This is the same issue I briefly considered when I first experienced some tranny issues with my 01 with 140K: Should I just trade it in with something newer?
I decided against this course of action and opted to keep my 01 with a failing tranny for the following reason.
1. The other systems in my Ody were functionning fine.
2. By trading the 01 in combined with the added cost of the 04 from a dealer, you'd lose more value than it would cost you to purchase a new transmission and knowing you are good for another 100K. The dealer will shave at least $2K off the value of your ody than you could get by selling it private party. Then, he'll overcharge you by around $1K-$2K on the 04 than if you were to buy it from a private party. That's $3-4K right there that you would lose on. That right there is a new transmission that you just paid for without knowing it.
You wouldn't know to trust the 04's tranny since these things fail unexpectedly (mine sure did!) and you really don't know how it was driven/maintained for 95K. For the cost of an extended warranty, you're almost halfway to the replacement cost of that tranny yet again.
If the rest of your ody is in good shape and nothing else is falling apart, I think you'd do better to keep the 01 and fix it if you want long term reliability. Diving into an unknown 04 with 40K miles less than your 01 is no insurance to avoid that $3-4K transmission cost.
If anything, I might be more tempted toward a Toyota Sienna if I were to do it all over again...
I decided against this course of action and opted to keep my 01 with a failing tranny for the following reason.
1. The other systems in my Ody were functionning fine.
2. By trading the 01 in combined with the added cost of the 04 from a dealer, you'd lose more value than it would cost you to purchase a new transmission and knowing you are good for another 100K. The dealer will shave at least $2K off the value of your ody than you could get by selling it private party. Then, he'll overcharge you by around $1K-$2K on the 04 than if you were to buy it from a private party. That's $3-4K right there that you would lose on. That right there is a new transmission that you just paid for without knowing it.
You wouldn't know to trust the 04's tranny since these things fail unexpectedly (mine sure did!) and you really don't know how it was driven/maintained for 95K. For the cost of an extended warranty, you're almost halfway to the replacement cost of that tranny yet again.
If the rest of your ody is in good shape and nothing else is falling apart, I think you'd do better to keep the 01 and fix it if you want long term reliability. Diving into an unknown 04 with 40K miles less than your 01 is no insurance to avoid that $3-4K transmission cost.
If anything, I might be more tempted toward a Toyota Sienna if I were to do it all over again...