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It Costs More To Fix Ford's Aluminum F-150 Than The Steel Version, Says Insurance Institute
07/31/2015 - Body repairs to an aluminum 2015 Ford F-150 took longer and cost 26 percent more than repairs to its 2014 steel-bodied counterpart, according to test results from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
In a crash test, engineers crashed the front left corner of an aluminum F-150 into the right rear corner of a steel F-150 on a 15 percent overlap. Engineers then reversed the setup, crashing the steel truck into the aluminum version.
The trucks were then sent off to a Ford dealership for repairs. The total bill for the aluminum F-150 was $8,885. The cost to repair the steel pickup was $7,034, according to the institute.
The institute said that extra time needed to repair the aluminum body accounted for a higher price to fix frontal damage, while higher parts costs pushed up the repair bill for the rear damage.
"From a simple bolt-on parts replacement to a more-involved removal and installation of entire body panels, fixing the aluminum F-150 is more expensive than repairing a steel-body F-150," said David Zuby, IIHS chief research officer said in a statement.
Ford, however, disagreed with the findings.
"Ford does not agree with the reparability costs and findings by IIHS and other stunts," the company said in a statement to Automotive News.
"Ford’s view is based on real-world accident repair data. In fact, real-world repair costs on the new 2015 Ford F-150 average $869 less than last year’s F-150 model, according to Assured Performance, an independent body shop certification company that works with leading automakers.
"Insurance companies also agree with the new F-150’s repair costs -- with both Allstate and State Farm saying insurance costs for the new F-150 will remain comparable with 2014 models."
More details about the test are available here. Automotive News also has more about the test and its findings here.
The trucks were then sent off to a Ford dealership for repairs. The total bill for the aluminum F-150 was $8,885. The cost to repair the steel pickup was $7,034, according to the institute.
The institute said that extra time needed to repair the aluminum body accounted for a higher price to fix frontal damage, while higher parts costs pushed up the repair bill for the rear damage.
"From a simple bolt-on parts replacement to a more-involved removal and installation of entire body panels, fixing the aluminum F-150 is more expensive than repairing a steel-body F-150," said David Zuby, IIHS chief research officer said in a statement.
Ford, however, disagreed with the findings.
"Ford does not agree with the reparability costs and findings by IIHS and other stunts," the company said in a statement to Automotive News.
"Ford’s view is based on real-world accident repair data. In fact, real-world repair costs on the new 2015 Ford F-150 average $869 less than last year’s F-150 model, according to Assured Performance, an independent body shop certification company that works with leading automakers.
"Insurance companies also agree with the new F-150’s repair costs -- with both Allstate and State Farm saying insurance costs for the new F-150 will remain comparable with 2014 models."
More details about the test are available here. Automotive News also has more about the test and its findings here.
