What have you done to your 5th Gen 4Runner today?

Getting ready to take mine back in for trip three. Not thrilled, even with it not being a dealership body shop

 

Yea man it sucks. they repainted my door 3 times. after the first paint job, they chipped and scratched the paint while putting the door handle back on, then the 2nd time they left masking tape UNDER the clear coat... The third time they managed to put a couple small scratches, and didnt do a great job polishing so there are a few what feels like pieces of sand under the paint.... But i was done waiting. I figured if they couldnt get the door right in 3 attempts, they never would. Screw em.

I had literally THOUSANDS of pin stripe scratches on my 3rd gen tacoma. I offroaded that truck hard as hell... They didnt bother me much, because I DID THEM, they were badges of honor so to speak, me paying to play... But when someone else does it to my brand new 4runner, before i have put a single scratch on it myself, it sucks.


Good luck on your end, hopefully they get it right and your luck is better than mine.



And merry Xmas all!

 

The platforms pullout table was unfinished and I felt like doing something about it. Found this design online and thought it was pretty cool. Asked my father in law if he had a wood burning tool so I could put it on the table and he offered to do it. He f'n hooked me up, I think it turned out badass!

This thing is ready to go back in the 4...the table is not pulled all the way out in these pics

 

Got so busy with work and whatnot that I dropped the ball on my remote start researching.. got up this morning and decided I was tired of research and ordered the accessorides product. Can’t wait to hook it up when it comes in
Merry Christmas everyone

 

I hit a deer a little before Thanksgiving, the shop put on a new bumper, painted and all. Didn’t match the paint, chipped the passenger side fender flare, and put scratches next to the passenger side headlight. Took back, they replaced the hanger so the fitment is better, new fender flare, new paint, and I had to show them where the scratches were to have them buffed out. It looked ok under fluorescent light at the shop but not in the sun.

Going to call them and make an appointment tomorrow since it’s obvious, at least to me, that nothing was blended. Very aggravated to say the least. The shop I took it to has a lifetime warranty so we’ll see what, if anything, they are willing to do.

Merry Christmas to all!

 

Had a Ford truck had 3 attempts to let Ford paint it until they agreed they suck. They agreed to let me take it up North to a shop that did it right the 1st time. Sadly not all body shops know the meaning of awesome paint jobs

 

Body shops associated with dealers are about as useless as dealer mechanics. Seriously, look at the trends here. 99% of the time there are issues when anything is done by the dealership. Why do people continue to use dealers for anything at all?

 

no one posts when things go right. No drama in it.

 

You're absolutely right. Take a look at how much goes wrong at dealers though. In general, dealers are to be avoided.

 

Not just dealers. Service sector as a whole is crap.

 

Yeah I agree for the most part but there are some really good mom and pop shops out there. Dealers as a whole don't attract good techs for whatever reason. I do literally everything myself but not everyone has the space or skill to do that.

 

Chinese "pro grill" and anytime backup/ front camera .

 

Yes and no.

 

Just got done removing the Pro Rack. Talk about nerve racking!! Lol. I already like it much better with the black roof rails.

 

More pics.

 

One more.

 

how much did you sell the pro rack for ?

 

Did not sell it yet. Not sure if I’m going to. But if I do sell it I will be selling it local for a meet up with someone. But looking this over it’s looks like it can be taking apart with the screws in the back part. Just need to locate a box from the dealership if they have one Incase I decide to ship it.

 

I’ll probably sell mine too once I decide which rack to get. Order new rack and sell after the install. We can probably get $500 for the pro rack.

 

Yeah,
We probably can get that. I don’t really need a rack and that why I put the black rails on. The most I would probably do is get the rails for inside Incase I need to put anything up there. Also it is a pain in the ass to clean the roof with a rack on top unless you use one a lot.

 

Big chains and dealerships are not great, but some of them are not requiring ANY type of training or certifications to get hired either. They do their own training, which can be mediocre at best in some cases. They hire kids straight out of high school and let them learn on our 40K vehicles.

Most mom and pop shops are indeed the better option, they have more experience, and often times more certifications. Not all of them of course, but lots of them are great. You just have to find the HONEST shops.

There are SO SO MANY shops around here hiring auto techs. Dealerships, chain stores, and mom and pop shops as well. Less and less people are wanting to make a living turning wrenches, and the people that find themselves doing it rarely have any type of REAL training in it, and lots of them are shady people unfortunately and not very reliable.

I got tired of not knowing how to do everything myself so i enrolled in a 2 year hands on college level automotive course, Built a 1476 sqft detached garage on my property, and started investing in tools. Next im getting a 2 post lift installed in my own garage.

But even with the knowledge, space, and tools, there will be times a dealership service dept is needed, like if/when you want a recall, TSB, or warranty work done for instance. In those cases it is smart to take a walk around VIDEO of your vehicle at the service dept before they accept it. Then a close inspection before driving off in it.

 

I tried to take an automotive course @ our local community college and you had to buy all your tools before you could get past the first semester! I was only 24yrs old & didn't have that kind of money. Looking back I should have gotten a loan for the tools. A good tech can make $100k a year (in our area). You won't get rich but you could live very nicely. I enjoy wrenching on vehicles.

 

We didnt have to buy any tools to take the course, they supply them all during the training.... The 2 year course at the state college cost a total of just under $7000, plus $500 in books. I used the GI Bill so it didnt cost me anything thankfully. But i wish the school cost was higher and included a tool box decked out with the main tools you would need to get a job at most shops... Lots of shops require you to have your own tools to work there anyways.

Granted i didnt enroll in the class for employment. I get military disability and not technically allowed to work a job while collecting disability. But it would of been easier to get the tools needed for most regular repairs in a box ready to go and have that price rolled into the schooling than to go out and buy them all. Which is what i have been slowly doing. We do get big discounts through snap-on and Matco while we are in school... 30-60% off... But the prices are still higher than craftsman or harbor freight tools of course.

The school is great though. It is pretty in depth and we go monday through friday from 8am-130pm throughout the fall spring and summer. Loads of hands on. they have over a dozen vehicles that belong to the school for us to work on. Everything except diesel. Hybrids, cars, trucks, 2wd, 4wd, AWD, 4-6-8cyl, they have engines on stands, a dyno machine, alignment racks, and every tool you could imagine. They allow us to work on our own vehicles and some of the schools staff bring their vehicles in for repairs as well. I really enjoy it.

We start electronics after winter break... Thats the one course im really NOT looking forward to LOL

 

Look... if you want to learn/practice on some cars c'mon over to my place!!! I have 14 cars right now that all need some work! haha. I have a shop and all the tools, Just not the time and motivation! ( I am kidding of course, about helping, unfortunately not about the 14 cars and all of them needing work... the CA DMV LOVES all my registrations!)

 

Sweet baby Jesus

 

No offense, but I think Jay-Z's version is a little catchier.

https://youtu.be/6z-xP7E_zMU

 

Looks Good! … Looks like you painted to match; if so what did you use? Also can you share how the install was on the front camera?

 

Used duplicolor spray paint. Filled the "dimples" with epoxy, primed, painted and clear coat. Its not perfect, but i will most likely hit it with bed liner to match the lower fascia.
Camra was the kit https://www.anytimebackupcamera.com...ucts/anytime-backup-and-front-camera-full-kit

Mostly plug and play, just have to make connections in the harness. Hardest part was routing the wires.

 

Finally purchased all aluminum OEM Oil Filter Housing and changed engine oil @ 59,870 miles.

 

Pretty Nice Option to have and thanks for sharing with us! … Need to add that to my list because it certainly would come in handy parking in a fairly lit parking garage…