STS

It all depends upon age, mileage, condition, and service history. Caddies have an abundance of exotic and interesting accessories not found on less expensive cars. That being said, the components of those accessories are of no better manufacture than on any other GM vehicle and become problematic with distressing regularity. Simply put, the more there is, the more there is to go wrong. If you do the repairs yourself, especially major repairs, then a well maintained used Caddy can be an excellent value. You'll get a luxury vehicle on which someone else has already taken the hit for depreciation. If you have to pay to have repairs done, the car will become a money pit in short order.

Hello NJ:

I agree with Nicky's contention that Cadilacs in general can be a money pit if it is not maintained properly. Have a qualified Cadillac mechanic do a through inspection of all the major components of your prospective vehicle. This will give you an educated opinion about whether to purchase or not.

I own a 1995 Seville STS that I bought used a couple years ago. Initially, it gave me problems that I inherited (sp) from the previous owner, so I spent the money to get it in proper shape. Now I do not have to worry about it so much. Cadillacs can be expensive to maintain, but the ride is great on the open rode, particularly the STS.

The STS is more like a Stock Car, and on the open road can handle most other cars. The STS is a fun car to drive. It is a high performance vehicle. It has a Northstar engine, which tends to leak oil, but that is normal for this engine. The cure for this problem is to have the upper, middle and lower gaskets replaced.

The Northstar can last at least 250,00 miles if you take care of it. Keep your engine oiled, your cooling system maintained, and change your transmission fluids every 30,000 miles and you will have a car that is difficult to part with.

Peace,

Famous

I should have stated a new vehicle but I do appreciate the comments about the options and how costly it will become to repair them down the road.

Is there a quality issue with Cadillac? Have they improved?

Ken

Hello Famous!

I was referring to a new vehicle and should have specified this when asking for comments.

I know the new STS has the Northstar engine and felt good again to drive a V8 other than driving another SUV. I was concerned about the quality.

Ken

If you trade 3 or 4 years down the line you should be OK. I believe the Caddies are designed for a specific demographic, those who buy or lease new then trade off in 3 or 4 years, before the troubles start. The next guy gets to fix the myriad of small things that start to go wrong about that time. That's the trade off for getting a luxury car at a deep discount. If that person can do the work himself then it is well worth it. If not he should prepare for a cashectomy of the wallet. I believe that is also the reason for the inordinately steep depreciation curve. I got my '93 Eldo in '97 when it was turned in from a lease and had about 37K on it. My FIL originally purchased it then died shortly thereafter. As a favor to the executor and at the urging of my wife, I purchased the vehicle as I was in the market for a car. As usual, no good deed goes unpunished. The trouble started about 6 months later. It has been one thing after another. It still has a seemingly undiagnoseable idle problem. It has many ingeniously designed features but few are well or reliably executed. The ride is exceptional and the seats are superb but that's about it. It is only driven locally as I wouldn't trust it on a trip. Since I put only about 3K on it annually, it is my plan to keep it 6 more years then buy a new vehicle. It is far more likely to be a new Lexus or Acura than a Cadillac. That being said, I do understand that the new Caddies, like all the new GM vehicles, are markedly better. Good luck with whatever vehicle you choose.

Thank you so much for the post. I appreciate the comments.

Ken

When you elicit opinions from the internet understand that its important to keep an open mind and to make sure that the opinions are not biased. I have owned 92 Seville 4.9, a 93 STS and a 96 Deville. That 92 was a workhorse, the engine was powerful and amazing. The car handled amazing, it was fast and easy to work on. I have friends with Lexus, Infinity and Mercedes that have problems also...

Nicky tends to be negative with his "As usual, no good deed goes unpunished" and his bad mouthing of caddyinfo.

He is buying a Lexus. Taking info from an unhappy person that is incapble of diagnosing his rough idle problem for years is not smart, he has been to caddyinfo (where he was thrown out for vulgarity under the name Nicky Santoro and DF Bonnett), cadillacforums (under Nicky Santoro) and this forum. See some of MisterSkippy's work:

How do I know MisterSkippy is Nicky, Nicky uses a common phrase East Hockaloogie, you can find that term all over google attached to different names all related to the same malcontent.

Keep an open mind ALL cars need repairs and the Cadillac does not have a greater rate of repairs than any other car.

Thanks for the post. I still am considering the Cadillac although, the STS is a little tight in the back for passengers. I might consider the SRT.

The STS was one of the nicest feeling cars I drove with the Northstar engine and that included the Lexus, Infiniti and Acura vehicles.

Ken

Good Luck with your decision. The new STS to me is outstanding!

>

Thanks.

We have owned two new Caddy STS's, An 05 STS Northstar V8 320 hp rwd that had a minor oil seep from when it was new. Our GM dealer made us take it back 6 times before they finally pulled the engine and fixed it. It was a very minor leak and very poor dealership performance. They got bought out and when the new owner came in he fired everyone but 6 of the employees. The shop manager was a crook whom I think used warranty work to milk GM out of everything they could. He was the first to get fired. Same oil spot on the garage floor, a different description of the warranty work every time we took it back to them. If all of GM's had the scruples of this one GM would of gone bankrupt.

Now we own an 08 STS AWD that has been perfect for the last 4 years. It's a great automobile, I think better than any other comperably priced luxury car on the market. Up to 33mpg on the highway with the 305hp direct injection V6. There isn't enough difference in performance between the direct fire

305hp V6 and the Northstar 320hp V8 to ever want a V8 caddy unless it is supercharged. The V6 is bulletproof and gets noticibly better gas milage.

The only reason that I bought a new 08 caddy is because I have owned other Caddys over the years. Elvis was right. Cadillac is a GREAT automobile. Like no other on the planet.

Of course I don't know what thier quality control will be like now that they are government/union owned. I suspect it will get a lot worse. Even though Elvis would not approve, I will probably buy an american made Lincoln the next time we need a new car, which should be quite some time in the future.