2005 Toyota Highlander advice!

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A good friend of mine lost his mother a couple months ago. She was the only owner of a 2005 Toyota Highlander V6 with 70k miles. It has brand new tires, brakes, timing belt, battery, water pump, and all the fluids are been serviced per the manufacture. It was power everything, third row seats fold down seats (seats 7), roof rack, and power sun roof. Body is clean, no signs of rust, dings, etc. Garage kept some of its life otherwise it sat outside in a driveway in a suburb of Chicago.

My wife currently has a 2008 Sentra with 85k miles. Body is rough but it's been reliable. The CVT scares me but has been flawless. We were not looking for a new vehicle nor do we want a payment.

With that said, we have a 2 yr old daughter and are trying for another.

I feel like this car would be something that we can grow into and we would only need about $2500 out of pocket + selling the Sentra to make it happen. We have the cash no problem, but always make educated decisions. My wife liked it. I liked the service history and how clean it is. However it is a 2005. It would spend the rest of its life in upstate South Carolina, so rust isn't an issue as it currently sits in Chicago in a garage. It's also safer for my family. Side and front airbags, it sits up higher and is overall a bigger car.

I've read good things about this car. People seem to get alot of miles of out them.

I'm on the fence. My dad also offered one of his fishing boats to me. I could finally take him up on that and tow as well. My daughter would love that!

Thoughts?
 
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Sounds like a no-brainer
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Absolutely go for the Highlander as a replacement for the CVT addled Sentra. Long term, the Toyota will last twice as long as the Nissan with half of the problems.
 
Do it! It'll have much better resale value than the Sentra too if you change your mind in the future. Fuel cost may be higher long term but so is reliability. The 4K lbs Highlander will definitely be much safer for your family than a 3K lbs Sentra...
 
Your daughter and any future siblings will only get bigger. Also the size of their toys/activities will grow as well. A well maintained Toyota will last many 100’s of thousands of miles. As others have commented, it’s a no brainer.
 
Go for it. A 12 y/o camry around here is worth $2k but a Highlander at least 3x that, and it shares the same floorpan and some other bits.

You've already experienced the "fun" of rear facing car seats in smaller cars. High roof of the highlander a plus.
 
The 2001-2007 Toyota Highlanders are pretty bullet proof cars.

If its a 4 cylinder buyers need to beware of very common and very expensive head-gasket issues but you said it needed timing belt so its a V6.

On a V6 especially one up in rust belt beware of brake issues particularly bad calipers and or sticking caliper pins due to expose to harsh winter environment. The ATs are pretty reliable and robust as long as they have regularly had AT drain and fills every 15-30k mile or so depending on use.
 
Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Originally Posted By: Ethan1
Sounds like a no-brainer
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Ditto


Agreed.
 
Pull the trigger. You'll be happy with the Highlander!
 
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I bought a 2005 HL new and ran it 75K with zero issues. My Granddaughter has driven it for two years now, still no problems.
 
If your finances are in order, this is an absolute no-brainer! I have several friends and family-members with highlanders, excellent machines. This one has all the maintenance done per your post, I would be all over this in a heartbeat (like buying it tomorrow morning!). Good luck
 
Do it without any reservations!!! Toyotas make quality vehicles that last a long long time with proper maintenance. Especially for that price. I would jump on it also if I had that opportunity!!!
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