Aluminum Car Bodies: Higher Insurance?

Aluminum has become an increasingly popular material for car construction in recent years, with several car manufacturers adopting it for their vehicles. Aluminum is lightweight yet durable, and it offers better fuel economy and crash energy absorption than steel. However, repairing aluminum cars is more challenging and costly than their steel counterparts. This is mainly due to the different properties of the metal, which require specialized tools, training, and equipment. As a result, certified shops charge a higher rate for aluminum repairs, which can be almost double the cost of steel repairs.

So, the question arises: are auto insurance rates higher for cars with aluminum body construction?

Repairing aluminium is more expensive

Aluminium is a lightweight yet durable metal that has been used in the aerospace industry for a long time. In recent years, it has become the preferred metal in the automobile industry due to its availability and increased fuel efficiency. However, repairing aluminium is more expensive than repairing steel.

Firstly, aluminium is a relatively new material in the automotive industry, and the industry is still adjusting to working with it. Aluminium has different properties compared to steel, and therefore requires a different set of tools and techniques to repair it. For example, aluminium cannot be welded like steel, and instead needs to be heated and bonded with rivets. This means that mechanics and auto body technicians need additional training to be able to work with aluminium.

Secondly, aluminium is corrosive to steel, and vice versa. This means that aluminium cars and steel cars must be kept separately, requiring auto body shops to have separate spaces for aluminium car repairs.

Thirdly, aluminium repairs often take longer than steel repairs. This is because aluminium is harder to work with and requires more time to smooth out and fix. For example, in a case study by Edmunds.com, it took over 20 hours to repair an aluminium rear quarter panel on a Ford F150, resulting in a final bill of over $4,000. This was 75% higher than the cost of fixing a steel body.

Finally, aluminium parts are often more expensive and difficult to procure compared to steel parts. Aftermarket steel parts are widely available, whereas aluminium parts are usually only available from the original equipment manufacturer (OEM). This further adds to the overall cost of repairing aluminium vehicles.

In conclusion, while aluminium offers many benefits in terms of weight and durability, it is more expensive to repair than steel due to the specialised knowledge, tools, and time required.

Aluminium is harder to repair

However, there are technicians who can reshape aluminium parts by hand, and body shops are increasingly adding aluminium dent-pulling tools to their stations.

Aluminium and steel also have a corrosive effect on each other, so they cannot be placed side-by-side. This means that aluminium cars and steel cars must be separated in garages, and many garages are now constructing specialised bays to accommodate this. Even dust from steel can accelerate the breakdown of aluminium, so separate tools are also required.

Welding is often a necessary step in auto body repairs and replacements, but steel and aluminium require different welding techniques. Steel takes longer to heat than aluminium, so technicians who are not used to working with aluminium may end up overheating and damaging it. Because of this risk, many vehicles made of aluminium are repaired using alternative methods, such as specialised rivets and adhesives.

The cost of repairing aluminium is also higher than that of steel. Aluminium parts are harder to acquire, so they are usually OEM parts, whereas steel repairs can be done with aftermarket parts. This means that aluminium repairs require a different skill set and a new set of tools.

Aluminium is lighter than steel

Aluminium is about a third of the weight of steel. Steel is typically denser than aluminium, at around 2.5-3 times the density of aluminium. This means that steel is also heavier than aluminium.

Aluminium is lighter because it has a low tensile strength. This means that it is often alloyed with other metals to improve its strength. Despite this, aluminium has a better strength-to-weight ratio than steel. This is why aluminium is used in the aerospace and automotive industries, where lightweight materials are needed to improve fuel efficiency.

Aluminium is also desirable because it is malleable and elastic. It can form deeper or more intricate shapes than steel, which tends to crack or rip when pushed to the same limits as aluminium. This makes aluminium a good choice for parts with deep and straight walls.

Aluminium is also used in the electrical industry because it is a good conductor. It is also used in architecture for its malleability, high strength-to-weight ratio, and cost efficiency.

Aluminium is harder to work with than steel

Secondly, aluminium is corrosive to steel, and vice versa, meaning that aluminium and steel cars cannot be worked on in the same space. Auto body shops need to have separate areas for working on aluminium cars, which can be challenging and expensive to set up.

Thirdly, aluminium cannot be welded in the same way as steel. Repairing aluminium panels and frames requires different methods and equipment than repairing steel, and these techniques may be unfamiliar to some mechanics.

Additionally, aluminium is a relatively new material in the automotive industry. As a result, the industry is still adjusting to working with it, and there may be challenges and issues that have not yet been encountered or resolved. For example, Ford experienced an issue with paint peeling from aluminium tailgates due to the paint not being properly formulated for use on aluminium.

Finally, aluminium is more costly than steel when comparing the price based on weight. This is because aluminium has a lower density than steel, so a piece of aluminium of equal volume to a piece of steel will weigh significantly less. However, when comparing prices by volume, aluminium is more cost-effective as it provides more product.

Aluminium is more expensive to insure

Aluminium vehicles are often more expensive to repair than their steel counterparts. This is because aluminium is more difficult to work with than steel. It has different properties to steel, meaning that separate tools and techniques are required to repair it. For example, aluminium cannot be welded in the same way as steel, and it cannot be pulled back into shape in the same manner. As a result, aluminium repairs often require more time and specialised knowledge, driving up the cost.

Additionally, aluminium vehicles may need to be repaired in separate bays from steel vehicles, as the two metals can be corrosive to each other. This further adds to the cost of repairing aluminium vehicles.

The higher cost of repairing aluminium vehicles is reflected in the labour rates for certified aluminium repairs, which can be more than $145 per hour, compared to an average of $92 per hour for steel repairs. This is due to the additional training and equipment required to work with aluminium.

Furthermore, aluminium vehicles often have higher MSRPs than steel vehicles, as aluminium is a more expensive material. This higher value can result in higher insurance premiums, as the cost of repairing or replacing an aluminium vehicle is typically greater than that of a steel vehicle.

In summary, aluminium is more expensive to insure due to the higher cost of repairs, the specialised skills and equipment needed, and the higher labour rates associated with certified aluminium repairs. These factors contribute to the overall higher cost of insuring aluminium vehicles compared to their steel counterparts.

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