Buying first Taco, question about factory paint and which of two cars you would buy

Hi Everyone,

First of all, thanks for all of the information here, i've learned a lot from reading.

I'd like to know if the Tacoma has painted / body colored Door and Hood Hinge and fuel filler door hardware... or if body-color hardware is evidence of a re-spray. In the pictures, it looks like the paint coverage of the hood hinges and hardware is above and beyond what the factory does.

I'd also like to get your guys opinion on two trucks i'm thinking of buying... feel free to tell me to keep looking! =) Sorry for the length here.

looking at a 2010 and a 2013. Both are 4x4, v6, TRD off road, the 2010 has premium sound and a couple more options than the 2013. Both cars were recently purchased by their sellers and the sellers have no knowledge maintenance work... My budget is about $20k.

I'm leaning towards the 2010 because i think that the 2013 was re-sprayed.. am i nuts? the 2013 has more complete carfax records.


2013:
East coast car with 100k. Factory service records every 5k miles like clock work. Undercarriage shows 100K of driving on salted roads... but no real frame rust, just surface rust on hardware.

Wholesaler bought from the east coast and had it trucked to the west coast.

The paint looked too-good to be true all around. The Door Hinge bolts and Hood Hinge bolts were painted body-color. I THINK this means that the car was painted... I've looked at a few others (2010, 2007) and they both had unpainted hinge hardware. Do I have this backwards?

the paint coverage on the hood hinges looks more complete than the other cars i've looked at (see images)

The Fuel Filler door rivets (hinge broken) were NOT body color... I am under the impression that they should be, if they haven't been replaced.

I understand that a re-spray doesn't mean that something bad happened to the car, but the uncertainty of what was replaced and why doesn't rest well with me.





2010
AZ / West coast car. 110k. 2 owners. Carfax doesn't show much of a maintenance history.

Private sale, current owner looking for a baby-friendly vehicle. Dealer he purchased from told them that a backward facing car seat would fit in the back of an access cab. They're expecting their first and found this to be not true after looking at car seats.

some evidence of ground/frame contact, but nothing major. Front bumper was obviously painted, "grey out" grille and headlight trim (headlights?) were added to the car. I think it has been repaired after a front-end collision that didn't touch the hood or the front bulkhead.

Hood and door hardware is NOT body color... Fuel filler door rivets ARE body color.

Interior is a little rougher than the 2013. It went in and out of 4 wheel H/L more smoothly than the 2013.

Slight valvetrain noise when idling? Also heard what sounded like valve noise under WOT @ about 20mph as the RPMs came up.

Steering felt a little 'looser' than the 2013


Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

I wouldn't worry about the minor paint details as you described them. Complete maintenance records is a winning bet in my book. Look it over and if you fine nothing wrong ( bent frame etc ) go with the 2013. IMO the 2010 is a bigger gamble.

 

Thanks for your input Jimmy. You make a good point on the service records trumping possible paint work. The 2013 NEVER went more than 5k miles without a check-in at the Newark Dealership. Haha, i wonder if i called the service dept if they'd remember the car.


I'm coming from a classic resto/body work background... i'd walk away from a car with a paint job that the owner couldn't explain... but i was usually tearing those cars to metal before starting work.

Would you be concerned about 100k miles in less than 3 years? doing the math on the car, it was driven an average of 5.5 hours a day @ 60mph since 2013.... i guess miles is miles. but these miles were on heavily salted DE roads. i can see the salt residue all over the underside of the motor

 

If it's nice and the price is substantially lower for the '10 I'd go that route. You're going to have to start rebuilding either truck going forward, anyway.

 

My 2012 has color matched hinges and such as pictured on the 2013. There's my contribution.

 

Steves, both trucks are at about the same asking price; but point taken. i am buying a truck with 100k on the clock.

Thank you very much Siesta...provides some peace of mind if i go with the 2013 =). i've been checking out how you have your shell / sleeping platform set up and will be doing something really similar.

 

My 2015 SR5 has body color hinges and I bought it brand new. My 91 Civic had body color hinges so did my 2000 Accord. So I don't know where the notion that a hinge being body color means the car was re-painted comes from....lol what color should they be? Or maybe it is a Japanese thing. It is only a 2013 and not that old so if the a truck was treated well the paint should look good. Dont know about the rivets on the fuel door but the door and hinge om mine is body color the rivets I dont know for sure but I think they are natural metal.

I would always go with the option with the best maintenance history when buying used. Carfax is not the end all be all either.

The 4x4 just depends on where the internals are at when you engage it might go in real easy or might take a few feet and sometimes you might have to switch back out and in again. Ideally be rolling along at speed 1~45MPH and it should go right in most times.

 

2013 with extensive maintenance records is always better than a 2010 with no maintenance records. Esp since they are asking the same price point for both vehicles.

No Brainer in my book.

 

723rdCAT - i'm speaking specifically about the bolts that pass through the hinges into the doors. Not the door hinges themselves. I looked at a handful of Tacomas and most had hardware that was black or silver - not painted.

The hood hinges... the paint coverage is just way better than most OEM paint jobs, and shinier. In most of the trucks i looked at, paint coverage in these nether-corners was pretty sparse.

The idea is really just about whether or not the whole truck was painted at some point and why.

Edit: Thank you for the info on 4x4

 

Jimmy, agreed. My concern is that the truck may have been in a major accident or something after the paper trail ends and before i buy it. a paint job could be indicative of major repairs.

I can check the VIN stamp on the motor, but the concern is a lot of parts could have been changed out if the whole truck was painted... because of an accident or flood fire or whatever.

 

What do you mean by rebuilding the truck? Just curious

 

Let's see. 100k. Shocks, brakes, tires, timing belt, water pump, wheel bearings, fluids, plugs, filters, belts and probably some other things I'm missing. Unless there is proof of maintenance I'd be figuring this into the purchase.

 

Okay.

Just an FYI the 2005 and up have a timing chain yes? At least for the V6's.

 

Control arms, bushings, ball joints, u joints, center bearing, steering rack bushings. Soon, alternator, battery; the list goes on and unless I see proof that it's been maintained I'm figuring two to 3K on top of the price of the truck but that's just me.

 

IMHO id go with the 13. its better looking and has Maint records.

My 12 has colormatched hinges and has hardware.

 

Serpentine belt for the Alternator, AC, Water Pump etc...

 

The hood hinge-to-hood bolts should be body color. The door hinge-to-door bolts should NOT be painted. Doors are on of the last parts installed on the vehicle.