Solid van, gets the job done.

Never should have let go of the Dodge caravan, no matter how good the price was for this Ford-badged of Jabba the Hutt's Sail Barge

I've owned 2 of the longer Aerostars.  Traded to an AWD in 1995 because the 2WD was useless on icy Calgary streets.  It has been rock solid, leaving many SUVs in the dust since then.  I have towed out my share of stuck cars (even got a 5 ton truck up a slick hill).  My wife loved the passing power.  It still accelerates strongly to stay ahead of the pack.

Maintenance has been average but with 265,000 km it burns no oil and still has lots of passing power (4.0 L). The transmission was a bit wonky last year but after changing the fluid/filter and using some tranny treatment, it is now back to normal. Shifter cable broke and then a column shifter bolt broke.  Cheap to fix but made for some interesting adventures.  We drove it for a week without being able to shift!

The only rust on it is ahead of the rear wheel on the driver's side (a left-over from an early rear-ending, I suspect).  The interior has held up well.  Fabric is all OK but some of the big plastic parts are cracked. It has gotten messy inside the last few months but is still an excellent 7 passenger ride.

In the past two years I have replaced all the shocks, PS pump, thermostat, front bushing and a few other parts.  Considering the mileage it still handles and drives well.  My wife took it airborne over a huge bump in 1996 so replacing a few choice suspension parts is not too surprising at this stage.  Next project is new tires.

I use Slick-50 or Synthetic Oil for all my vehicles and strongly recommend using one of them.  Excellent cold weather starting at -40 and serious overheating protection (my old Bronco lives on).

I expect the transmission may sideline this vehicle in a few years but, until then it will be my trusty hauler of people and things.  I can haul full sheets of plywood and 12 foot lumber inside with the doors closed!  I even fit a Sears Garden tractor inside.  I was attracted to the massive trunk behind the rear seat (5 kids will do that to you).

It got seriously unstable at 45 mph when I overloaded it and a U-haul with around 5000 lb of stuff. Am I bad, or what!  Made for a very long Texas to Canada trip (but we did make it).

I was never expecting this truck to haul people or cargo like my E-350 did, or be as plush as my Mercury...we just needed a second car for around town.  The Aerostar is perfect for our purpose. It's more truck than mini van, but reasonably comfortable and seats 7, 6 comfortably. With 220,000 miles on it I can't say enough about reliability.  I would buy a new one if they still made them!