1988 Chevrolet Astro CS review from North America

Seat bolt in driver's seat broke - fixed for free under recall. This could have been a serious issue if the vehicle had been moving, hence the recall.

Bad wear in both front seats - not a big issue except cosmetically. Benches in excellent condition.

Starter is going out, and sometimes fails to engage the engine in cold weather.

Performs poorly in low-fuel situations (below 1/4 tank). Bucks and loses power. Adding fuel fixes that.

This has been a great first car for me. As can be expected with a high-mileage vehicle, the front seats were worn and there's some parts going out, most notably the starter. What's not expected for a car this old is a working A/C and, until recently, the factory stereo which worked, sometimes.

This thing has tons of power and excellent traction. The brakes, while occasionally noisy, are excellent and can bring the van to a stop very quickly if needed. The 4.3L V6 can get it moving again just as fast.

This car was previously owned by someone who took very good care of it. I'm surprised he let it go for $600, it's worth at least $1000.