High Insurance Prices Expected For Aluminum-Laden Vehicles
By John D. Oravecz, The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review | |
McClatchy-Tribune Information Services |
Parts and repair costs could double for the aluminum truck, say experts and body shops that fix aluminum cars on the market. And companies that analyze data for the collision industry say insurance rates will increase, probably 5 to 10 percent above the average premium of
Ford will start production of the F-150 at its
Ford spokesman
But collision experts such as
"This is the one getting everyone's attention," Turri said of the high-volume F-150.
The likelihood of replacing an aluminum hood is 44.1 percent, compared with 42.7 percent for steel, he said, citing 2012 industry figures. Though the difference is only 1.4 percent, "when you're dealing with 11 million collision claims a year, that adds up for insurers," he said.
Front fenders made of aluminum are replaced 55 percent of the time, compared with 52.3 percent for steel. Those differences will drive up repair costs.
"The price of parts, that's when you can get into serious dollars," he said.
Fewer mechanics will be trained and equipped to repair the aluminum body; repairs will require training in techniques at Ford dealers and independent shops. By one estimate, fewer than 2 percent of the nation's 30,000 independent shops are certified to repair aluminum. Half as many body shops exist compared to 30 years ago, because of the cost of keeping up with technology and complexity of cars and trucks.
"We've done a lot of information-gathering on this," said
"The labor increase, on average, was 12 percent. And for materials, it's a 35 to 40 percent increase for aluminum over previous standard models," Horn said data from aluminum Audis, Jaguars and BMWs show. He expects insurance costs to rise about 10 percent for the aluminum F-150, based on rate increases for those models.
"It's sticker shock after the purchase," Horn said. "... Consumers truly don't understand the cost increases until afterwards. Ford owners are loyal, and insurance costs usually don't go into the buying decision for most people."
"This is a case of feel-good government (mileage) mandates that will force businesses that use trucks to pass the additional costs of transportation on to their customers. There is no free lunch here," Shaffer said.
The F-150 will be the highest volume aluminum-structure vehicle in history, said
Ford sold 763,402 F-series trucks in 2013. It does not break out numbers for the F-150.
With those challenges in mind, Ford designed the F-150 to be easier to repair,
Levine said Ford is working to get dealers up to speed. "We estimate it will cost
Coultas said Ford wants aluminum-capable repair shops to be located no more than 1.5 miles from dealers.
"My fear is there won't be enough repair shops when the F-150 first comes to dealers," said
Miller intends to become certified to fix the F-150 and thinks it will be a superior truck. Ford's
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