Faults:

The van eats batteries. I've been through 3 and working on a 4th.

Starter once at 177.9k miles.

Positive battery cable.

Both idler arms at 178k miles.

Front brake pads and rotors, both front brake lines, rear drums adjusted.

Distributor cap and rotor button.

All four tires.

Some light body rust... all over. Nothing cancerous as of yet, though. Is worst on the roof.

General Comments:

I got this car from my dad about a week after totaling my Mazda RX-7 (won't go there...). At first I HATED it! I was a 18 year old guy, driving a VAN, for goodness sakes! well, I've come to love the beast. For a van, it has a very low center of gravity and can take turns extremely well at relatively high speeds. Performance wise, it isn't too shabby. My rx-7 would have left it in the dust, obviously. But for a 3600lbs or so vehicle, it doesn't do bad. If you stand on it it will squeal and break loose. Not enough power to smoke the tires... but...

The 4.3L v6 in the car gets OK fuel mileage for that size engine. I get around 17mpg in town and 22-24mpg on the highway. But it makes up for the fuel drinking in raw power. I've pasted many a car going up steep roads doing 60-70mph in 3rd while they are struggling to gain or keep speed.

Astro Vans seem to last forever. Mine has been in 3 collisions (only a minor fender bender while *I* have owned it) and it still refuses to stay down.

My grandmother drove mine over 4 miles one day after it had a coolant leak. FOUR miles with NO coolant. The hood was too hot for me to touch. I let it cool down, put new oil in it, new coolant and drove it down to the shop and had the leak fixed. I've just now started having problems with the engine. That's about 15k miles more on an engine after a severe overheating experience! Not many cars or engines can boast that.

I'm going to have to get it rebuilt soon, though... Starting to make major noises and vibrating bad.

I'd definitely buy another Astro given the chance. Probably an AWD model.

Faults:

I have replaced the water pump, repacked the head gaskets, and recently had a front and rear brake job.

General Comments:

I bought this van from its original owner in 1998, for business use. It was a replacement for my 1987 BMW 325 convertible, a big change and not an easy one to make! Nobody looked at my car anymore to say, "Nice ride!" But I traded a show horse in for a work horse and I've never been sorry.

This van drives well, still looks good inside and out, hauls whatever I need to haul (including as many as seven people at a time), and is quite a comfortable ride. The best is its durability. In the years I've owned it, maintenance has been minimal. When it overheated due to water pump failure at about 165,000 miles, the repair was quick and easy and I've had no further problems. I plan to continue to drive it for a good while longer.

I can't say enough positives about this old van.

Faults:

Little plastic rubber pieces have fallen off here and there, but otherwise nothing major.

General Comments:

I have owned this van since 1996 and it runs great. I use it for work every day and it has nearly 400,000 miles on it, but it still runs strong. It really is a great workhorse and it's big. It's not like any other "mini van", considering its rear wheel drive, has tons of power for a v6, and it can haul almost anything.

Faults:

Engine smokes at startup, but the oil consumption has remained low.

Brakes have cheap construction.

Idler arms wore despite diligent greasing.

Van is a little noisy at freeway speeds.

The ride is a bit jiggly.

Needs mid-grade fuel to run well.

General Comments:

The van still looks and runs well at 115000 miles and 9 years old. It has been a very durable and reliable vehicle, despite occasional towing of a heavy trailer (5000 lbs). The vehicle is very stable pulling the heavy trailer.

The vehicle can fit a lot of gear inside with the rear seat removed (5 bikes + vacation gear).