It is not true that it is impossible to clean the CV axle joint and install a new boot unless the old boot was open to the weather and allowed contaminants to enter which will quickly ruin the joint. If you replace the axle or boot when it begins to crack, in theory you are fine, however, in my opinion it is better to install the Toyota remanufactured axle for a couple of reasons:
1) you're getting new CV joints - I figure there's got to be some wear in the old ones after many thousands of miles
2) you don't save very much money, if any at all by having someone repack the grease in the CV axle joints and install new boots because it takes longer so you're eating up most of the savings in extra labor. The old joint needs to be completely cleaned of old grease first which is messy and time consuming. If you go that route, be sure they use a genuine Toyota replacement boot. Seems the prior owner's mechanic replaced my right side boot once, and I wound up doing that axle again. Plus the factory replacement boot comes with the right grease. Aftermarket axle grease is not the right stuff far as I can see. It's black instead of amber and much less viscous (thinner consistency) than the original grease. I'm a firm believer in using all genuine parts, but there is an online place called raxles.com that many people seem to have been satisfied with, so you could check their prices. BTW, they use synthetic grease exclusively, which is a great idea, but I did not investigate whether they balance the axles as Toyota does. Actually, if you have the right tools, replacing the axle is not that difficult. I bought an air gun to remove the 32mm axle nut - it is installed very tightly so once that is off, the rest is fairly step by step. Hope that helps.