Aluminium: lightness and strength at premium prices

Special Report: Aluminium

The aluminium and adhesive bonding revolution has begun in earnest. Prestige car companies are trumpeting it, panel shops are groaning under the cost of gearing up for it and insurance companies are passing it off as a novelty that will hardly cause a ripple on their mainstream business. Paint & Panel reports.
If this latest automotive technology follows established evolutionary patterns, aluminium parts, particularly body panels, will appear in more and more mainstream cars -- along with bonded and riveted joins. According to Thatcham, the UK automotive research group, 15 per cent of new cars in Europe are made either fully or partly from aluminium -- and the trend is expected to grow.
Aluminium content is far from new. Rolls-Royce, Honda NSX and Range Rover are just a few that have used aluminium body panels for many years. In the case of Rolls-Royce the technology goes back nearly 50 years, and repairers of those cars have grown used to the special needs of handling the metal -- in pressed sheet form.
But three recently introduced models; the Jaguar XJ, the BMW 5 Series and the Audi A8 have applied aluminium not only to exterior panels but to the body shell and structural assemblies as well. In doing so, they have called for additional forms of aluminium to include extruded and moulded components. Moreover, there are various techniques of manufacturing the metal itself which give different properties. The addition of silicone, for example, makes it more rigid, therefore suited to doorskins to heighten resistance to the impact of shopping trolleys. Additional magnesium increases strength in structural mouldings. In the case of Audi and Jaguar, the entire finished bodies of the cars are baked to increase the tensile strength of the aluminium. The added strength is a safety bonus in a collision but is much more difficult to repair.
Before these cars were released onto the market, their manufacturers had to set up repair strategies. Equipment and training had to be ready because one thing was certain: their cars would, sooner or later, be accident damaged. As a case in point, the first new Audi A8 to come to Australia was shunted in a pre-delivery nose-and-tail and may become a write-off.
Paint and Panel spoke to each of the three car companies handling the new aluminium and bonding models to see how they had set up their repair networks.

BMW 5 Series
As far as aluminium cars go, the BMW 5 Series is something of a hybrid. From the firewall forward, it is all aluminium, but back from there steel and composites are used. No doubt there are compelling design and engineering reasons for this, but one might presume that the future will see the whole car made from aluminium -- along with other BMW models.
Because the BMW 5 Series is, in the company's words, 'a high volume product' and 'the world's best medium-sized sedan', the swing to aluminium, riveting and bonding was far from experimental. The company went full on into training its 'approved' (designated dealerships) and 'recommended' (designated independent bodyshops) repairers, and supplying them with BMW sourced equipment. BMW flew trainers from Germany at the end of August to hold three-day courses for 23 bodyshops. Expenses were shared, with BMW A spokesman for BMW service development said the cost of tooling for the new car would be at least $20,000, not including pins for the preferred Celette jig. The main 'must-have' tool is a stud welder. Also needed is a burner, adhesive gun and various bonding materials .
The trainers told panel shop technicians that structural safety issues were paramount when repairing the 5 Series. There were specific parts which could not be repaired but had to be replaced.
Interestingly, the special training only applied to the front end of the car -- meaning that insurance companies might recommend a repairer based on the location of the damage. After training repairers, BMW set out to explain the repair process to insurers so that they would have some understanding when confronted with quotes on the new 5 Series.

Audi A8
The Audi prestige flagship, the A8, is now in its second generation all aluminium guise. The first came out nearly nine years ago and the company appointed one repairer, McMillan Prestige Car Repairs in Sydney, to look after all A8 collisions in Australia. That is still the case, although more repairers may be needed -- particularly if the company decides to market volume selling aluminium cars in Australia.
Recently, two McMillan technicians, Juan Tomas and Jim Adamopoulos, were sent to China and Germany to train in repairing the A8. They commented that there was even more emphasis than before on replacing rather than repairing -- including cosmetic features.
McMillan has the advantage of already being set up with special Audi repair equipment. It has a fire-proof curtained bay, ducted air, MIG welding, adhesives, rivet guns and a full range of specific tools. A dedicated Celette jig is also on site. Presumably, this equipment could also be used on other aluminium cars.
Service manager, Ken Boxhall makes the point that if cars like the A8 are not repaired by an Audi trained and approved bodyshop, the car's three year warranty would be in jeopardy -- to say nothing of safety issues.

Jaguar XJ Series
Although the new XJ Series is not radically different in appearance to the previous model, the body shell, support panels and exterior skins are now all aluminium. This has meant an extensive training program for Jaguar repairers. Jaguar Australia, which has six 'A class' approved repairers Australia-wide, (plus one in New Zealand) has been running a series of hands-on technician workshops at its Sydney headquarters. The trainees practice repairs on an actual XJ body shell and doors. They discover, for instance, that once an aluminium panel skin has been substantially stretched with an impact it cannot be shrunk back into shape like steel. Beating it is also limited because the metal has a tendency to tear. There are many instances where replacement, rather than repair, becomes mandatory with the new XJ. Distorted chassis rails, for instance, cannot be repaired.
Bob Allen, training manager for the Premier Auto Group which imports Jaguar (along with Volvo, Aston Martin and Land Rover), says it is virtually impossible for a non-approved repairer to work on the new XJ. In NSW, the company has chosen Scientific Motor Body and Nathans Prestige Autobody as its A class repairers. Nathans managing director Richard Nathan estimates the total cost of gearing up for the new XJ to be over $100,000 -- although repairers taking it on may already have some of the equipment required. Like BMW, Jaguar will sell special tools to its approved repairers.

Educating insurance companies
Importers of these three prestige vehicles have all gone to some lengths to educate insurance companies in what will be higher repair costs and limited choices in repairers. Their training programs have all included invitations to assessors -- with varying degrees of response.
Richard Nathan's view is: "Insurance companies have a responsibility to direct repairs to specially trained repairers. I can see the day coming when certain repairs will have to be entered in the log book, so that there is a record of the work having been correctly carried out. Subsequent owners of the car need to know that. A non-approved repair could become the subject of future litigation."
Ralph Johnston, national director, corporate affairs for AAMI, says aluminium bodied cars are part of the ongoing technology revolution -- but currently they represent only a very small proportion of total vehicle insurance. It is a case of user pays -- through specific categories of insurance where there is a loading to cover the additional cost of repairs involving aluminium, riveting and adhesives.
Keith Dean of Allianz Australia says virtually the same thing -- if repairs were more costly and were confined to a small choice of shops, premiums would simply be adjusted to reflect this.
Australia's biggest insurer, IAG, has a policy of limiting the numbers of shops it recommends to its customers through its Preferred Smash Repairer scheme. If it insures one of the new aluminium bodied cars and there is no PSR with OEM-approved training and equipment to repair it, the company will invoke its policy of allowing the policy holder to choose a repairer and make a cash settlement on the claim. The question remains as to whether the IAG assessor will see the quote in the same light as a specialist repairer outside the PSR program. However, a spokesperson for IAG said the company was making every effort to understand the special demands of aluminium repairs. Its assessors have attended several workshops run by the relative manufacturers.

Up the ally
ABS Accident Solutions network director, Alan Hodgkinson says insurers could face problems from the amount of aluminium components used in cars. He says there is a shortage in the specialist tools and trained repairers needed to repair aluminium components and expects the problem to grow as the use of aluminium components increases. Aluminium is likely to be seen on higher volume cars very soon and there will be pressure for a much wider range of repair options. Other new technologies used in car manufacturing will also affect the way insurers allocate repair work.