Cost of Replacement Headlights

The cost of new replacement headlights may shock you

When you think of your vehicle, headlights are one of the components that we often overlook until they fail you.

It’s no secret that modern vehicles are becoming more expensive as they are equipped with technology that improves your driving experience and safety.

In fact, genuine headlights on vehicles post 2010 quite often cost up to 10% of the value of the vehicle.

Imagine you own a mid-sized sedan valued at $20,000. If you’re unlucky enough to require a complete headlight replacement due to a cracked lens’, a leaking headlight, or the factory UV protective clear coat has degraded.  The cost could easily reach $2,000 or more, excluding fitting costs, sometimes more, if your vehicle uses advanced headlight technology. That’s a significant chunk of your car’s overall value.

Cost for a pair of genuine replacement headlights for the 5 top selling vehicles of 2022

Headlight repairs done right will save you money

While it’s true that the cost of replacement headlights can reach up to 10% of a vehicle’s value, there are ways to mitigate this expense.

One major way is to have professional headlight restoration done on your vehicle the correct way with a sprayed-on UV protective coat that lasts years. This not only protects the lens from breaking down in harsh UV rays and developing cracks or crazing to the polycarbonate lens, but also prevents the headlight lens from discolouring through the thickness of the lens over time and the polycarbonate lens becoming porous.

These three reasons are why headlight manufacturers apply a UV protective hard coat over the lens. Cloudy, discoloured headlights also affect the shorten the lifespan of bulbs as heat builds up inside the lens.

When headlights have a degraded protective coat on the outside of the lens, it’s equivalent to taping a piece of baking paper over the lens and expecting the heat to escape, it doesn’t happen, which in turn blows bulbs faster and can leave humidity marks on the inside of the lens.

Early model headlights pre-2010

As manufacturers focus on producing newer headlight technologies, they naturally discontinue the production of older headlights for those driving cars manufactured before 2010.

Finding genuine replacement headlights can become an increasingly challenging as there is scarcity of second-hand genuine headlights and high demand and low supply for pre-2010 headlights in good condition. This can drive up prices in the second-hand market. 

Due to their scarcity, new pre-2010 headlights that are still available can in many cases command exorbitant prices, leaving vehicle owners with a tough financial decision to make on their vehicle. 

Not to mention, when a vehicle is in an accident, the headlights in most cases would have been damaged. With some older model vehicles, replacement headlights alone can cost as much as the vehicle itself. In some cases, insurance companies can write a complete vehicle of because a headlight can not be sourced for that particular vehicle, adding another vehicle to a wrecking yard. This inevitably impacts the environment and eventually parts end up in landfill.

‘Poor man pays twice’ with cheap headlight repairs

There is an old saying, “Poor man pays twice”. We see it all the time when it comes to headlight repairs. People try to save money, either by repairing headlights themselves or finding cheaper alternatives who do not do the job correctly the first time. 

Headlight Restore have been repairing headlights for over ten years. From replacement lens’, replacement bulbs, plastic welding, headlight restoration with our sprayed-on UV protective clear coat that last years. We repair any headlight issue, including replacement headlights. Call today to no doubt save money down the road.

This is why it’s paramount to restore headlights professionally with a sprayed on UV protective clear coat as Headlight Restore offers – with our 3-year warranty!