The reality of aluminum body panels.

[KennyG]

For most of us, the real question would be does it cost more to insure. So far, the answer seems to be no. This may change with more experience, but I'm sure the insurance companies will capture the true probable cost very accurately. That's their job.

There is significant probability factor here on how likely it is to require repair. After, if we were only worried about how much it cost to repair something, no one would every buy a diesel engine. Those things are wicked expensive to overhaul compared to a gas engine.

 

[Rustyiron]

. So what's the real scoop?

Let it go dude, concentrate on fixing that big chip on your shoulder.

 

[MossRoad]

Reading your post made me think of my '79 F150 Ranger...with the special Walnut Glow paint, the 302 V8 and automatic, power steering and brakes and a rear step bumper and rear sliding window and a radio, it cost me less than $7000 out the door with tax and plates. And today a tail light costs $887?? I know crash parts are way overpriced, but....

I was thinking today... 5 of those tail lights or one of my 1993 Suburbans! :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

At the end of the day I believe aluminum will save money. If it's that tough to dent then the hail storm that did $4800 in damages to my 2013 Ford Edge would have probably not left a mark.

Chris

Yeah, I'm waiting to see about hail... I wonder if the vertical aluminum panels are any thinner or thicker or same as the side panels. We had a 2000 Impala that got absolutely roasted in a hail storm. 3 stones next to each other were 5.5" long. As I recall, it was something like $4800 dollars damage to a $5500 car and the insurance company repaired it!!! Every panel was dented except the two right side doors. The hood had to be replaced. They did PDR on the roof. The left front and rear fenders had PDR as did both the left doors. All-in-all, there were well over 200 dents in the car. They tried PDR on the trunk lid, but we took it back because we could see it, so they ended up replacing that. The rear spoiler got replaced then, too. So that trunk lid and spoiler re-do probably ate any savings they had VS totaling it. Anyhow, that old car lasted a lot longer than I expected after all that nice body work. :laughing:

 

[MossRoad]

9.5% sales tax!!

$45/hr for paint labor is a deal.

And why is insurance paying this?

I think the article said they paid for the repair with cash, not insurance. When they told the shop manager that they were paying with cash because they didn't want an insurance claim, he said he'd give the guy a break on the labor. Without that break on the labor, it would have been $1800 more than the $2900 on the bill! So, about $4700 would have been the actual bill had they charged the insurance company. That's a lot of money for something that could happen in a parking lot, like backing into a light pole and denting the rear quarter.

We had a kid back into our car door in a parking lot and I was surprised it was about $1500 in damage just to pull the dent, fill, sand, repaint and blend in. I felt bad for the kid.

 

[Garandman]

I have a 2006 Subaru Outback 3.0R with aluminum hood and tailgate. It just turned 175,000 miles.

- I've yet to be hit by a sledgehammer.

- I have enjoyed the better handling and fuel economy that the lighter weight and more centralized mass that these panels allowed.

-

 

[Garandman]

So you are mad because I posted the article and its' copyrighted. Strange. Why in the world does that even matter to you?

Copyright grants exclusive use of the original work to the one that created it. So by copying the article in entirety you are, in a sense, stealing their work. See why that might matter to someone? Are you saying you are entirely ignorant of copyright?

There is something called "fair use" which allows others to quote an excerpt of the article without permission. For example, posting a link and the first paragraph of an article is generally considered to be "Fair use."

Example.

I hit our brand-new long-term 2015 Ford F-150 4X4 SuperCrew with a sledgehammer. On purpose. Twice.

We bought the $52,000 F-150 from Galpin Ford in Van Nuys, California. The day after the truck was delivered to our Edmunds office in Santa Monica, I went to work with the BFH, intentionally denting the Ford's right quarter panel.

Crazy? Maybe. But we wanted to find out if repairing the aluminum-bodied Ford is more expensive and time-intensive than repairing traditional steel-bodied trucks.

Edmunds article.

 

[mikehaugen]

I'm not sure (hopefully someone can confirm) but I think the expeditions around '05-ish had an aluminum tailgate. Just about everyone I see has the paint bubbling/peeling around the handle. I'm thinking off the top of my head but I don't remember them being rusty but more of an oxidized aluminum color, hence my assumption.

 

[HHR]

I'm not sure (hopefully someone can confirm) but I think the expeditions around '05-ish had an aluminum tailgate. Just about everyone I see has the paint bubbling/peeling around the handle. I'm thinking off the top of my head but I don't remember them being rusty but more of an oxidized aluminum color, hence my assumption.

All Expeditions from 03 and up had aluminum tailgates. All Explorers from 02 and up had an aluminum hood. My 2004 F150 had an aluminum hood. My 2007 Ford Freestyle has an aluminum hood with steel reinforcements behind it. Where the steel and aluminum meet under the leading edge, corrosion builds up and bubbles the paint. It seems to start around the latch striker and the front corners.

 

[Diamondpilot]

I'm not sure (hopefully someone can confirm) but I think the expeditions around '05-ish had an aluminum tailgate. Just about everyone I see has the paint bubbling/peeling around the handle. I'm thinking off the top of my head but I don't remember them being rusty but more of an oxidized aluminum color, hence my assumption.

I believe the GM SUV'S also do such as the Yukon and Suburban.

Chris