Laura + Astro, a love story

It all started on October 18, 2003. That's right, boys and girls, an entire decade ago. That was the day that I purchased this:

A stunning 1997 Chevrolet Astro extended passenger van. I loved it at first sight, but our ensuing relationship only solidified my affection for that six-year-old vehicle.

The Chevrolet Astro, which stopped being produced after 2005, is the only "mini" van built on a truck chassis. It has pretty astounding mileage for a big vehicle: 15 MPG in the city and 20 on the highway. It seats 7-8 passengers, depending on the set-up.

This Astro was a dream for several reasons:

1) It was easy to find in a parking lot. It didn't look like other cars. Or vans. Plus, it was a lot taller than most vehicles.

2) Roomy! We had so much room to spread out. This goes along with:

3) Flexible configuration.

This particular van had two fold-down bench seats. At some point, Daphne's favorite was to sit in the very back with the rear a/c blowing on her, folding down the middle seat so she could still chat with us.

There is nothing better than a few dedicated vents after a steamy day at the Durant Peanut Festival!

4) Dark blue interior. Did not show spills and stains. Did show pet hair, but what doesn't?

5) Front seat could recline pretty far back without requiring the amputation of the middle-seat passenger's legs.

Yes, I know how unsafe this is on so many levels. Spoiler alert: she made it.

Sure, the van had problems.

It had a lot of problems.

Something leaked from Day One. I grew to believe that it was the steering fluid, because sometimes it'd be very difficult to turn a corner... And then it happened that I'd get the oil changed and fluids topped off and miraculously could steer again. It came to be that the steering fluid seemed to drain at about 3000 miles, so it was the perfect reminder to stop in for service.

The gas gauge never worked. I had to reset the tripometer every time I got gas, and go back in for a fill-up at 300 miles. I believe that I let the gas run out twice and maybe three times during the years that I owned the van. The very last time it happened, we thought the van had died for good because it'd been petering out for a long time. By the time we realized that had actually occurred, we'd grieved over the Astro and had moved on. It was time.

The windshield wipers were intermittent. By that, I mean they worked whenever they felt like it, which wasn't reliably. However, when things got so bad that I would panic and really pray about it (like during a snowstorm in which I was terrified to pull over in the dark and wait, or when I really needed the car to pass inspection), they'd magically work for half an hour, then stop again. Fortunately, in all but the worst of gales, Rain-X actually works loads better than all but brand new wiper blades.

The driver's side window gave up the ghost after a while, meaning that I could roll the window down but not up. It took months and months of getting the window stuck in the down position when it was very hot or very cold or very wet before it became automatic to open the door at drive-throughs. 

Then there were the batteries and the cracked radiator on vacation, and several other things. But that thing got me through many years, hauled a lot of stuff, many friends and family, and I genuinely loved it, as much as a human can love a vehicle.

In fact, when we gave up on the car for good, in April 2010, Daphne, who was probably more traumatized than I was at the loss, wanted a couple of momentos. Until we moved the following year, she had these "couches" in her room.

Ever since April 2010, I have wanted another Astro. I notice them everywhere, and I have noticed that they tend to exist in one of two realities: Either the owner of said Astro has used it to haul cargo and it's completely spent, or the owner has babied it and it's beautiful. With my first Astro, when I took it in for an oil change early in my ownership, the man whistled and remarked, "Someone has babied this thing." It seems that that is common. 

Although I have adored the Astro and have been thinking about getting one ever since we moved to Austin, and then seriously after I got married, it wasn't until the air conditioner on my Elantra went out that we decided to get serious about trying to find one.

I was unable to find any that I liked locally; I knew I wanted the extended body (though that was negotiable), the passenger version (rather than the cargo one with no back windows), and I wanted it not to be plain white or tan or some other boring incarnation. I found one I really liked that Enterprise was selling in Kentucky, but they wouldn't even talk to me over the phone and the van was twice what I wanted to pay for a vehicle, so we waited.

Then I looked on the dreaded Craigslist, and there we saw this purple beauty that sent up red flags all over the place. It is a 1997 that has only 71,000 miles on it. My Elantra is a 2003, and I just topped 150,000. This smacked of odometer tampering. But, over time, everything checked out. So, here's the history of this van, as we now know it:

A lady bought it new in 1997 and owned it until October 2013. She serviced it regularly, and all of the maintenance, emissions testing, and registration renewals show up on CarFax. Also, the odometer readings are there since 2007, and they show a consistent use, albeit it a very low one. The original owner has several Mazdas, and her ownership of multiple vehicles might explain why the mileage on this one is so low. This fall, she decided to trade her Astro in for a Mazda, and one of the maintenance staff at the dealership went in with his dad to buy the vehicle for his mom, who had been wanting a mini van.

The new owner drove the van for a couple of weeks and deemed it too big. She didn't want it. And I'm glad that she didn't! It was so much easier to buy this thing from a private party. There were no games, no yards of paperwork. But we did meet him at the dealership, so we know where he works (and, ahem, where he lives) and he invited us to call him if there is anything wrong with the van.

I had to hound him, it felt like, to get him to send me the VIN and to meet us, but it turns out he's been really busy and his parents have been traveling, so it took him a while to get up to north Austin where the van was and to find time to squeeze us in. He said "A lot of people have been wanting to see it, but I just haven't had the time." So, this squeaky wheel is pretty ecstatic about the whole thing.

And now, without further ado, MY "NEW" 1997 CHEVY ASTRO!

It's PURPLE!

Note: This is the first vehicle I've ever had with remote entry. Ever. Yes, it works.

Super sweet tape player! Under 71,000 miles!

Four captain's chairs, unlike my first vehicle. More reclining opportunities for passengers!

The back seat is a bench seat... but not *just* a bench seat. Stay tuned!

The model we looked at from Enterprise had pleather seats. I prefer cloth so much, I can't even articulate it. I feel like cloth is so much more comfortable (in my price range; I understand you can get real true leather that is buttery soft).

Comparing the distance from the ground of my Elantra's seat and the Astro's.
I'm up a foot and a half higher and the view is GREAT!

Speaking of view, the Elantra's windshield is 45 inches wide and very sloped.
The Astro's windshield is 56 inches wide, and at a less severe angle. The result feels very panoramic.

This is the bench seat, or "sofa," from the front.

I love that all of the seats have fabric that sweeps the floor. It makes the car look a lot neater.
I used to store a lot of stuff under my seats, and hated how junky it rendered the interior.

The sofa from the back. But... just flip the switch you see on the right wall and...

It's a very comfortable bed!

Too bright? Sun in your eyes?

I probably wouldn't do this with the back windows when in motion.

But I love having the option.

It's on all of the rear windows.

Unlike my old Astro, these windows don't open.

Each seat has its own set of headphone jacks for the radio and the television.
Also, you can control the sofa from the middle driver's side.

In fact, there is a whole separate sound system for the back seat! I didn't notice it until this morning.

Didn't notice this until today, either. Guess it means we can hook up the Atari!

Each seat has a vent and rocker directional lighting. There is also rope lighting behind the window trim.

For an older car, the designers really anticipated the need for power outlets. I believe there are at least 4.

Faux wood detailing.

And in the back, a perpetually-charging flashlight (which needs a new battery), and...

A car vacuum! This is perfect for me!

So far, the Astro and I have been very happy. We got out this morning and I showed her some of the sites around town. She seemed right at home.

Sunrise at Graffiti Park.

Thanks SO much to my awesome husband, James, who was almost as excited about this van as I was. They had an Astro when he was growing up, too, so we're both pretty nostalgic about the whole thing. Can't wait for a road trip!