Thread: Is it worth it?
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Old 06-20-2022, 11:32 AM
Bdc101 Bdc101 is offline
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I don't think it's logical at all to pay those prices for used Toyotas. And I am a born-and-bred Toyota guy. Our dilemma was that anything Japanese (such as a 4Runner or Xterrra) was $15-20k for the same year/mileage as an E53, which we paid $6k for with only 93k miles, six years ago. Even 20-year-old 4Runners with 200k cost twice that around here. There is a huge value proposition in the E53 platform, IMO, since it is far nicer than any Japanese car of its vintage and costs much less. You just have to be prepared to do a lot of preventative maintenance if you want to make it reliable. Plus, the E53 drives and feels much less like a truck.

Definitely stick to the M54 if you want reliability. Unfortunately with the facelift models, you can't avoid at least rear air suspension, and some cars have it at all four corners. That is one guaranteed maintenance item that can strand you if you don't get to it first. (EDIT: I believe 2004-2006 non-sport models did have air suspension in the rear but I might be wrong.)

You have the PCV valve listed, but the entire PCV system needs to be torn apart and cleaned or replaced. It depends on how bad the sludge damage is. In Mississippi you may be OK because temperatures are not very low, but if the PO only drove short trips it may still have caused sludge buildup. BMW calls it the CCV (crankcase ventilator) in literature.

I also opted for a manual transmission to avoid having any issues with the automatic. Definitely find one if you can (and if you want it). The manual transmission is bulletproof and the 5MT/6MT cars actually have higher tow ratings than the autos.

Speaking of, if you want to tow at all, ever, find one with the factory hitch AND towing module. It is difficult and expensive to retrofit unless you find all the OEM hitch hardware on a junkyard car. The factory hitch is very complicated and has many pieces, and it's so big and heavy that it's difficult to ship. If you don't use the OEM towing module you will have alarms on your dash when you tow.

Also, buy a Foxwell the day you bring the car home. Don't mess around with anything else.

Hope that helps. I have had mine for six years, I tow a camper trailer over mountain passes with it all summer, and have never had a breakdown-stranding-driver. I just checked my maintenance spreadsheet and I've spent almost $4,000 in those six years on maintenance (including tires). Adding in the $6,300 purchase price it is still cheaper than the 200k-mile, beat up 4Runners I was looking at originally.
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2003 3.0 5MT Topasblau
Purchased in 2016 and surprisingly still running

Last edited by Bdc101; 06-20-2022 at 11:42 AM.
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