Cadillac - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

tobybul · #1 05-28-2009, 10:58 AM

Just wondering if any of the forum members own a Cadillac DTS, STS or CTS. How are they to keep up? What do like and dislike about them?

Thinking about trying a used one but not sure. Thanks.

cmbdiesel · #2 05-28-2009, 11:20 AM

Avoid them. The Northstar motor is beset by a host of issues. Starving themselves of oil being one of the best. Air suspension always fails, just a matter of time.
Fun car, great acceleration, great ride, great big money pit. I kept an STS for almost a year, got out of it with only minor issues, but the car self destructed 6 months after I sold it. I purchased it with 80k on the clock, and 40k on the replacement engine.

PaulC · #3 05-28-2009, 11:21 AM

I have a friend who has been leasing new Cadillacs every few years since 1994. She is currently in a 2008 STS +4 with the 3.6 direct injection V6, but had mostly been in Northstar deVilles prior to that point. She uses a very good dealer, and has had great experiences with all her Caddys - no lemons.

Now, these have all been new cars that left her possession prior to 40,000 miles. How old of a car are you looking at?

cmbdiesel · #4 05-28-2009, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PaulC

I have a friend who has been leasing new Cadillacs every few years since 1994. She is currently in a 2008 STS +4 with the 3.6 direct injection V6, but had mostly been in Northstar deVilles prior to that point. She uses a very good dealer, and has had great experiences with all her Caddys - no lemons.

Now, these have all been new cars that left her possession prior to 40,000 miles. How old of a car are you looking at?

operative statement.

Very nice new car, very bad used car.

Bad ass off the line.

raymr · #5 05-28-2009, 12:20 PM

They have a nice veneer, but I still don't trust what's below the surface.

H-townbenzoboy · #6 05-28-2009, 04:15 PM

My dad has a 2002 DHS with 90k miles on it. It's been nothing but trouble. It's on its second transmission, and the second transmission has already had work done on it. It handles horribly, and the rear suspension is iffy at best. He's vowed to never buy another Cadillac again, and I don't blame him.

pawoSD · #7 05-28-2009, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tobybul

Just wondering if any of the forum members own a Cadillac DTS, STS or CTS. How are they to keep up? What do like and dislike about them?

Thinking about trying a used one but not sure. Thanks.

Why o Why!?

I'd avoid them like the plague. Stick with trusty MB!

TylerH860 · #8 05-28-2009, 05:59 PM

My sainted grandmother bought a new Cadillac CTS in November 2002, when they first came out. 60,000 miles and only one tow in because of an ignition issue. No other problems that I can recall. Plenty of granny marks, though, even after multiple bumper repaints.

I got the SL at 16, and she continued driving my late grandfathers mid-90's Seville until upgrading to the 2003 CTS. She gave the Cadillac to my uncle, the head cracking a few years later after he overheated it. He does have a tendancy to abuse cars, and watching him slowly destroy my grandfather's car was kind of disheartening.

pawoSD · #9 05-28-2009, 11:10 PM

My wife's aunt can beat that one.....she has a 2002 Chevy Blazer with the 4.3 V6....it has: 34,000ish miles on it....today she drove it to a house about 7 miles away, it was overheating....so much so that it smelled bad and the hood was too hot to touch when she got there.

So she leaves a little while later....and thinks that by "driving slowly" it won't overheat....she proceeds to drive about 15 miles.....she pulls into a shop....due to the SMOKE from under the hood. The engine was nuclear hot.....how hot is this? It Melted the dip stick. Thats right, MELTED it....and no oil. And, after 4 hours of sitting the motor was still too hot to touch. Its likely beyond toast. I couldn't believe it. This happened today!! The thing still has brand new brakes and stuff on it too, that I installed last summer....oh well. Now she'll have to get a whole new car.

Now that, is abusing cars!

Pay attention hatterasguy, that same motor is in your truck!

Our neighbor had an Envoy with that motor too....it also died from an overheating problem.

tobybul · #10 05-29-2009, 10:31 AM

Wow, maybe I won't risk it then. I just kinda like the way the newer models look.... but I thinking its got too many gadgets that can go wrong.

And this overheating thing looks like can be a real issue.

Ok, maybe I'll stick with a Hyundai Sonata or Azera...

mgburg · #11 05-29-2009, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

My wife's aunt can beat that one.....she has a 2002 Chevy Blazer with the 4.3 V6....it has: 34,000ish miles on it....today she drove it to a house about 7 miles away, it was overheating....so much so that it smelled bad and the hood was too hot to touch when she got there.

So she leaves a little while later....and thinks that by "driving slowly" it won't overheat....she proceeds to drive about 15 miles.....she pulls into a shop....due to the SMOKE from under the hood. The engine was nuclear hot.....how hot is this? It Melted the dip stick. Thats right, MELTED it....and no oil. And, after 4 hours of sitting the motor was still too hot to touch. Its likely beyond toast. I couldn't believe it. This happened today!! The thing still has brand new brakes and stuff on it too, that I installed last summer....oh well. Now she'll have to get a whole new car. ... now that, is abusing cars! ... Pay attention hatterasguy, that same motor is in your truck!

