The denting and piercing is a non issue really, the thin steel can and will dent very easily on these. My 2017 Rebel had dents in the wheel tubs and the bed floor from my minor hauling of firewood and a steel tooth bar for my tractor. I rarely put things in the bed, and the bed had that factory sprayed liner coating on it. On our 2019 King Ranch we opted for the plastic drop in Ford liner, that is a great deal more dent protection. As for denting the body, both steel and aluminum will dent extremely easy, no matter the material used these vehicles today are made with the thinnest and lightest material that they feel they can get away with. As for repairs.... It's no real difference. Besides, if you have an accident, it is likely an insurance claim and not you paying more than the deductible. Body shops have been working with aluminum panels for over a decade now, so that is nothing new for them. For me, the material type is all about corrosion resistance and my past experience. I've yet to see an aluminum body Ford truck perforate, I agree that with enough time it will become an issue. But I suspect that it will be twice as long as the steel body trucks... or more. I do see folks such as yourself that are very uncomfortable with the idea of aluminum, but until I see actual failures of the material I will hold my opinion that in the rust belt, it is a better option. If RAM up-charged for an aluminum option, I would absolutely buy in o that. Ram has some things that I like better than the Ford models.... but Ford also has some things that I like better than the Ram. I guess that is why we have a 2019 King Ranch F-150 and a 2019 Ram 2500 sitting side by side in the garage. Both great vehicles, but very different from each other. Luckily we all have pretty good options out there in the market, so we can all choose what we like based on our unique needs and wants.