Does this frame look replaced or painted?

I've been looking around for 01-04 3.4 TRD trucks near or not too far from me before I consider flying to get one This truck is in Virginia. It's 3 hours away from me and has 121k miles.

Before I go down there to look at it, maybe you guys can help me out. Does this frame look painted or maybe replaced? Does that look like factory paint? Just don't want to buy a truck with a bed liner painted frame or something.

 

could just be the lighting or dirt on the paint but the last pic looks painted to me. the texture looks rough like they painted right over surface rust without any prep

 

Yea it looks too good to be true. I might just keep looking

 

That’s a clean undercarriage. Go get it.

 

What!? C’mon. Look at the rocker panels, gas tank skid plate, driveshaft. That truck has little/no rust and it’s not because it’s hidden. Just do your due diligence, get more pictures, vehicle history etc.

 

That’s a frame that is in great condition.

 

Go to an independent shop and perform a PPI.

 

Alrighty, well I'm just afraid to get burned is all. I'll go ahead and do some more digging on it. Rest of the truck, rockers, etc look great in the photos.

 

I'm gonna go down there tomorrow to look at it and get some additional photos.

 

How far do you have to travel?

 

3 hours. But I'll be an hour closer because of where I'll be tomorrow dropping off a gun I sold.

 

I’ve walked away from a purchase after flying across the country. Three hours is nothing……..

 

Know what sucks about technologically impaired people? They send the worst pictures...sorry you got "screenshots" instead of the actual pictures OP. Actual pictures would provide more detail and you'd be able to zoom in versus getting all that grainy compressed crap.

With that said, the frame shouldn't be "glossy" so that tells me painted, but that third picture looks like part of the exhaust is also black which screams a lot of it has been painted.

Good thing is, there's absolutely no flaking that I can see, but still take a ball peen hammer and do your due diligence. Frame looks to be fully intact and in great shape so maybe they just painted it to keep it looking new.

 

Do an independent PPI without leaving your house.

 

Looks legit to me. Just for comparison here's my 07. Live in a desert environment with no salt in the winter. Nothing done to frame the first 13 years... just started Fluid Film a few years ago. Frame has faded over the years but still has the sheen i see in your pictures.

 

Thats cleaner than my replaced frame. Props to you

 

Look at the welded joints by the suspension and cab mounts, holes look crispy machined with just some paint. IMHO, it looks as though you got a new frame, and it was garage kept or maybe it was subsequently skillfully repainted. This is just from examining those awful screenshots.

ABSOLUTELY. Call ahead and schedule ahead of time and you wont have to wait, it doesn't take long to do, but could catch something you miss. Cheap insurance.

THIS^^^^^^^^ Buyers remorse is MUCH more expensive.

NO SHIT! most people have only figures out about 5% of the feature set on any given phone, and then they trade it every year for a different one anyhow!

Could be, only your eyes are going to be able to tell if its worth the cost.

 

If you have the vin number to the truck I can run the vin to see if it was replaced. But based off the pictures that’s likely an original frame. The whole under carriage has indeed had paint put on it, but I don’t see any scale. The floor pans look mint (albeit low quality photos)

 

at the very least, that frame has been painted
Pay for a carfax

 

I've got a friend that works at a dealership, he can grab me the carfax tomorrow. What would you guys reckon the price should be? It's at a used car lot for 14,400. I was hoping to find something around 12 or less but maybe I can haggle.