Suitability Assessment of Automobile Repair Options in terms of Product Value, Environmental Impact and Cost:

Case Study of Automobile Engine

Abstract

In general, automobile repair options have three types: new, rebuilt and reuse parts. Both rebuilt and reuse parts are manufactured from used parts, so environmental impact and cost are lower than new parts. However, rebuilt parts need more manufacturing processes than reuse parts for overhaul, so they need more environmental impact and cost than reuse parts. Therefore, compared with these three options, product value is high in order new, rebuilt and reuse parts, but environmental and economic performance are high in inverse order. Hence, it is difficult for automobile users to evaluate which repair option is high suitability for them over the entire lifecycle of automobile. Besides, the suitability may change depending on the difference of requirements to automobile types. This paper assesses which repair options are suitable for automobile users in terms of product value, environmental and cost. Product value of automobile parts is assessed by distributing product value of an automobile to each part. Environmental impact is calculated by investigating automobile recycling parts factory and life cycle assessment method. Cost is calculated by life cycle costing method. This study applies to the automobile engine as a case study.