Jack mutters,

you may know me as a devout Corolla owner, however in view of your expertise
could you advise me on this: My running buddy wants to buy a van. He is
looking at a 1999 GMC Safari. Is this the usual 'big 3' trash? Is there a
Toyota product for a young student looking for a used van?

Your expert opinion is welcomed,

! And yes, I had a room-mate who watched Y&R back in my university days,
so I've heard of it. We deny Barry Manilow completely.

- Jack

"Ralph" <nospam (AT) thanks (DOT) com> wrote

it a 2 out of 5 for reliability but a couple of friends have these vans,
and their experience is that they were OK but used a lot of gas.

The plus side is that the vans are RWD or AWD, and RWD is the preferred
drivetrain configuration if the van is heavily laden or used to tow.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

A while back I did some research on the safari and chevy astro. I
found a lot of problems on the discussion boards at edmunds.

One in particular that kept coming up was the fuel pump. To change one
on these vans you have to drop the gas tank (not easy on these) and the
replacement doesn't last any longer. They also , like most GMs have
doors that quickly become missaligned and don't close properly..

What's wrong with the sienna. I like them before they went to the bigger
body style. I think they are the smaller version up till '03??

CP

1991 - 1997 Toyota Previa

that would be my choice.

Ralph wrote:

Jack responds,

Thanks very much for your expert advice folks.

Re: Which style of van - my buddy is just looking at options and hasn't
really decided.

I wish the young man would get a Toyota. Still, at 23 I bought a 1967 Ford
Cortina Mark 2 (made in Dagenham, England, perhaps on a day when it wasn't
raining...), and suffered the consequences. It made a 'mechanic' out of me!

Best to you,

- Jack