Re: Base w/aftermarket upgrades, SR5 or Limited? Best bet to get more truck for your $$$.
It's all in what you want. I ended up ordering a limited, even though there were a couple of things on it I didn't want. I originally started with an SR-5, and had loaded it up with a fair number of options.
It was still a bit cheaper than a limited, but the dealer was more willing to deal on a "stripped" limited than an SR-5 with a dozen or so options. The difference in price got slimmer as a result, and I prefered to have all "true factory" installed options rather than "port installed" on the SR-5.
I consider the extras I went for "luxury", rather than "bling". Getting the diamond-cut wheels is "bling", because it's all for show. No one can see my power seats or steering wheel audio controls when I'm going down the road, but we're planning on taking some long trips (with both my wife and I driving), and I wanted some of the bells and whistles for that.
What didn't I want on the limited? The sliding rear window, the mirror I didn't care about, and the color-keyed front bumper. Maybe I can swap somebody their chrome one if they have the right color

. The gauges, which I didn't even know were different for a while, are actually pretty nice, and make the "tunneled" cluster a bit more tolerable...