Ford Aluminum body F150: Body repair cost

General Discussion
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When Ford introduced their new F150 w/aluminum body parts, I heard some complaints that some body shops may not be able to repair them, and those that did might charge more than if the truck was a normal steel body version. What’s the evidence so far? Anybody have any cost or other problems getting their aluminum body F150’s dents and body damage repaired ?

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same was said before when Audi introduced aluminum

my daughter’s Altima has an aluminum hood and it was repainted by the prior owner, most likely by body shop not having skill working with aluminum, as I observe clear signs of the corrosion under the paint: it is not brown obviously, but is powdery white

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When R-134 and HFC-1234 were introduced I heard some complaints that some shops might not be able to service these A/C systems and that some might charge more for the work than if the car had an older type of refrigerant.

I imagine that when electronic ignition was introduced there were complaints that some shops wouldn’t be able to fix these systems, or that it would cost more.

Technology doesn’t always progress smoothly, but it moves forward, and the market finds a way to adapt.

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Here’s an article on it-

IIHS found repair costs 22% high for aluminum vs steel.

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Well there you go. Aluminum repair is only marginally higher than steel. If it’s that close this early in the game then the spread will likely be less as time goes on.

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Given that mass market aluminum panel and full bodies have been around for over 20 years now, any shop that can’t do the work will find themselves slowly going out of business!

In the late 1940’s, every Porsche car was made from hand formed aluminum sheets. Even after the 356 model was made from stamped steel, Porsche still built their race cars from hand formed aluminum (until the fiberglass Porsche 904) as did Ferrari, Lamborghini and most other small volume car makers well into the 1960’s. All the Shelby Cobras were aluminum bodies.

Aluminum bodies are not new. The craftsmanship to make and repair them got a little scarce, however.