Repainting Kills Resale, Why?

Anti-Everything

Anti-Everything

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I recently got a thundercloud 2002 4WD SE 4Runner as a gift from my parents for my graduation. I was totally surprised and horrbily grateful. However, I was going to buy one myself and had a whole list of things I was looking for. One of the things I was excited about was finally having enough money to focus on trivial things like color, options, etc. And, the longer I have this car, the more these few things are starting to bug me.

So, since selling (while not crushing my parent's hearts) is not an option, I just wanted to inquire as to why I shouldn't repaint my car a different color. (Because I do believe and trust your opinions).

Even if I switch to another standard toyota color, does it still hurt resale?

Does repainting offer different quality than the original?

If you say changing the color does more harm than good, I'll believe it and move on. I'm just curious as to why....

Thanks a bunch!
 
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Whats' wrong with the color;I like that color. Re-painting is very expensive ($2000+) if you want it done right and to paint over a perfectly fine paint job seems kid of a waste and their will be parts that will show the original color and a buyer might bet suspicious if they see a different colr where it was impossible to paint but otherwise I don't think it really hurts the value.

I'd learn to like the color and put the money into the fun things that the truck doesn't already have. Maybe a better stereo,darker tint,lift and tires if off roading is your thing;you know stuff like that.
 
IMO you should never repaint a car with a different color then the factory put on it, and you should never break the factory paint except where needed such as a hood. It would be very expensive to repaint a car the correct way to change its color. The car is painted while its just a shell and to get the same quality you would need to take everything out of the car to make it a shell again, not impossible but not cost effective either. And even then I don't know if you could get the same quality paint ....you would have to go through all the stages, with baking the paint on. When taking the paint off you would have to avoid the sealer around the doors on the inner and all the little things like this. Not to mention all the anti rust coating that is put on the bottom of the doors. Ill stop blabbing on. I do also believe that this would kill the resale value if repainted!

Any one else have opinions? :awais:
 
Exactly what the others have said: the best paint job is the one done at the factory. The factory paint may not be perfect, but it's about as close as you'll get unless you're willing to spend a lot of money.

When buying a used car, you have to think of the worst-case scenario. If I saw a repainted, late-model vehicle, I'd assume that it had been in a wreck, regardless of what the owner claimed.

I'm biased towards the "strictly stock" look, but I wouldn't even consider buying a recent-year used vehicle that had anything other than a factory color for that model year.

It's even worse when the non-factory color chosen is relatively common, e.g. a silver or blue, so it's obvious that the intent wasn't to make the vehicle stand out like a showcar.

Unless you're planning on painting it bright orange or lime green and turning it into something from Pimp My Ride, I'd vote a big NO for repainting.
 
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Thanks for all the thoughtful replies guys!

I've officially decided that, collectively, the members of this board know everything. :bowdown:

Seriously, I do appreciate it - advice means a lot more to me with reasons behind it. I guess I'll just have to "settle" for my really nice, really free 4Runner until I can buy the 4Runner of my dreams. Life is rough :rolleye2:
 
Awesome! Sadly, I'm one of the pack from St. Louis. But I have spent my entire undergraduate time here and now I'm at Mizzou's vet school.

Since you're from Columbia though, I gotta ask - Rockbridge or Hickman? :)
 
I really liked the stellar blue pearl, imperial jade mica, or black.

This color thing is mainly a hang up of mine. First of all, I'm a girl; not that gender's an excuse but, using a horribly blatant generalization, I've heard color tends to be more important to us.

Secondly, My parents have an '01 Thunder Gray Metallic Sequoia, a '99 Sandrift Metallic Corolla, and my brother has a '94 Superwhite Camry (Not to metion, I used to have a '90 White Corolla). When we all come home, it looks like a meeting of the boring, suburban, blah colored cars. And, with all the Toyotas (not a bad thing), it looks like we're mating them.

I'm still young enough to want to be different, and I kinda wanted a "purple" car. :dancin:
 
Anti-Everything said:
Awesome! Sadly, I'm one of the pack from St. Louis. But I have spent my entire undergraduate time here and now I'm at Mizzou's vet school.

Since you're from Columbia though, I gotta ask - Rockbridge or Hickman? :)
Click to expand...

Hickman, class of 2000

My wife is from St Louis, but sadly we live in Baltimore MD. However when the time comes , we will be moving back to the STL!
 
Well, you could do a nice purple pin stripe or something decorative - like a hawaiin flower - to make the car stand out.

BTW, on one of the posts here there was a picture of a muffler tip that looked like Hello Kitty. That will girlie it up.

Seems to me that there are several far less expensive ways to say cute girl 4Runner than by spending the big money to repaint it.

I think it is great that you are sensitive to your folks' feelings. I am sure if you put on some nice purple hawaiin seat covers in the front, etc. they wouldn't mind at all.

It's no difference then making a house a home. You want to personalize your vehicle. Just know there are other ways to do so besides painting the entire vehicle.

Good luck...Oops, I just noticed you handle, "anti-everything" - maybe the Hello Kitty and flowers won't work for you, my bad.
 

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Boaz said:
Hickman, class of 2000

My wife is from St Louis, but sadly we live in Baltimore MD. However when the time comes , we will be moving back to the STL!
Click to expand...

My wife is Rockbridge--class of '99.
 
Partially-dissenting opinion

I'll agree that a repaint job is a hit on resale, but it's not a fatal one, especially on a car that may already be almost 4 years old. If you plan to keep it a few years, the dollar hit won't be huge.

I also agree that it's expensive to do a really good job, but if you're willing to spend a couple of grand you should get a pretty good one. You don't need a full factory strip-it-to-the-shell job to get something serviceable.

It all depends on what you value and how it relates to money and other factors. One thing I like about this board is the diversity of opinions (usually very well thought-out and articulated, nonetheless) and that goes especially for taste and priorities.

So if you'd *really* like a distinctive color and will keep the 4Runner for a while (and if you know what you're getting into), I'd say go for it. It's YOUR car, after all.

BTW, it's not my style for my own vehicle, but seeing a woman driving a 4Runner with a Hello Kitty muffler tip would give me a big grin. One of the few things ever on a vehicle that would tempt me to flash the owner an unsolicited thumbs-up.
 
ANY paintwork will give dealers an excuse to lower the value. Go to kellybluebook.com one question is, any paintwork! But it's YOUR ride, your personalty, paint it any color you like & enjoy it. (Spend a little extra to have it done right!) Worry about resale value later!
 
Bill42, thanks a ton for all the suggestions. I do actually think the Hello Kitty muffler tip is awesome. I fear it might be taking this whole vet thing a little too far though. (I don't want to be a crazy cat lady.)

I love that I got a lot of logical, intellegent responses but, I didn't feel shut down but any stern cries of, "Be reasonable!". MicaBlue is right, the spectrum of opinions on here is unbeatable.

I think I'm going to hold off on doing anything and work on convincing myself to like the color more. Maybe I just have to wrap my head around it. I plan on keeping the car for a long time so there's plenty of time to do things in the future. Thanks a bunch for all the insight guys!

And, btw, who-da thunk: all these people from little ol' Columbia, MO? If you guys can make it out, so can I :clap:
 
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