The real cost of repairing an aluminum-bodied 2015 Ford F-150 - ConsumerReports.org
com video was to see what it would cost to repair an aluminum-bodied Ford F-150 pickup truck. Edmunds recently took a sledgehammer to the rear quarter-panel of a new F-150. Edmunds concluded that it cost much more to repair the 2015 model than it would to fix the previous steel-bodied version. The problem is that Edmunds took its damaged truck to a body shop that wasn’t certified by Ford to work on repairing aluminum. That’s what makes aluminum appealing to carmakers such as Ford, Audi, Jaguar, and Tesla, and why you can expect this material to be increasingly common on new cars. As more automakers embrace aluminum, consumers will face the challenge of finding repair shops qualified to work on the alloy. Ford has gone to great lengths to train and certify its dealers and affiliated body shops to perform necessary repairs. Such shops are easy to find on the dealer locator at Ford. Ford says that many shops are able to repair aluminum damage, even without certification. However, the company advises that major collision repairs should be performed by aluminum-capable Ford body shops or National Body Shop Network. Source: www.consumerreports.org
