Used 1999 GMC Safari Minivan Consumer Reviews
My 4th Astro/Safari Van
Excellent overall Van - I have owned 4 of them, and probably 5 full sized fords before that. Bought one new, put 200,000 miles on it without a problem. Bought 3 used with 100,000 miles at about $5,000.00 each and ran them to just over 200,000 miles each, and sold or traded them for about $2,500.00 each In all four combined, I replaced 2 window motors ($26.00) a couple blower fan relays ($6.00), a couple fuel pumps ($200.00), one drive chain ($300.00), and one CV joint ($60.00). Do the math - $12,500.00 vehicle cost: got 500,000 miles, about $600.00 in repairs. No brainer - this is a great little truck (and it IS a truck), hauls a trailer well, fits lotsa people, extremely comfortable,
Give and take
Major Safety concern - no door ajar light/ alarm for doors other than driver side door and even then, door has to be completely open. We have driven with door ajar several times. Have had many water leakage problems with all doors. Not much room for taller drivers. Rattle at slow speed but service department can not fix.
Expensive to own/maintain
Purch 1/99; 4/99 transfer case prob; 7/99 8k mi trans replace solenoid-2 visits; 3/00 17k mi transfer case; 5/00 21k mi overhaul trans asmbly; 7/00 24k recondit'd valve body/trans; expensive brake, trans + transfer case maint for life; 1/02 53k idler arms $600; 1/03 74k intake gskt $500; 5/03 76k AC comprsr, door lock actuators $1,300; 7/03 82k NEW ENGINE $7k (spun bearing, threw rod)on family trip from NC to NY; 8/03 83k AC control head $350; 11/03 85k ignition coil/rotor $400. Expensive to own; has been a $10,000 year.Sadly, this Safari has never "wanted" for anything + the maintenance schedule has been followed +/or exceeded.
Safari van
I have owned Safaris since 1986, have been reliable vehicles. Good gas mileage for the 1999 unit, no problems except for A/C repair at 65,000 mi and brakes and front idler arms every 35,000 mi.
GMC Safari
$800.00 to replace fuel pump at 65,000 mi. $1800 to rebuild transmission at 70,000 mi.$100.00, 3 times to clear throttle sticking condition off idle. This is my first GM product after 20+ years of Ford and Dodge. I wont buy another GM. Never had expensive problems with the other brands.
Solid Van
I bought my '99 with 145k mi and added another 50k.Great for long trips and in-town kid hauling.Only mech prob has been a/c. Engine/Tran are strong at 195k mi. Interior is very resiliant. Looks new. Paint/Body is still good. Nice having big V6 w/ rwd for towing. Also, it can handle a heavy load. built on truck chasis not car so it sits high and good for unimproved roads. dutch doors are great. I think stiffer shocks would help. Front leg room is a bit constrained.
Great Value
Very useful vehicle. More power than I need. Good milage-esp with 6 people in it. Reliable. Low maintenace.
Unfulfilled dream
I paid $16K for a 2 year old van with 37K miles. In 7/05 it has 108K, current value About $5.3K. I've enjoyed the van and the ride. It's comfortable for driver. Not enough foot room for passengers. I liked the way it handled and drove. Repair costs have been about $1K a year in addition to regular maintenance. Costs of repair have been expensive. Have had excellent service from Cooper extra wide, tires. I have replaced the electric window motors on both sides of the van. AC is a problem, 2 computers replaced. Body and upholstery show almost no wear.
Good family car
We bought this van used a few years ago, and have done nothing but drive it hard all the time. My wife uses it daily with 3 kids. We have taken many very long trips and it is very roomy and comfortable. Only problem has been an alternator(easy to replace myself). Also the front brakes wear faster than some other cars, but not too bad. Over all we really love this van(kinda square looking though!) I can't think of anything new I could buy that can do all this does so well!
I like it
Good strong minivan. It has great towing capacity. The kids aren't cramped like in the smaller mini vans. Very safe and built tough.