Using your link to find dealers, unselect the Aluminum Repair, select Collision Repair, then search. That will tell you which dealers do normal collision repair. Then add the aluminum repair selection and search, and you can see how many fewer there are. In this area, 44857, the search finds 44 collision repair shops and 30 of those are certified for aluminum. Most of my closer dealers are certified. We're spoiled with so many close dealers from the big 3. When my wife was shopping for an SUV some years ago, she thought she wanted a Mazda (I think?). When she realized how few and far between the import dealers were, she changed her mind and stuck with local dealers.
Got a newer Ford? Dont dent it....
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Garandman
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Good to know. My 10 year old Subaru Outback with 210,000 miles on it has an aluminum hood and tailgate. Now I'll be extra careful.
Aluminum makes the vehicle lighter, with benefits in performance, handling, and fuel economy. And most (over 90%) aluminum is recycled.
"...pound for pound, aluminum is stronger and tougher than steel and will be the material of choice for Ford moving forward." Alan Mulally, Ford CEO.
In case you think he's wrong:
Word is substantial portions of the next-gen GM pickup will have aluminum body panels.
KennyG
Elite Member
For those who are uncomfortable with change, collecting classic vehicles will always be a rewarding hobby. The rest of us realize that technology is driving change for the good in all directions. It was mentioned above that "beating the dents out" is becoming a lost art. It isn't just because of aluminum, it's also because of the high cost of skilled labor, the advances in welding technology and bonding agents, as well as material science that make aluminum and plastics much better for body applications. I look forward to a day when almost all body parts are aluminum or composites (or titanium on the million dollar sports car I can't afford.)
roadhunter
Elite Member
What I'd like to see is a comparison of how aluminum holds up to hail. After seeing the commercial on the bed not holding up to impacts I have concerns that the aluminum is softer and will dent easily during hailstorms which is my biggest concerns as my vehicles get hail pretty regularly.
I suspect that is why aluminum is not used more for roofing material in construction applications like steel is.
I have no doubt more auto manufacturers will be going this route. I certainly wouldn't mind having hundreds of pounds removed from my truck.
I suspect that is why aluminum is not used more for roofing material in construction applications like steel is.
I have no doubt more auto manufacturers will be going this route. I certainly wouldn't mind having hundreds of pounds removed from my truck.
Diamondpilot
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I have 21 within 1 hr.
Not a issue here.
Perhaps some should drive wooden buggies?
Chris
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I just got my Sierra back out of the body shop for some 8 grand in hail damage. You could barely tell the vehicle was damaged. The alluminum tonneau cover got the worst of the damage. I could hardly believe it. Like someone went berserk with a welding hammer.
The (top notch) body shop owner isn't a big fan of the alluminum. Especially when steel fasteners are involved.
He had one customer bring back a repair with an alluminum hood. It seems that the body shop never touched it, but the customer simply closed the hood too quickly, buckling it!
The (top notch) body shop owner isn't a big fan of the alluminum. Especially when steel fasteners are involved.
He had one customer bring back a repair with an alluminum hood. It seems that the body shop never touched it, but the customer simply closed the hood too quickly, buckling it!
Garandman
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The aluminum hood on my 2006 Outback looks just like a steel hood. Only 20 lbs lighter.
Aluminum roofing is less common than steel for the same reason that copper is less common than aluminum. Cost.
roadhunter
Elite Member
But we are being told there is not cost difference. :stirthepot:
I see plenty of copper roofs but I' can't say I've ever seen a aluminum roof installed.
Aluminum is not the same as steel. They each have different properties. The Chevy commercial is not very realistic but being in a hailstorm is. If aluminum holds up as good against Hail then I'd certainly consider buying an aluminum vehicle once there were a few choices in repair shops within a couple of hours. For people who live in rural areas that are away from larger cities there will be issues finding a repair shop in the short term if you ahve an issue. If you live within an hour of half a million people or more then it's probably less of a travel issue and just a cost issue at that point.
roadhunter
Elite Member
21 body shops out of over a hundred shops give you choices but do you really think they aren't going to charge more for going to the trouble to get certified with training and equipment so they can service aluminum vehicles?
