Car headlight bulbs are enclosed in a carefully designed headlight housing located at each side of your vehicle’s radiator. They are built to illuminate the roadway at night and to give out your position on a two way road or at a dark sharp bend. Headlights rely on your vehicle’s electrical system to generate the energy that powers the bulb. So, when a car headlight goes out, it can be a big inconvenience. Look at it this way. Your headlights are your vehicle’s eyes and without the eye, one cannot see. Aside from the discomfort a bad headlight can cause you, driving with one headlight can get you pulled over.
Whether you are looking to replace your car headlights because of aesthetic reasons or you just want to upgrade your car headlights for a better vision so as to avoid potential road hazards, one thing is certain: Cost is often the first primary factor to consider for most car owners. And, why shouldn’t it be an important factor in making a decision? If you mistakenly buy a bulb that is of inferior quality or that doesn’t match your vehicle, your money may have gone to waste. To give you an idea of the unforeseen expense before deciding on replacing your headlight bulb, check the cost below.
What’s the Cost of Replacing a Car Headlight?
The cost of replacing your car’s headlight is not universal and greatly varies according to the make, mode of your car, whether you do the work yourself, or you take the car to a mechanic. If you take your car to a dealership, you are certain to pay more but for an equivalent quality product. The average cost for Halogen bulb for example is between $15 to $20 and an extra $50 for installation. According to an aftermarket auto part retailer, the cost per each High-Intensity discharge bulb replacement is $100 or more while the average cost of replacing an entire headlight assembly is ranges from $250 to $700.
We recommend you replace both bulbs even if only one bulb is faulty. That’s the other bulb that seems fine might also be bad a little and could worsen if it wasn’t replaced with the bad bulb. Also, it’s to avoid having an uneven headlight display. So, know when your headlight bulbs need to be replaced so they don’t burn out completely and leave you stranded on the road.
Headlight restoration as an alternative
While replacing your headlight is a very nice way of getting your beam back to its original shine, it could cost you immensely in the long-run in terms of finance. Imagine replacing your headlight assembly each time your headlight lens is foggy or oxidized. That would be thousands of hard-earned dollars down the drain. This is why the term DIY headlight restoration is greatly much appreciated. Headlight restoration is an important substitute if you wouldn’t want to replace your headlights with each issue such as oxidation, or yellowed coloring caused by overexposure to the sun, UV rays, or other environmental pollution.
You also need to replace the protective coating with another coating, such as a clear coat, in order to provide protection to the headlight surface again. While some detailers make use of sandpaper, a drilling tool, and a buffing pad to remove the thick layer of the plastic headlight cover, you can easily achieve better results easily using a headlight restoration kit. The cost of purchasing a headlight restoration kit is typically between $15 and $60 for both headlights – thus, saving you thousands of dollars in the long-run.
