PSA: The aluminum panel repair jobs coming into our Tacoma shop have tripled since 2021.

Last week, I had three separate vehicles with aluminum quarter panels, a number that would have been maybe one a month three years ago, and it's making me rethink my whole tool setup.

3 comments

3 Comments

barbaramurphy22d ago

Didn't a bunch of new trucks switch to aluminum around then?

clairem8122d ago

My neighbor bought a 2015 F-150 with the aluminum bed. First time he hauled gravel, it got all scratched up. He was pretty mad about it.

charlesowens3d ago

Yeah Ford went all in on aluminum for the 2015 model year to save weight. I read a whole article about how they said it was more dent resistant but everyone knew scratching would be a thing. Your neighbor @clairem81 is definitely not the first guy to learn that lesson the hard way. It's a truck bed, it's gonna get marked up if you actually use it, aluminum or steel.