u/Imanaripizzarolls

Recently purchased 2003 Toyota Highlander Limited V6 3.0 216.5k for $2500. Just bought it as a second car/beater/hauler. Replaced blown front and rear struts and sway bar links and alignment ($1500). Drove it for about maybe 100+ miles so far and shifts really smooth at city speeds and highway speeds.

For the first time today, I decided to stress the transmission just a bit to get an idea of how it reacts. Pretty much gave it some beans from 45mph-60mph+. Was fine for the first pull and on the second pull decelerating to around 45mph, I experienced transmission shudder for the first time. As if I was driving on rumble strips for about 2-3 seconds. Tried to give it the benefit of the doubt that it was rough patch of pavement but I drove on a familiar road all my life and it was smooth enough to not do that usually.

My question is, should I drain and fill the transmission fluid? Carfax and Toyota portal does not show any history from previous owners. Should I use WS or Maxlife? Should I let it be? Or should I scrap it? I would really love to keep it but would love to have some input. Thank you!

Recently, I just purchased a Limited as a second car to take a break from my manual daily (‘18 Impreza Sport 5spd). This car was not on my radar by any means but it was listed for 2k with 217k. Came with a CEL (Evap-found disconnected line from airbox) and VSC (no codes hopefully just due to mis-matched worn tires) body and interior not too bad. Best of all, this car has surprisingly little to no rust underneath given northeast life. I’ve already invested 1k for the rear struts, 4 tires, and rear brakes for now.

I really wish the seller had room for negotiation but given how decent it looked/drove for a running 2k car, I took a gamble in my eyes. Other than that, I told myself to cap my investment $1-$1.2k. I made a list of maintenance items and mainly suspension work that it will need in the long-run but at what point should I not continue to dump money into it? Is this a solid backup option? I’m fighting the urge to fix up this car to its fullest dead reliable potential, but I have a hard time separating its meaning of just being a “beater”. I don’t drive that much as my job is a walking distance but when I do it tends to be 30+ miles. Financially, I did not need this car but I’m someone who works hard to have the privilege of having accessible transportation. But I would love to hear from your inputs.