2008 Base with 270k miles; worth painting?

I have a stock 08 no frills base 2.7L/4cyl, 2wd, automatic, regular cab Tacoma. I’ve driven it 271k miles and it’s still going strong. Over the past couple of years, it’s gotten a few dings and dents, and the paint is failing. Is it worth having bodywork/painting done on a Tacoma with this many miles? Is this one of those trucks that potentially will go unlimited miles? (It doesn’t have the frame rot issue.) I love when I see the old pre-Tacoma Toyota trucks on the road and going strong. Could my little base bring me or someone else that kind of joy in another 20 or so years? Or is it a waste of money to do cosmetic repairs on this truck?

PS I have ordered the missing center caps. They were relatively inexpensive.

 

I think that's a question only you can answer. Do you plan on keeping the truck? Are you willing to put money into body work that you will not recoup if you decide to sell it? These trucks have a long track record of being ridiculously reliable. With that being said, they are still trucks and things still can go wrong. If you take care of it and continue with proper maintenance, you may just now be half-way through the life of the vehicle. Or it could blow up tomorrow. Are you willing to swap a new engine/transmission in if the need arises? If so, then the body work would be worth it if you plan to keep the truck road worthy for years to come.

 

Truck has been good to you and lm assuming paid off so you have nothing to lose fixing it up cosmetically. You will easily get that money back if you decided to sell.

 

@beardguy Thanks. Those are good things to consider. When I first got the truck—and even now—I have the hope that it will last as long as I do. I’d imagine any repairs, including a new engine and/or transmission will be less expensive than a new truck. I just suppose I wanted some sort of confirmation that these trucks, barring a catastrophe, will really (potentially) last double the current miles….

 

There's no reason it shouldn't!

 

If you like the truck and made the decision to keep it or not, things should be pretty straightforward. Paint the truck, fix it the way you want. You're in bonus time. When the engine or tranny goes, swap it out. It will be a lot cheaper than a new truck.

 

Thats the move!

 

This. ^^^

New tailgate pre-painted 040 white is about $500 on ebay. Can't tell if the rear quarter is dented or just scuffed, but if scuffed looks like it might buff out. Dent on front fender may be fixable by a paintless dent removal service. Rest of what's visible in the pics looks fine, but in desperate need of a claybar and wax.

If you're not handy/inclined, may just want to have a local bodyshop give as estimate on it, then decide if it's worth it to you.


EDIT// Looking at the pics on my PC and not my phone now, I can see the paint damage to the right rear bedside. That won't buff out, but I stand by my earlier recommendation to have a local bodyshop give you an estimate (or maybe 2 or 3 shops) and go from there.

 

Not worth painting.

 

The paint doesn’t look bad. If you are gonna keep it, totally worth it.

Agree that only you can answer that. I’ve masked off portions of my truck damaged in camping/Offroad and just rattlecan.

 

I would say not worth it, it’s going to start getting expensive to pass inspections. At least mine has after 200k miles replacing a lot of stock parts

 

Fix it up. Treat it good and it’ll serve you well. Let us know what you decide and give us some progress pictures.

 

@WRREGL will do! I got a quote yesterday from a super nice young man—father/son business. Fellow advised a little PDR, touch up paint & a detail job. He even pulled my bumper & popped one dent while he was assessing, no charge. Only $150 for the bodywork & another $150 for a thorough detail, so no complaints there.

 

That's exactly what I was going to recommend. Repair and all new paint would be quite expensive. But, if you're not looking for perfect you could spend a lot less to have a PDR guy do the best he can, little buff/polish and a little touch up here and there. Could be a good compromise.