Picked up a new daily driver

I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled over the last few months for a second vehicle to use as a daily driver and commuter. Yesterday I stumbled across this little gem and jumped on it.

2003 Toyota Highlander
2.4L 4cyl
Only 98,000 miles



This thing is immaculate! One owner, locally owned, garage kept. Barely driven. Everything works, and there are no weird smells or any of those little annoying problems you often encounter in a vehicle this age, like faded paint, shaky steering wheel, or chipped or cracked interior components. It’s in fantastic shape, and drives really smoothly. It will help keep the miles from piling on my truck, and the gas mileage should be a significant relief when compared to driving my truck all over the county every day. Even though fuel costs really aren’t even the biggest reason for getting it. I want to preserve my truck as much as possible since I plan to keep it for a long time.

It’s certainly pretty plain and simple, but that’s exactly what I was looking for. I’m hoping it’s got a few years of quality life left in it.

 

Nice find! That thing is clean!

 

Quite the score! Other than being GamGam approved goldbeige, looks sweet!

 

It really is! Couldn’t believe the shape it’s in.

Haha! I know, the champagne is killing me. But I’m grateful the paint is in good shape. I’ll turn heads in all the retirement communities around here lol

 

The wife's grandparents have a 2009 Camry that they are almost done with their driving years and they want to keep it in the family. It has less than 60,000 miles on it. What's funny is that it's the same golden champagne color as your Highlander.

 

This is basically a Camry in the shape of an SUV lol.

 

What luck on both condition and price. Great find!

 

How much did it cost you?

 

I got it for $8k plus tax, tag, and title. A little steep, but it’s an investment. I think I’ll be able to get my money’s worth.

It’s rated on the window sticker for 22 city, 27 highway. I’m interested in what the real world mileage will be. Whatever it is will be better than the truck for sure. And I get paid for mileage when I drive my personal vehicle around the county for work, so this will really help with adding value to that with lower fuel and maintenance costs.

It is so awesome to hear about your commuter car. That’s exactly why I wanted one. I have the truck for the boat ramp on the weekends and trips to Lowe’s and whatnot (or just when I want to drive it, because I love it), and now I have this to reduce the miles, fuel costs, tire wear, brakes, etc. on the truck. It can sit in the shade and relax for awhile

 

Guy at work has one like that, even the same color. Drives it daily and it has over 225k miles. That should be a good ride for you.

 

Yes! It’s absurd. I won’t be paying that kind of money for a new truck, now or in the next few years, so the only real solution is to preserve my current truck as long as possible.

 

That is awesome, great to hear. I plan to drive it until the wheels fall off, so it’ll be fun to see how far it can go.

 

My folks own a 2003 Highlander in white with 350,000 miles. It has been a durable suv, despite my Mother making every effort to destroy it, hit curbs, forget an oil change several times, and driving it hard. You have many years of life from this Toyota, given it’s condition.

Similarly, we purchased my wife a new hybrid last week and I finally got my Acura back since my wife has been driving it since we got married, which I’ll now use as a daily for a more efficient option when I don’t need to drive our Tundra.

 

That’s so great to hear. I believe I made a sound choice with this.

Is that a TL? Those are sharp.

 

It sure is, 2013 TL 3.5L. It’s a snappy sports sedan that gets 20mpg in the city and 28 on the highway. A little better then our truck. The TL has 101,000 miles and it’s been flawless since day 1, doesn’t make much sense to sell it so I’ll hoard onto it.

 

I don’t try to keep miles off my Tundra, but I basically park it in summer and ride my Harley. Great gas mileage and fun to ride, even for running errands.

 

same same, I was on a mission to put a million miles on my truck but with gas prices hitting $7 a gallon in CA for now, seems like it isn’t the prudent decision to drive it as much as I once did.

Great idea with the Harley, so much fun!

 

Who here thinks I should slap some A/Ts on this? Lol

Actually, I am going to replace the tires. These have plenty of tread but they are from 2015 and are starting to show signs of dry rot. Probably from sitting so much. The cool thing is these won’t cost $1,200 for a set.

I’ve never bought car tires before. Any suggestions? When I searched the size the first thing that came up was Toyo Open Country A/Ts… nahhh

 

You’re in Florida, so no snow. You bought it for a commuter. My vote is Bridgestone Ecopia. Smoothest best riding tire I’ve ever owned on an SUV. Worth every penny. Probably not the cheapest.

 

Good deal, I’ll start there when I start looking. No snow, no hills, just tons of rain. And you’re right, it’s a commuter, so practical stuff only. I’m willing to pay a little more for quality.

 

My vote is Michelin All Season 4, great tire!

 

Second Michelins...quiet, smooth, great in rain, and.lots of treadlife!

 

A few updates to the old girl.

• Spark Plugs. Did them myself, because it’s fun. Although I was disappointed because it only took about 20 minutes They were way too easy to get to.
  
• Tires. I weighed all the options extensively, and decided on the Kumho Crugen HT51. The car is a commuter, but I just couldn’t stomach putting regular passenger car tires on it. I wanted something that isn’t a truck tire, but is a little meatier than a regular car tire. This one is a great balance of both, is reviewed highly, and the price isn’t too bad. So far they are smooth and comfortable, and look pretty sharp.
  
• Struts. Replaced all four. The car had original struts from 2003, and although the mileage is low, these poor things were dead tired. Pinging, rattling, and sagging. I drove to South Carolina and back at Christmas, and every bump sounded like a spray paint can rattling. The difference with the new ones is impressive. The car is smooth and completely quiet now, and even sits a little higher. Best upgrade yet, it makes the car feel brand new.
  
• Weathertech floor liners. I prefer the Husky liners but they don’t make the exact fit ones for this vehicle, and weathertech does. They look sharp though and work well.
  
• I found a Bluetooth cassette that links to my phone and allows me to listen to music from my phone through the factory tape player. It works great and allows me to keep the factory look without replacing the head unit so I can have Bluetooth capability. Pretty cool.

Loving this car. It just rolled over 100,000 miles around Thanksgiving. This thing is running strong and smooth. It keeps miles off my truck and helps with fuel costs (averaging 23mpg), and I must admit it is a pleasure to drive. Simple, affordable, capable, and reliable. I’m definitely happy with it and I’m having a good time putting it to use.

 

Great update and it appears you’re enjoying the quality of the Highlander. You maintain your rides well, good work, solid updates.

What brand of shock/coil combo did you select and also which plugs did you purchase?

 

Thank you! I appreciate a simple, older, well-maintained vehicle. I’m enjoying it.

I went with the Denso iridium plugs, and just OE spec Monroe strut assemblies. They seem pretty standard for basic needs, so I think they’ll do the job.

 

Need shocks for our Acura but can’t seem to source any. TRQ is all I can find and they have terrible reviews wish I could find some Monroe’s or OEM.

 

My girlfriend has an RDX and I’ve ordered a few things from here before. Any chance they have what you need in OEM?

https://www.acuraoempartsdirect.com/