Will The Ford F-150 Built With Aluminum Be More Costly To Repair

In order to help to increase fuel mileage, automakers have begun to build vehicles

with aluminum rather than steel.

As with most things, there are pros and cons to this decision.

Vehicle owners of these new aluminum vehicles are now beginning to find out the

cost of repairing an aluminum vehicle can be higher than repairs of a vehicle made of

steel.

The Ford F-150 pickup truck seems to be the vehicle that has gotten the most notice for

this change from steel to aluminum construction.

It has been Ford's best selling truck for over

three decades.

When Ford announced the change in construction from steel to aluminum for the F-150, the first question was whether or not

the vehicle would be as safe in a crash.

The answer to this question, at least by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety is

"yes.

" The Institute ran five separate types of tests on the aluminum F-150 and the vehicle

passed all five of the safety tests with the Institutes highest rating of "good.

" That of course is very good news.

Is The F-150 Going To Cost Me More To Repair

The next question asked was whether or not the aluminum vehicle would be more

susceptible to damage and more expensive to repair.

Ford and the Insurance Institute do not agree on the answer to this question.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety conducted tests to determine estimated repair

costs for the aluminum F-150 versus the steel F-150 and determined that repair costs for the

aluminum F-150 would be approximately 25% higher for the aluminum version.

If you are the owner of a new Ford F-150 that is

made of aluminum you are happy that you are getting

better gas mileage.

Everybody likes to get the best gas mileage possible.

But the smile on the face of these owners may turn into a frown the first time that they

need to take it in for repairs after suffering damage in a collision.

Not so fast says Ford.

Ford Motor Company says that the repair costs will be approximately the same for

both types of vehicles.

It Will Take Time To Know The Cost To Repair The Aluminum Version Of The F-150

The truth may in fact lay somewhere in the middle.

Vehicles can suffer damage in many different ways as the result of a collision.

The new F-150's made with aluminum are going to have to be involved in thousands of

different types of crashes over a period of time in order for repair data to be able to

begin to show the whole picture.

In the meantime, if you are the proud owner of a new F-150 made with aluminum, enjoy

the improved gas mileage that you are getting and try to avoid getting into a

collision altogether.