With the recent passing of my Aerostar, I'm sad to say that I am no longer a club member. It was totaled in an accident months ago but otherwise would have had many more years of service left. Dark blue, never in an accident, no door dings, 2nd owner (since 44k miles), 3.0l engine, 160k on the clock. Didn't consume oil, didn't leak oil and well maintained. Not the most exciting, but certainly the most useful vehicle I have owned. The funny thing is that it was the vehicle of choice for my high-school aged kid. You would think that kids that age wouldn't think it's cool to be seen in any kind of minivan.

I looked at the records for my previous Aerostar (a '95 AWD) that was totaled back on 2005 (which the '97 replaced). Both vans were totaled within 3 days of filling the tank and one month of replacing the battery. I'll make sure that I fill up 7 or more days after replacing the battery in the future. You don't come out ahead with what insurance pays.

I considered another Aerostar, but they're getting hard to find and most of what I see on craigslist are beat to you-know-what. And they're getting pretty scarce in the junkyards so parts not covered by the aftermarket are getting scarce.

I've been an Aerostar owner for over 18 years. The only thing I owned longer was my '91 Ranger STX 4X4 that I special ordered from the factory (and never should have gotten rid of).

 

Sorry to hear that mikeman, they are a rare breed that can't be replaced.

 

there is a '97 for sale in Orlando that looks good, extended with twin a/c. $1,200.00

 

Don't totally give up. Do a few car guru searches, and then just wait... You will get emails from them from time to time about the vehicle you are looking for. That is how I came across my second van. Got up one morning and check my email, and car gurus said this van was 4 miles from me??? I took off fast for a look. It was a twin to my current van, 92 with 67k Karma is sometimes on good peoples side. Be patient.

Sorry for your loss. Crashing my van would put me into a major depression, that is one of the reasons I bought the second one.

 

if you are handy you can buy a rust free aerostar from north carolina for 500 with a bad trans or head gasket and transfer everything over

 

Thanks for the tips on possible replacements. Unfortunately, I'm on the opposite coast. There are only two Aerostars for sale that are sort of close to me, but they are pretty beat. I am handy, but all my handy time is taken up with other projects. I got a Subaru wagon for free (not that it's any kind of replacement for an Aerostar) that I'm fixing up and I should be getting my neighbor's Explorer soon. He's got to find his replacement first. If I happen to find something that's within reasonable distance and for a reasonable price, I may consider it. One of the deciding factors for me is that the junkyards don't have too many around these days so interior parts are drying up. I'm also accumulating cars but I'm hesitant to get rid of anything because I've got them all in good working order, with the exception of the Subaru, but it'll be in good shape soon.