You can decide really, It is technically easier to swap them out since you don't have to change out the contacts, but when you factor in that it takes 5-10 minutes to change out the contacts and the contact kit is $30, you can decide if you want to spend the extra $100 to save youself from swapping out the contacts (the easy part) after you have removed the starter (the difficult part). I changed my contacts out at 135k miles and have been good for another 10k miles now and not expecting it to go bad until the new contacts wear down in another 100k or so. The motor in the starter does not go bad from regular use, just the contacts wear down on the relay side.

 

i agree with Ali

Let us know how it goes.

 

UPDATE:

So looks like it was the starter. Quicksc4 replaced it yesterday and now it's finally back to normal.

 

Starter contacts. I have the same problem. It literally takes 10 mins with the startee off the car. Its akso like 15 sollars for the contacts.

 

This page is a lifesaver.
I just began having this problem a week ago.
I was upset that I had to, but was about to buy a new starter, and thought: "Damn, as soon as you fix one thing, another one goes ..." (just changed my oil, and break pads. Suddenly, starter goes, and A/C is blowing warm) :\

 

Update: Was gonna buy the Starter-Repair Kit from Toyota, and clean the contacts, but turned out I didn't have to. My Pep-Boys Rewards card had $98 on it, so I only had to pay about $20 out of pocket, and got a brand new starter (Bosch; the original was Denso, but I turned it in to avoid the core-charge). I dunno if starters enhance performance in any way, but I'll tell ya what, the car started right up BEAUTIFULLY, and FAST, and overall it feels like its actually "healthier" in a way. It drives more nicely.