Who do you think ends up paying the extra costs? Manufacturer, Body Shop, Insurance Company, or Consumer.
roadhunter
Elite Member
I just love it when people claim there is not cost difference and that aluminum panels are not worked by hand for repairs then proceed to tell everyone else how stupid they are.
Forbes Welcome
Still, the real purpose of the stunt was to see how expensive it would be for major collision work. Ford helpfully pointed out that the price for a replacement right rear-quarter panel is exactly the same on a steel-bodied 2014 F-150 as it is on the aluminum-bodied 2015 model: $967.48. But Edmunds deliberately chose to smash the rear quarter panel because it’s a body part that is less likely to be swapped out like a damaged door, hood or front fender. Instead, it needed meticulous body work.
The problem is that the work has to be done in a segregated clean room — away from other metal particles that could cause contamination or paint adhesion problems — by trained experts in “aluminum-capable” body shops or dealerships using special tools. This isn’t that rare; after all, lots of cars have aluminum body panels so there are plenty of experts around. But the equipment is expensive. Ford pegs the cost at $30,000-$50,000 for a single service bay. Some dealers gripe they’ve spent closer to $70,000, which could take years to pay off.
The other issue, according to Edmunds, is that the dealer and an independent body shop told them the labor rate for aluminum repairs can be up to $120 an hour — twice the rate for traditional collision work — and aluminum is more difficult to work with, so the job takes longer.
When all was said and done, the bill to fix the bludgeoned pickup was $2,938.44, which included more than 20 hours of labor to straighten the panel, apply a specialized aluminum paint filler, then prime, paint, color sand and buff the panel. That was a discount, actually, because the Ford service technician took pity on the brand new truck owner (never identified as Edmunds to protect the integrity of the experiment) and charged him the regular $60-per-hour labor rate, instead of the $120-per-hour aluminum labor rate. If the dealer had charged the full $120 rate, Edmunds figures the bill would have come to $4,138.44 — $1,800, or nearly 77 percent, more than the cost of repairing a steel panel for a typical 10 hours at $60 per hour.
Forbes Welcome
Still, the real purpose of the stunt was to see how expensive it would be for major collision work. Ford helpfully pointed out that the price for a replacement right rear-quarter panel is exactly the same on a steel-bodied 2014 F-150 as it is on the aluminum-bodied 2015 model: $967.48. But Edmunds deliberately chose to smash the rear quarter panel because it’s a body part that is less likely to be swapped out like a damaged door, hood or front fender. Instead, it needed meticulous body work.
The problem is that the work has to be done in a segregated clean room — away from other metal particles that could cause contamination or paint adhesion problems — by trained experts in “aluminum-capable” body shops or dealerships using special tools. This isn’t that rare; after all, lots of cars have aluminum body panels so there are plenty of experts around. But the equipment is expensive. Ford pegs the cost at $30,000-$50,000 for a single service bay. Some dealers gripe they’ve spent closer to $70,000, which could take years to pay off.
The other issue, according to Edmunds, is that the dealer and an independent body shop told them the labor rate for aluminum repairs can be up to $120 an hour — twice the rate for traditional collision work — and aluminum is more difficult to work with, so the job takes longer.
When all was said and done, the bill to fix the bludgeoned pickup was $2,938.44, which included more than 20 hours of labor to straighten the panel, apply a specialized aluminum paint filler, then prime, paint, color sand and buff the panel. That was a discount, actually, because the Ford service technician took pity on the brand new truck owner (never identified as Edmunds to protect the integrity of the experiment) and charged him the regular $60-per-hour labor rate, instead of the $120-per-hour aluminum labor rate. If the dealer had charged the full $120 rate, Edmunds figures the bill would have come to $4,138.44 — $1,800, or nearly 77 percent, more than the cost of repairing a steel panel for a typical 10 hours at $60 per hour.