Danny,

I ALSO haul 4 x 8 sheets of drywall flat on my seats that fold down flat. No Problem-O!

And get this!!!! I can carry 12' foot lengths of boards.
It's that great (and sleek) sloping front end of the WAY COOL AEROSTAR!

You may be able to pull a heavier trailer, but most ain't that heavy are they? If so, you'd need a V-8 truck or SUV anyway!

By the way, we're just having a "friendly" discussion of our
modus operandi (sic?)

If an Astro rings your chimes, then go 4 it!

I can not comment on repair histories of government wheels!

I can say STAY AWAY FROM MERCURY VILLAGER...It's the Mercury version of the WINDSTAR!

In an earlier post, I had mentioned my sister had one for 38,000 miles now she's selling it cause it had a fuel injection problem not once but twice. And other unrelated various problems that weref ixed under the warranty that just ran out...

OOPS I should have kept my mouth shut cause she still has it for SALE!

Are you interested in the car? I think it's a 2000.

Good Luck with whatever you buy...Aerostar OVER Astro

(Just kiddin' with you Danny)

BTW- I've been to Miami and the Beach...cool

EAP, I do remember your comments about the Mercury Villager, (in fact I wrote them down as part of my research data). I guess I got emotionally caught up with this nice looking, 2 tone, loaded Mercury with the leather seats & all the fix'ns) In fact it was a 2000 as well. Can't say that I would want to buy your sister's Mercury at his point

CAN'T AFFORD TO PURCHASE AN AUTOMOBILE "ON EMOTIONS", (rather than facts), LIKE THE DEALERS WANT YOU TO!

Test drove both an Astro & Aerostar. The Aerostar is more "trucklike" in it's handling but that's O-K.

One more test...I will journey over to the foriegn side tommorow just to see what a Sienna feels like. (If I can afford to). But generally speaking, aren't foriegn cars more expensive to maintain because of the parts? Correct me if I am wrong.

Also,Is Nissian somehow tied to Mercury?

I've been sitting back reading all these posts with all the great information on various vehicles and it all boils down to what "floats you boat" in the way of a van.
If you want one for looks,your choices are limited,one for comfort,your choices are limited,one for durabilty,your choices are limited. You can buy a bright red one with running boards,tv,stereo,and even a bed in the rear,owned by an old lady,and the stupid thing could break down a week later.
My wife and I leased our first van in 96,a new Voyager with the duel sliding rear doors;perfect because we had to small granddaughters my wife watched 5 days a week.
In 2000 the lease was up,the kids were bigger,so we bought a Camry. I missed the van. Didn't think I'd like one that much but I did because of the room. I was driving a compact for work and back and local driving.
Didn't want to spend a ton and we had great luck with the Voyager. I knew a retired cop that dabbled in used cars and sold nothing but used Voyagers and Caravans. He said he had good luck with them and had practically zero comebacks or complaints and had several people come back for others in the future for second cars and whatnot.
So I bought one. 93 Caravan,nothing special,off the lot amenities,3 seats,the rear I discarded,with 112k on it,and the 3 liter v6. Got it for 2300. It was a one owner,he was given every bill for everthing done to it,including oil changes. I heard this and that aobut both the 3L and the 3.3's,but as long as you take care of anything,it will last you. I have 149K on the Caravan now and it runs as well as it did when I first got it. I use it every day for work and running around,averaging about 50 miles a day. Doesn't use oil,has no rattles or funny noises from under the hood,and I haven't noticed anything falling off on the road behind me.
It works for me and floats my boat.

I hear ya BobQ. I know where you are coming from. Thanks

When I hit the Lotto..Vans on me

Hey when you hit the lottery, I'll be first in line...for a new (used) 1997 Aerostar with the works! That was the last year they made them. Maybe they should go back and bring 'em back! I hear there's problems with the Mercury Questars (Mercury eqiv of Ford's Freestar) Seems Ford doesn't have such a good idea anymore at least on minivans!

I have had two red-like ones...Make mine Green this time, OK!

Message to BobQ...Ironic that you had a Minivan and then went to a Camry...My sister (the van owner) had a Camry then went to a minivan! Good Grief, Charlie Brown!

