When Ford unveiled the new, aluminum-bodied 2015 F-150 pickup at the 2014 Detroit auto show, it touched off a firestorm of speculation and inquiry.
It’s a simple fact that raw aluminum costs more than raw steel, which leads one to believe that the F-150′s aluminum body parts will be more expensive than the outgoing model’s comparable steel parts. But Ford could decide to sell the parts at cost—or even at a loss—in order to meet its claim, or perhaps cost parity will be achieved simply due to the sheer number of pieces Ford will produce. For now, however, Ford’s parts site quotes a replacement 2004 F-150 hood—the first year that panel was rendered in aluminum as standard—at $1092.72; a steel unit for the older 2003 F-150 costs $647.
The aluminum hoods for 2009–14 F-150s are slightly less expensive, at $880. However anecdotal, Ford has seemingly already been able to take some cost out of aluminum stuff already. One could reasonably assume that there are more newer F-150s on the road, however, which would require producing more inventory, thereby lowering costs.
Even so, the outgoing F-150 hood costs more than the older steel piece.We called the local body shop that handles many of our repairs, VCR Automotive, to see what kind of cost differential exists with aluminum versus steel. Unsurprisingly, we were told that fixing aluminum costs more.
Independent shops like VCR tend to flat-out replace a dented/crumpled aluminum panel, since the properties of the metal make cleanly popping out dents difficult. It’s not a shocker that doing so adds dollar signs to repair bills. The F-150′s panels are riveted and glued in place, and that glue isn’t cheap: Our man from VCR says it costs “about $60 per packet,” and that he recently used five packets to repair both aluminum quarter panels on a damaged car. ANd that’s not even counting the extra labor involved. We were also told that insurance companies often try to pressure body shops into cheaper repairs, which means, if it’s possible, merely filling in the dent and then sanding and repainting the panel.
It’s a simple fact that raw aluminum costs more than raw steel, which leads one to believe that the F-150′s aluminum body parts will be more expensive than the outgoing model’s comparable steel parts. But Ford could decide to sell the parts at cost—or even at a loss—in order to meet its claim, or perhaps cost parity will be achieved simply due to the sheer number of pieces Ford will produce. For now, however, Ford’s parts site quotes a replacement 2004 F-150 hood—the first year that panel was rendered in aluminum as standard—at $1092.72; a steel unit for the older 2003 F-150 costs $647.
The aluminum hoods for 2009–14 F-150s are slightly less expensive, at $880. However anecdotal, Ford has seemingly already been able to take some cost out of aluminum stuff already. One could reasonably assume that there are more newer F-150s on the road, however, which would require producing more inventory, thereby lowering costs.
Even so, the outgoing F-150 hood costs more than the older steel piece.We called the local body shop that handles many of our repairs, VCR Automotive, to see what kind of cost differential exists with aluminum versus steel. Unsurprisingly, we were told that fixing aluminum costs more.
Independent shops like VCR tend to flat-out replace a dented/crumpled aluminum panel, since the properties of the metal make cleanly popping out dents difficult. It’s not a shocker that doing so adds dollar signs to repair bills. The F-150′s panels are riveted and glued in place, and that glue isn’t cheap: Our man from VCR says it costs “about $60 per packet,” and that he recently used five packets to repair both aluminum quarter panels on a damaged car. ANd that’s not even counting the extra labor involved. We were also told that insurance companies often try to pressure body shops into cheaper repairs, which means, if it’s possible, merely filling in the dent and then sanding and repainting the panel.
As for extreme damage to either the cab or the bed, VCR said it would probably just replace the whole of either, as welding aluminum patch panels into, say, a pickup bed’s forward bulkhead, requires a clean room to prevent contamination of the metal.
And even getting panels can be tricky: Clean-room-equipped shops are pretty rare, and we were told that many manufacturers won’t even provide replacement aluminum body sections, as a precaution against contamination. (If aluminum is contaminated, it will corrode faster than normal.) What about small repairs, such as hail damage? We spoke with Dent Wizard, a national paintless dent-repair company, and were told that if an aluminum panel could be repaired (and not all can be), customers are levied a 25-percent upcharge for the effort. Dent Wizard also reiterated aluminum’s resistance to clean dent removal.
And even getting panels can be tricky: Clean-room-equipped shops are pretty rare, and we were told that many manufacturers won’t even provide replacement aluminum body sections, as a precaution against contamination. (If aluminum is contaminated, it will corrode faster than normal.) What about small repairs, such as hail damage? We spoke with Dent Wizard, a national paintless dent-repair company, and were told that if an aluminum panel could be repaired (and not all can be), customers are levied a 25-percent upcharge for the effort. Dent Wizard also reiterated aluminum’s resistance to clean dent removal.
Insurance Costs: Common sense says that if something costs more to repair, it’s going to cost more to insure, but this might not actually be the case. We called Allstate Insurance Company to find out whether it had run the numbers yet on the new F-150, but it it couldn’t yet speak to the impact of the steel-to-aluminum switch on the F-150, telling us that general data regarding aluminum repairs is thin. We then reached out to Dr. Robert Hartwig, President and Economist at the Insurance Information Institute, and asked him to illuminate what kind of cost impact aluminum-bodied vehicles have to consumers. In the case of a high-volume car like the F-150, he believes the switch to an aluminum-intensive construction might increase owners’ insurance premiums slightly, but any increase likely wouldn’t be very noticeable.
How could this be? Dr. Hartwig pointed out that the portion of most drivers’ insurance premiums devoted to collision repair is rather small, with the majority given to liability coverage. Given that comprehensive and collision typically makes up about a third of a premium, any increase in repair costs won’t drastically affect overall premium rates, which are affected by a multitude of other factors. It was also stated that, in cases such as this one, in which a vehicle adopts new, pricier materials, insurers need time to gather more data before determining any adjustments to collision insurance costs relative to previous models. So we’re going to have to wait for the next-generation F-150 to hit the road—and for truck owners to start hitting stuff—before we learn whether an insurance penalty exists.
Ford’s Take—and the Takeaway: Finally, we reached out to Ford for its take on the matter. (What, you thought we’d just look at the consumer web site and call it a day?) Naturally, the Blue Oval’s spokespeople reiterated the company’s stance that the 2015 F-150′s repair and insurance costs would be competitive with those of the current rig, as well as the rest of the trucks in the segment. Speaking specifically to the cost of aluminum, a spokesperson told us that “while high-strength aluminum alloy is more expensive than steel on a pound-for-pound basis, we’ve developed manufacturing efficiencies to reduce this cost as much as possible.” (We’d also like to know whether Ford factors the enormous tooling equipment costs from the material switch into its claim.) To ease the minds of owners of damaged 2015-model-year (and beyond) F-150s, Ford plans to certify and equip 750 of its dealerships to handle collision repairs on the trucks, as well as “recognizing” (certifying) an additional 2000 independent shops for the same work.
Unfortunately, just as the debate on this topic has reached its frothiest, the truth is that we won’t know how it all will shake out until a few years down the line. Aluminum F-150 replacement parts and repair costs may slightly increase from today’s figures, although the numbers—as well as insurance costs—remain nebulous. But we suspect that the introduction of the all-aluminum 2015 Ford F-150 won’t end up being the financial apocalypse for owners that many are making it out to be. So let’s turn the wick down on the firestorm for a while, eh?
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