IHS Finds Aluminum F-150 Repairs Take Longer And And Cost 26% More Than Steel

Tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that repairing body damage on the aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 took longer and cost 26 percent more than on the 2014 F-150 made of steel.

Ford Motor Co. disagreed with the conclusions.

The institute’s findings are the latest round of evidence that it could cost more to own a vehicle made with significant amounts of aluminum, a perception that Ford has been fighting since it began rolling out the redesigned pickup.

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TheSteve - 7/31/2015 12:21:27 PM

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High repair costs and wait times for body parts is not the only problem. What about $800 to replace a tail light assembly?

Vehicles are sort of like inkjet printers: the product's purchase price is reasonable, but parts are insanely priced (e.g., inkjet printer: $99. Cost for replacing all ink-cartridges: $120).

randy3023 - 7/31/2015 12:35:16 PM

-1 Boost

People need to be more careful, and drive less aggressively.

Unfortunately, Ford pickup truck owners have a habit of ignoring that advice.

carsnyc - 7/31/2015 12:49:57 PM

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Why do I have the feeling that GM is behind all this bad news about using aluminum?

TomM - 7/31/2015 6:00:46 PM

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Nope - GM has several patented processes for the use of Aluminum in cars - including some ways to weld together different metals - and they are already moving ahead with new Pick Ups using more aluminum to save weight. The new Cadillac CT6 will use LOTS of Aluminum. The problem is that FORD Trucks were always on the heavier side - before the Aluminum - so while they saved some weight compared to OLDER FORD TRUCKS - the difference between Fords new Aluminum Trucks and GM's use of higher strength steel was not that much - so the GM trucks were also able to compete on Gas Mileage too. What YOU are seeing is simply GM selling what it has now - against the Fords.

The fact is - Steel does have significant advantages against Aluminum - and has YEARS of experience for Crash Damage. IT stands to reason that the Auto Body people - having to learn new procedures - will take more time working on Aluminum - for at least a while. But while I don't agree with Ford - I still suspect that the difference will not be significant after a while of experience with Aluminum.

skytop - 8/1/2015 4:36:06 AM

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DOH! What a surprise! I am shocked that weaker aluminum is more fragile, dents easier, crushes far easier and cost lots more to repair.

Maybe Ford is next going to bring us the 100% plastic truck.