trucks since more features mean a better experience and a higher price.
Aluminum body panels
Aluminum is a better material than steel, and it is much lighter compared to the latter. Not so long ago, Ford decided to manufacture one of its truck's bodies using aluminum. That had to affect the final cost of the truck because aluminum is a more advanced material than steel.
Besides, it is much lighter. Consequently, your vehicle also feels much lighter, even when carrying heavy loads.
Other than weighing less, aluminum also does not corrode. Unlike steel, you do not expect aluminum to rust. Steel does not remain in good shape after coming into contact with elements such as water.
A good case is a comparison between a Ford and Chevy truck bed commercial. The ford truck bed did not last as long as the Chevy steel truck bed did. That means that steel also has its advantages and a steel made car may be expensive despite being heavy.
Although every manufacturer wants to make a sturdy vehicle, they still use aluminum. But, to ensure the trucks are still durable, most manufacturers such as Chevy and Ram now use aluminum.
They indeed use it to make small truck body panels such as doors, hoods, and tailgates. However, it still adds up to the total cost of the car in the long run.
Aluminum repairs
Aluminum makes trucks expensive when used in manufacturing. Also, aluminum panel repairs are costly. It should tell you how much of a downside it can be to buy a truck that has aluminum-made parts.
The cost of repairing an aluminum body is higher than if you would be trying to fix a steel body. Even in markets, steel costs lower than aluminum.
Steel has a high corrosion rate. Within a few days, your truck may show signs of rust and look unattractive than when you bought it.
No one wants their car to look old and rusted a few days after buying it. As a result, you may need to buy a vehicle that has aluminum parts. You will trust it to look better even after getting exposed to corrosive elements.
Back to repairs, aluminum does not get back to its original shape. For this reason, you may take a lot of time and effort to get it back to the factory shape, especially after a crash happens.
The more effort and time you will take to repair affects the final cost of the repairs. You may have to pay an arm and a leg to get aluminum repairs. These make the maintenance costs of aluminum made trucks high.
Towing capabilities
Most medium-sized to large trucks come with towing parts. These parts enable you to haul heavy loads. There is a need to make towing truck parts reliable. Ensure they can handle immense pressure, such as pulling heavy loads and towing cars.
The quality of material for making towing parts pushes manufacturers to raise prices. It is unlike when making cars that only ferry people from one place to another.
Also, the towing components include the body chassis. A truck must have a sturdy chassis for it to tow heavy loads. If it is weak, heavy pulling of loads may be a tall order altogether.
Most of the components of trucks that can tow heavy loads should also be sturdy. Brake pads and suspension components have to be thicker to support such functions.
Moreover, if they get damaged because of pulling heavy loads, replacing them is also very costly. On the other hand, acquiring individual parts is also more expensive. That will impact the final cost of the track, and you will have to pay more than you expect.
Large wheels
Most of the trucks currently in the market have large wheels. Other trucks come with chrome or painted wheels. As a result, they will end up costing more than older truck models that come with smaller wheels.
The reason why large wheels are expensive is no rocket science. It takes more materials and time to make them, and the end consumer must pay the price.
Nowadays, trucks come with an attractive finish that traditional models did not have. The new wheels with a finish will cost much higher than the conventional ones. Older wheels have generic black or silver steel wheels. These escalate the price of the trucks.
Also, truck manufacturers are now looking into using different alloys to make wheels. For instance, most of them are using aluminum to make attractive wheel rims.
Aluminum costs much higher than many other alloys or metals. That means the wheels will cost more than you may expect.
Traditional wheels have always been black painted. That is changing by the day, and now wheels are chrome painted. Painting wheels black can take a much shorter time than it would take to come up with chrome painted wheels.
Besides, it will cost more to paint wheels chrome than using black paint.
Conclusion
With the quality of trucks changing every other time, their prices may also not remain the same. Nowadays, manufacturers are developing these features and much more. Also, they are integrating them into their manufacturing process.
Acquiring materials for advancing these trucks can cost a lot of money. It can also take a lot of time. As a result, you will pay more to get a truck with security, fuel efficiency, and other luxury features.
