My 2nd Astro On It's 10th "Birthday"!

[JimBritt]

M first Astro was a 93 which I drove for 7 years and loved until a wild shopping cart hit it at 20 MPH on a hill-side parking lot!

My current Astro is a 2000 which I bought as a "demo" with 6,660 miles on it on 10/31/2000 for only $12,000!
It turned 10 yrs old last Halloween and that's when I took the attached photo.

In 10 years I have only had to spend $500 for repairs and it has NEVER failed to start and still drives like the day I bought it.

It hasn't got a scratch on it (knock on wood) so the exterior is perfect.

The dealer left the plastic on the carpet and I left it there until last summer so the carpet is like brand new.

I have a record of every drop of gas I have put in this van as well as every oil change and other expenses. I gassed it up last weekend and the mileage was exactly 106,660 which means I have hit the 100,000 miles mark of ownership!!

I call my van "Silver Bullet" and wouldn't trade it even for anything (except for another brand-new Astro which, of course, ain't happening)!

[mdmead]

Welcome Jim! Great looking van. I can't believe you left the plastic on the carpet for 10 years!

[MountainManJoe]

Welcome.

I'm curious why you record every refueling?

[Smiliesafari]

Welcome, Jim. The "Silver Bullet" looks grest. I feel the same about my Safari. 215,000 and still
running great.
Tlb....keeping a log is helpful for when routine maintenence is due. Keeping track of fuel mileage can help you know when something isn't quite right.

[MountainManJoe]

Interesting. How much has your mileage changed over the 10 years?

[JimBritt]

Welcome.

I'm curious why you record every refueling?

I'm a data junkie!!

Since 10/31/2000 I have burned 6,075.9 gallons and spent $12,512.33!!!!!!!

I also have details of every oil change, minor repair, windshield washer fluid, EVERYTHING!!

[MountainManJoe]

So on average over 10 years and 100,000 miles, you get 14.3 litres per 100km, or 16.5 miles per gallon.
And you only drive 10,000 miles ot 16,000 km per year.

[JimBritt]

Actually I put a lot more mileage the first few years; the past 3 I only average 6,000 miles per year.

The gas mileage has also dropped since all my local gas stations started putting 10% alcohol in the gas.

My wife drives a 2006 Dodge Caravan with a much smaller engine and only gets about 1 MPG better.

[MountainManJoe]

Can you post the fuel economy from your first year of ownership, compared to the last year?