March 24, 2014—Since the first rumors of Ford’s new aluminum F-150 pickup surfaced last summer, speculation has run rampant on what it will cost the average body shop to get fully equipped to repair the 2015 version of America’s top-selling truck.
According to a report from Crain’s Detroit Business, many Ford dealer collision shops expect the cost to exceed $70,000, significantly above the $30,000 to $50,000 price range Ford Motor Co. has cited in the past.
In an exclusive interview with FenderBender, Ford’s dealer communications manager, Elizabeth Weigandt, outlined the tools and equipment the average shop would likely need to become part of the the Ford National Body Shop Network, the company’s group of qualified repairers for its F-150. That list came out to an estimated $35,000.
The full interview will be available in the April edition of FenderBender.
With variations on facilities and additional tool and equipment needs, each collision center will certainly incur different costs.
