Picked up a 2001 with 230k, 4WD and center diff (I think that’s what it is) for 3k. Pics to come later this week it’s in the shop getting worked on.

This is going to be a small side project car for me. Eventually turn into daily driver maybe. It’s an SR5. The interior is pretty filthy, going to bissel all the seats, carpet, get new floor mats. Everything is dirty with potential to look good.

So far it needs new front and rear brakes, spark plugs, harmonic balancer, valve cover gasket replaced, and ball joints. My mechanic said the 4WD system looks perfect and most everything else seems to be running good.

I was hesitant to buy one with this many miles but it’ll be fun.

Question: this car is black and a paint job wouldn’t hurt. A friend got his Tacoma done at Maaco for a grand I believe and it looked great. I believe anything will look better than what it is now, even if it’s maaco. Anyone have experience with their paint and what levels I should look at? Keep in mind it’s 18 years old. It doesn’t need to be perfect.

I had a minivan painted at Maaco, using their top of the line basecoat/clearcoat finish, with colorsanding and buffing. It cost almost $2000.

I regretted it the rest of the time I owned the van. The paint was shiny enough, but the prep work was inadequate, I could see sanding marks right through the pretty shiny finish, which just made it worse.

I'm sure it's a question of who you get on a given day, but I would have pretty low expectations, just to avoid unpleasant surprises.

My friend had his car painted by Maaco and it ended up really good. I think the key was that he did all of the prep work himself and was pretty meticulous about it. So, all they had to do was shoot it.

That's the way to do it, and the way I have always done it in the past. I'm way more meticulous than the Maaco guys when it comes to prep . I was lazy this one time, plus it was "just a minivan", but I still hated the results.

If you do the prep yourself and have them just spray it, then you have a higher chance of success. Keep in mind that black is completely unforgiving.

Black is horrible I agree but I think it’d be more to change the color to say silver or white. Any good info on how to prep you could link to?

Hey, I just got a 2001 with 250 4wf in CA for 3k....

Did CBP sell us both the same rig?

Welcome to the ‘01 club! I have an ‘01 silver SR5 that I bought with 180k. Did some stuff to make it better, and it continues to be a work in progress.

With regards to paint, if you go cheap, then cheap is what you’ll get. The painting process isn’t hard, it’s all about the prep work and techniques. If prep work isn’t done properly, you’ll have very crappy looking paint, and while you’re right, it is 18 years old, and if you plan on driving off pavement, you will no doubt get paint chips, minor scrapes and dings, etc. however, “cheap” isn’t that much cheaper if you’re considering painting the whole car. And to get a decent paint job, it’s worth it to shell out a little extra to make sure the job is done right, rather than having it fade in a few years, or have orange peel/drip, uneven surface that you’ll have to stare at every day.

Enjoy your new truck. Looking forward to seeing what you’re doing with it.

I've had a few cars done at Macco.

I keep it cheap and cheap gets. And it can hold up pretty good.

I do all the prep work myself and they spray it. I've always done the cheapest spray.

The Honda that I currently drive cost me $550 to get painted.

Here's the 'build thread' for my DD 1999 Honda Accord.

Collkid's Free 1999 DD. - Drive Accord Honda Forums

I had my Suburban done there.... mistake!!!! They painted it 3 times to get it right, funny thing is, it was the factory color. The second time the roof was a different shade of blue than the rest of it??? They use single stage paint which is pigment mixed with the clear in one shot and they only use one gallon total for all, which is not enough of either, especially for an older 92 model that is big compared to today's standards. I had to it peeling off within 3 months so I went to Maaco Corp and complained. You could see they never sanded off the original, just lightly scuffed it. I got my money back because I didn't want another paint job from them even from another location. It took a long time with complaints to the BBB to get it straight because it couldn't be repaired, just had to be redone.

Congrats on the new rig. Sounds like you have quite the project ahead of you, but should be rewarding once you get it where you want!

Congratulations! My two cents on the paint: get all the mechanical work done first and save the paint job for last. That way, you don't have to be extra careful with the finish during all that.

Any ideas on how to restore foam padding in bottom driver’s side seat? It’s pretty worn from previous owner sliding in and out of car. What would a new seat bottom with new cloth run?

Any and all ideas appreciated. PS car still at shop, pics this week.

I'd 'restore' the foam padding by replacing it. It will feel oh so good, better than any suspension mod to improve ride feel.

I had my front two leather seats/bottom & top foam replaced with new, $775. Good foam will have initial soft aspects leading to firm support. Ebay/amazon have lots of DIY stuff available if you want to save some $$. Luck and enjoy the runner.

Congrats on the new rig.

Last weekend I bought a 1999 SR5 4WD with 396k miles on it (not a typo!).

Actually runs great and the frame is in great shape. Some minor leaks here and there but like you, this will be a project for me too.

A bit late on the pics. The interior was filthy, I used the bissel on all seats (which were unbelievably dirty), and beneath floor mats where the dude spilled everything apparently. I used so much windex just scrubbing all the shit inside the car, now it looks great.

Still have a few issues I need to get worked out. Lock actuator is going out I think, and the key used to start the car doesn’t open any of the doors, so I’m relying on one fob and a nearly faulty actuator. I even had a new key cut at Toyota based off VIN and that doesn’t open the doors either, though it does go in all the way. I’m so confused.... I’ll be locked out if I don’t fix that haha. Anyways there’s the pics.

Repairs are all done. Replaced foam padding in bottom part of driver’s seat for $150. It’s amazing now! In two weeks I will take it for a camping trip from San Diego to SF, Big Sur, Yosemite, and Tahoe. Should be a good test


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