The Chevy Astro van's motor is known to last forever. You don't need to worry about replacing a timing belt, because it uses a timing chain. The one I have has been beat up pretty good, but is still running well. It seems not too hard to work on the van yourself - especially underneath the vehicle.

I bought the Astro with 130,000 miles three years ago. Replaced a Jeep Cherokee with it and so happy with our choice. More cargo and smoother ride. Mine is not a soccer mom mobile. It's the toy box, and I have a long playlist. Take one seat out and you can still seat five comfortably. I can put five bikes in the back. Or skis or snowboards... climbing gear... windsurf/kitesurf rigs... or a mixture of them all. In the winter, I move the seat to the back row and you have a nice space to put ski boots on or have lunch between snow kite sessions or sleep in. Rear heat works great. No need for a rocket box, but it has factory racks so easy to do if needed. Hook up a trailer and pull four dirt bikes or two snowmobiles no worries. Right now it's winter and this van loves it. So stable on ice and snow. Good tires of course do help a lot. We ski little cottonwood country and chase wind for snow kiting, so we are often driving in blizzards. It's weight and well proportioned to its size.

I like the body style of our 2004 Astro van. It has a modern, rounded look that is more pleasing to the eye than the old "bread box" style of the older models. Our Astro van seats 8 and has front and rear air conditioning. We did have a mechanical problem to deal with, but we were able to get it fixed and it has been running ever since. Overall, it is a nice van and has been mostly reliable.