Overview & Reviews

A new interior with dual airbags, new radio systems, an improved V6 and three new paint colors are the changes for this year.

User Reviews:

Showing 1 through 10 of 17.00

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  good van - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By billy97477 - February 4 - 9:11 pm

  217,000 miles and still runs great. a lot less problems than I would expect for a vehicle with so many miles. Good for camping. Can fit a cot and ice chest in the van comfortably. Rear cigarette lighter jack is good for my dvd player while camping. So is the rear heat that heats up pretty fast on the coldest of nights. With no seats in my quad even fits in it. Awd works still and does great in the snow and mud.

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  Clear free of this lemon! - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By Heidi - January 13 - 9:57 pm

  This van has been nothing but a money pit from the day we bought it used. We have had to replace the water pump, full transmission, repair AC, CV joints on front end, muffler fell off, battery, alternator and starter (all in the last three years). The driver side door hinge is falling off and the windows does not work. Horribly noisy on the inside. Save your money for a Toyota!

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  11 year old Astro van w/ 135k miles - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By Kalei Baker - July 19 - 5:41 pm

  My friend gave this van to me 12 months ago, it had to be towed 3 times and it took about $900+ of repairs to keep it running. Ignition coil burned out = $280 repair. Spark plug wire shorted out = $190 repair. Fuel pump failed = $420 repair. Any repairs under the hood will be high labor due to the design that makes it difficult to access (via panel between passenger and driver leg area. The passenger exterior door handle broke off. When it runs, the 4.0L engine is moderately powerful. At 11 years old and 135k miles, repairs should be expected. I am selling the van, ASAP. I am much more satisfied with my Ford Excursion with 7.3L turbo diesel, which can also seat 8.

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  Worst Vehicle we have ever owned! - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By Elby62 - February 17 - 4:30 pm

  We paid $10,000 for this in 2002 and it had 50,000 miles on it. For the price and mileage you would expect a decent vehicle. However this van broke down constantly. It has cost us thousands extra in repairs, including a new transmission. Broke down out of state leaving us stranded hundreds of miles from home. Twice. Dont buy this van! A bad, bad, bad vehicle. Horrible experience to own. The torsion bar broke on it, twice. Same thing happened to my friend. The torsion bar broke while I was driving on a crowded interstate at 70mph, on a bridge, with no place to pull over. All my children were in the van. We are lucky that I did not panic and that we didnt wreck. Horrible!

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  Lots of room. - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By thedriver - August 5 - 2:00 am

  We purchased an Astro AWD because we needed a 4WD and a van. The van drives well in slippery conditions. We have had it in the garage several times for fuel, tranny and brake problems. Our Astro has several engine oil leaks.

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  Good for a larger family - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By Familyof6 - February 29 - 2:00 am

  Although we had read pretty bad reviews about the Astro in Consumer Reports, we have had great luck with ours. We didnt have many options in choosing a minivan since we needed something that could tow our boat, and the Astro is the only one other than GMC Safari that can handle it. We have a number of repairs, two of them pricey, but the extended warranty we bought at Carmax covered everything. Overall, this has been a great van for our family of 4 kids with room to spare for friends to come along. We found ours to be worth the price. If anything, the low CR rating makes a used Astro very affordable.

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  Steaming grey pile of garbage - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By gohm - January 7 - 2:00 am

  From day one, the van has ben nickle and diming us to death. We could not claim lemon because they were all different problems. We have only 54K on it, and we have replaced alternator, wiper motor and need a new A/C compressor, drivers door window motor, transmission and everything on the motor that has oil in it has a leak. I would not tell my worst enemy to buy one of these peices of junk.

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  transmission - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By poohbear12 - November 1 - 2:00 am

  So far the astro van has been pretty good for our family. It has helped us move 2 times. The interior is very roomy. The only bad part has been the transmission. It has gone out on me once already and seems like it is getting ready to do it again. Luckily I do have a warranty on the repairs done. Also I have replaced the 02 sensors twice.

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  Good for the long haul - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By Sherry B. - October 11 - 2:00 am

  Excellent for the duration...my 2nd Astro, and better than the 1st 87 model. Gas mileage is about 18/gal city, but is a great family vehicle. Has lasted well.

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  terrible van - 1996 Chevrolet Astro
  By deathgrip72 - September 4 - 2:00 am

  This is an awful vehicle. Everything breaks and need replacing within the first few years. Every conceivable notor and drive mechanism wears out prematurely. It drives like a tank, does not haus particularly well, and gets lousy mileage. I would steer anyone I talk to to away from this vehicle. In fact, I have never heard of anyone who actually likes this van or would replace an old one with a new one.