A couple months ago I swapped out the hood on my Tacoma, upgraded the 05-11 front end to that of the 12-15. I bought everything OEM including the tiny plastic clips, but went cheap on the hood. I bought and aftermarket hood And it's pretty much been a nightmare trying to align it. I got it on as best as I could but it still doesn't fit right..... However, that's not even the bad part.

Just as of a few days ago, I noticed to be what looks like sanding marks coming up through the paint, paint which was done by a reputable shop and is less than a year old. I actually contacted the shop and he took a look at the hood and told me that it's due to crappy sealer being used from the factory on the aftermarket hood. I don't know if he's just bsing me or not, but whatever it is I need to get the hood redone.

Is it worth it to buy an all-new hood? The CAPA it's only about $50 more than what I paid for this young one, so I'm curious if the quality will be much better.

The OEM hood is I think around $800 which I really don't have to spend right now.

But..... I'm worried that if I buy another hood, and have that one painted, then I will be out another 600 bucks.

Any recommendations?

Also, was The shop being honest about the aftermarket hood sealant? He said that it will keep getting worse and eventually you need to be repainted no matter what, so I figure if I have to repaint it, I might as well paint one that fits properly.