Ford won’t require certification for F-150 aluminum repairs, according to The Detroit News.
Ford Motor Co. now says it will not require service center and repair shops to be certified if they they want to do body repairs on the new aluminum-bodied F-150 that debuts later this year.
A Ford executive told reporters and dealers Sunday at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in New Orleans that certification would be required to do body work.
But Ford now says it will not require that designation, a Ford spokeswoman told The Detroit News on Thursday.
The automaker will have a training program for those service centers and repair shops that do choose to participate, and those shops can use their certification in promotional and marketing campaigns. Ford says it expects most of its dealers to participate in the program, which includes tooling upgrades that will cost between $30,000 and $50,000. Ford will chip in up to $10,000 in rebates to purchase equipment for aluminum repairs to any interested dealer with a service shop.
