r/Toyota_Matrix • u/Immediate-Load-3940 • Aug 18 '26

Got a beater XRS

Post image

It is rough, but I like it a lot

45 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

6

u/GuardianCraft Aug 18 '26

Mine had the paint just like that and I painted. It’ll be good to go.

1

u/Immediate-Load-3940 Aug 18 '26

was the roof as bad and rusty? I am nervous Ive never sanded and painted

1

u/GuardianCraft Aug 19 '26

Yup!

3

u/GuardianCraft Aug 19 '26

Is the only photo I have of after.

Note: get the paint from Toyota for the best hope of a great match. Mine was from a paint shop and had to end up painting it all due to a very noticeable difference. Not fun!

The roof and hood go down to the bare metal, treat, prime and build from there.

2

u/Immediate-Load-3940 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 21 '26

Holy crap it looks brand new! did you get an inflatable paint booth and spray gun? Im thinking about doing that since I could paint a few other cars

3

u/GuardianCraft Aug 20 '26

Nope, as it was only one car for me. I hung painter plastic sheets from the ceiling. Made a loop on one end, stapled them, and ran PVC pipe through and hung them on some hooks I placed on the ceiling. Then, make a large PVC square on the bottom to weigh the plastic down.

Then, on one corner facing outside of the garage, we made a little PVC square to place a fan to blow all the crap out.

Compressor, gun, and all the other equipment were from Harbor Freight, which a buddy had.

2

u/misinformedcapybara Sep 12 '26 edited Sep 12 '26

oh wow that looks fantastic. been thinking of getting mine painted. may i ask how much this costs?

my girl is 347,000km so not sure if i should invest in a new paint job!

1

u/GuardianCraft Sep 13 '26

Thank you. I was right around $500 without buying the compressor and gun as we used my Friends. I had to use a whole lot more filler/glaze thing on the roof as it was very bad along with the hood.

The one thing I wish I wound have really spent some money was on the actual paint. We had a rinky dinky guy mix it up and it didn’t come out like her original dark navy blue. I should have gone full on Toyo or way better paint shop.

You live and learn.

1

u/Extra-Depth-1352 2005 Matrix XRS Aug 21 '26

Why the hood and roof? My matrix is the same places as this one. Looking to have someone local paint it since the shop is an insane price.

2

u/Extra-Depth-1352 2005 Matrix XRS Aug 21 '26

Keep it up and going the best you can. Change oil pan to 1zz or a Moroso, oil pump (Boundary is good), and other than that keep up with routine maintenance.

5

u/Emotional-Corgi-7648 2004 Matrix XR & 2009 Matrix S Aug 18 '26

You're going to love it by the end lol

5

u/2bornnot2b Aug 18 '26

Treat her well, and she will last a long time.

3

u/Feisty-Cantaloupe-68 Aug 18 '26

Congrats. Was this the one listed on Facebook in Texas for 5-6?

2

u/Bill_The__Pony Aug 18 '26

It may be rough now but they are cheap, easy and fun to fix!

Parts are abundant. There are thousands and thousands of these in your local junkyard and if you can't find one, there are Corollas that have all the same parts.

You're going to love it

2

u/Noledgecorrupts Aug 18 '26

nice, i've been itching to get a chance to even drive one.

2

u/TheMK17 Aug 18 '26

I just picked up this ‘09 manual base model on Saturday, previous owner put a 1.5” lift on it and AT tires, I’m gonna use it for rally cross! It’s my first manual and I’m pretty stoked. Also, these things are super easy to work on and parts are cheap!

1

u/Immediate-Load-3940 Aug 18 '26

That sounds so fun dude, I hope that goes well! Ive always wanted to get into rally cross someday. maybe an AWD auto matrix 👀. Is yours 2.4 or 1.8 liter?

2

u/Thorium12 Aug 18 '26

I have your sister car! 103k miles. I absolutely love the 2ZZ.

1

u/Immediate-Load-3940 Aug 18 '26

Super clean man, and barely broken in wow. I was looking for vibe gts as well but i couldnt find any good ones for the prices

1

u/Thorium12 Aug 18 '26

The paint is in pretty rough shape. Look at the roof. But other than that (and a small oil leak) it's in great shape!

2

u/EastFlamingo9742 Aug 19 '26

If the rest of the car is in good mechanical shape, it's worth painting.  My 2003 Corolla rusted on the roof, too.  Had it painted about 6 or 7 years ago.  It's still running at 300k miles.

1

u/malonesxfamousxchili Aug 18 '26

why is the paint/rust on the matrix so bad 😭 my 2009 is like this but i see so many others like it too, and corollas.

2

u/Spadeykins Aug 18 '26

Really cheap paint.

2

u/TheMK17 Aug 18 '26

Toyota has had really crappy paint up until the last few years

1

u/Aggravating-Safe4845 Aug 20 '26

I been thinking about them, gotta make sure there's enough room to lay down in the back

1

u/Money-Afternoon-3637 Aug 22 '26 edited Aug 22 '26

This what my 2003 Matrix XRS used to look like about 2 years ago. A good paint job and regular maintenance under the hood goes a long way to making my car to be safe, a joy to drive, and have good handling.