Make mine a GM front wheel drive minivan that had the plastic body! I HATE rust!!!! I had my Lumina APV for 9 years and should have kept it. I think the newer Venture/Montana cradle would have fit. I should have just swapped out the engine and tranny and kept going. It was the best and most versitile vehicle I ever owned.

Re: Villagers and Quests. I've had a '95 Villager since it was new; it now has 97,000 miles on it. DON"T buy one! FYI, they're FWD, and although good at haulng passengers (seven is max), they're not good at hauling anything heavy (the rear seat will move forward, but cannot be removed).

Villagers are really Quests, and they're both a Nissan design, with a relatively wimpy Nissan 3.0L 140 HP V-6 that gets mediocre gas mileage (@22 MPG, tops). They're not built on the same platform as the Windstar, by the way.

Mine is on its third transmission (fortunately replaced under warranty), and it's also had lots of other non-normal maitenance repairs: freeze plug, fuel injectors, radiator, fuel pump, etc. Although it's a nice size and handles and rides fairly well, the minuses far outweigh the pluses--IMO.

If you're set on a foreign minivan, and are more interested in carrying people than cargo, I'd consider a previous generation Toyota Sienna, or, if you want to spend @$17K, you can pick up a 2004/2003 Mazda MPV. Both are very reliable FWD vehicles, if winter traction is an issue.

Now you have me wondering if the Windstars are on a foreign platform (chassis, etc)?

I know Consumer Reports FLUNKED THE ENTIRE VEHICLE PRODUCTION from 1995 - 2002!

I think my sister had transmission problems with her Villager too, that were also fixed under warranty. She only has 38,000 miles on hers and no longer under warranty!

I KNOW she had a couple fuel injection problems.

I am sorry (not really) but the amount of money that goes into one of these vehicles, there is NO EXCUSE for shoddy design and or workmanship.

Perhaps I should not say this, but automotive components design engineers are not my favorite people.

I have worked on numerous cars avocationally, and it amazes me how some of the this stuff is designed! And these are not kind words I might add!

BTW- Her Villager is still for sale! ANy Buyers!

IF ANYONE CARES: I FINALLY PURCHASED A VAN

After 3 weeks of research & pages of notes
And with my main objectives, (Reliability with low maintenance costs)... I finally purchased a 2001 Toyota Sienna from a private owner. Well-maintained. The owner's Toyota dealer checked it out from top to bottom not too long ago. My mechanic did like-wise last Tuesday.

Thanks to everyone for their input. Now I have to go. Gotta check the internet for the lotto winnings. I have at least 2 vans I have to purchase according to the posts I've just read. Apparently everyone else is roll'n in doe and not in need of "a new van on me"

Since my last post I started thinking about the Camry,the miles on it,how much repairs cost even though several of them I can do myself,it's age and how much less you get for trade-in the longer you wait.
Soooooo, I visited a very old friend of mine who's a Chrysler-Jeep dealer.
We have a unique relationship. Used to hang out together when we were single,partied hardy and all the rest of it. Were almost inseparable. We both got married,had kids,went our own ways,even though we live only 8 miles apart. Whenever we meet,it's like we never parted.
Anyway,I caught him at the right time one Saturday morning. Chrysler loans new cars to rental companies to use for a certain amount of time and miles(promotional thing);this particular car having been in Florida for 4800 miles worth(Enterprize),used to get tourists back and forth to Disneyworld.
It was shipped back up here along with 6 others that my friend acquired.
The one that caught my eye was a silver(tinge of green in the sunlight) Sebring with alloy wheels and all the normal factory built-ins;am/fm/cd,A/C,6 way drivers seat,remote locks and trunk,4 cylinder.
The Camry was a 4 and had all the power we required and after driving this one 15 miles,shooting the bull with my buddy,I decided it was just as snappy as the Camry and even a tad more comfortable.
This is the best part: He gave me 2000 over book for the Camry and the Chrysler was marked down to 16.5,and threw in the extended warranty. Didn't cost me a dime to trade,and the payments end up at a little over 200 bucks a month for 4 years. Didn't think I could go wrong. My wife drove it for the weekend and said she wanted it when Monday arrived.
Another good thing is my insurance went down 150 a year because the Chrysler got a 5 star rating in the frontal crash test. So I saved a lot of bucks all around.
End of story.