Our 2006 Sienna that we purchased a few years back is starting to have some issues. I'm on the fence on whether it makes sense to fix it or trade it and get into something else. I'll lay out the details for you:
- It has 102,500 miles, we purchased it with ~ 80K miles. We owe about $2K more than it's worth. Unfortunately we couldn't fork out the cash to buy it outright as we had some other expenses at the time. The value of the vehicle dropped like a rock this year. I recently saved up the difference to pay it down plus a $3-5K down payment on a different vehicle if we want.
- The transmission has started to flair between 3-4 upshifts when warm. Also feels like it misses shifts sometimes, will rev up and then into gear a few seconds later. The fluid is clean ( i've done 4 drain/fills from 85K to 100K) and at the correct level, running Toyota T-VI. From the research I've done, it needs a rebuild.
- It needs a midpipe on the exhaust, the expansion section is rusting out and rattling.
- It needs rear brakes
- It needs tires in the spring
- Due for spark plugs
- Has a valve tick on startup for a few seconds. Sounds like it needs a valve adjustment which is a big feat on the 3.3. I use Toyota filters and Castrol Edge in it so it's not oil related.
- CD player quit working
- Rear air only works 25% of the time. ( charge is at the correct level, front blows cold)
- Total for all this work i'm figuring ( I'll DIY the exhaust, brakes and other little stuff) is ~ $4-5.5K.
At this point I think it may make more sense to just pay off the difference and trade it in on something new(er). I mean, it runs fine and I've kept up with other maintenance. I did the timing belt with water pump etc last year and kept up on oil changes etc. I'm just having a real hard time with sinking that amount of money into it. It is also our family hauler for our 3 kids, I want something safe and reliable.
Thoughts? What would you do?
- It has 102,500 miles, we purchased it with ~ 80K miles. We owe about $2K more than it's worth. Unfortunately we couldn't fork out the cash to buy it outright as we had some other expenses at the time. The value of the vehicle dropped like a rock this year. I recently saved up the difference to pay it down plus a $3-5K down payment on a different vehicle if we want.
- The transmission has started to flair between 3-4 upshifts when warm. Also feels like it misses shifts sometimes, will rev up and then into gear a few seconds later. The fluid is clean ( i've done 4 drain/fills from 85K to 100K) and at the correct level, running Toyota T-VI. From the research I've done, it needs a rebuild.
- It needs a midpipe on the exhaust, the expansion section is rusting out and rattling.
- It needs rear brakes
- It needs tires in the spring
- Due for spark plugs
- Has a valve tick on startup for a few seconds. Sounds like it needs a valve adjustment which is a big feat on the 3.3. I use Toyota filters and Castrol Edge in it so it's not oil related.
- CD player quit working
- Rear air only works 25% of the time. ( charge is at the correct level, front blows cold)
- Total for all this work i'm figuring ( I'll DIY the exhaust, brakes and other little stuff) is ~ $4-5.5K.
At this point I think it may make more sense to just pay off the difference and trade it in on something new(er). I mean, it runs fine and I've kept up with other maintenance. I did the timing belt with water pump etc last year and kept up on oil changes etc. I'm just having a real hard time with sinking that amount of money into it. It is also our family hauler for our 3 kids, I want something safe and reliable.
Thoughts? What would you do?
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