Our neighbor had an Envoy with that motor too....it also died from an overheating problem.

Hey! I've got the 4.3 Vortec in my S-10...it's a 2000 and it just went over the 297K marker this afternoon! Same engine (Mobil 1 5W30 changeout every 6K w/filter), just finished sticking 2 new injectors in it this past week (first injectors ever changed), although I did have the tranny rebuilt back around 185K (?)...but she's still shifting solid like the day after the rebuild...gets about 17-19 mpg city/highway - and she's a 4WD unit too...I do a bit of towing with her...and she doesn't have the additional tranny cooling either...I just keep an eye on the thermostat...

It's all in how you drive it, why you drive and how you take care of it...light comes on on the dash? Figure it out before you wreck something...anything else is just asking for more problems...

Jerry Cohen · #12 05-29-2009, 08:56 PM

Having owned two Northstar Cadillac models, I can tell you to run away from any Cadillac product. Like another person alluded, a very nice car when it's new and under warranty, but horrible car to live with once it's more than 4-5 years old.

The build quality is so poor that for example, one had to have a new Northstar motor under warranty at 36k miles because the cylinder bores were so out of round it sounded like a diesel.

Many parts are dealer only, and very expensive. Price struts and shocks if you want an eye opener.

The rear wheel bearings are only available as a complete hub assembly at at cost of around $400 wholesale each.

The headgaskets fail, and the threads for the head bolts on the block fail.

The middle block gasket fails, and since it has pressurized oil passage in it, it will leak oil like crazy unless you spend $2500 to fix.

The interior is cheap flimsy plastic, the switchgear feels like it came out of the cheapest Chevy(it probably did), and the electronics are also very expensive and poorly made.

The power seat in one of them had a mind of it's own and would move the seat foward or backwards without warning. I was once pinned against the steering wheel while driving to the dealer to have the leaking power steering rack replaced at less than 30k miles.

As a matter of personal preference, it's fwd and has the turning circle of the Queen Mary. The drivetrain slop reminds me of a early '80s Chevy Citation, except it's a 300hp fwd car.

Many car dealers want nothing to do with a used Northstar Cadillac, so trade in value is next to nothing. Cadillac buyers buy new/almost new.

Hatterasguy · #13 05-29-2009, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

My wife's aunt can beat that one.....she has a 2002 Chevy Blazer with the 4.3 V6....it has: 34,000ish miles on it....today she drove it to a house about 7 miles away, it was overheating....so much so that it smelled bad and the hood was too hot to touch when she got there.

So she leaves a little while later....and thinks that by "driving slowly" it won't overheat....she proceeds to drive about 15 miles.....she pulls into a shop....due to the SMOKE from under the hood. The engine was nuclear hot.....how hot is this? It Melted the dip stick. Thats right, MELTED it....and no oil. And, after 4 hours of sitting the motor was still too hot to touch. Its likely beyond toast. I couldn't believe it. This happened today!! The thing still has brand new brakes and stuff on it too, that I installed last summer....oh well. Now she'll have to get a whole new car.

Now that, is abusing cars!

Pay attention hatterasguy, that same motor is in your truck!

Our neighbor had an Envoy with that motor too....it also died from an overheating problem.

The 4.3 is a fantastic V6, they run forever if you don't do something stupid and overheat it until it stops. I'm pretty sure any engine, even the sainted 617 would die if you did that.

One of my uncles has one with 250k miles on it, its one of his crew trucks for his company. The guys beat it to death, and I'm sure its been on cheap 10k-15k mile oil changes for the past 200k miles. Still runs great.

The new Cadillac's are nice, 08 and newer would probably be OK.

cmbdiesel · #14 05-29-2009, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pawoSD

My wife's aunt can beat that one.....she has a 2002 Chevy Blazer with the 4.3 V6....it has: 34,000ish miles on it....today she drove it to a house about 7 miles away, it was overheating....so much so that it smelled bad and the hood was too hot to touch when she got there.

So she leaves a little while later....and thinks that by "driving slowly" it won't overheat....she proceeds to drive about 15 miles.....she pulls into a shop....due to the SMOKE from under the hood. The engine was nuclear hot.....how hot is this? It Melted the dip stick. Thats right, MELTED it....and no oil. And, after 4 hours of sitting the motor was still too hot to touch. Its likely beyond toast. I couldn't believe it. This happened today!! The thing still has brand new brakes and stuff on it too, that I installed last summer....oh well. Now she'll have to get a whole new car.

Now that, is abusing cars!

Pay attention hatterasguy, that same motor is in your truck!

Our neighbor had an Envoy with that motor too....it also died from an overheating problem.

Can't fault the engine if you don't keep oil in it.

The 4.3 isn't the worst engine out there by a long shot. I have one that's pushing 190000.

There are issues with the intake gasket getting eaten by the deathcool.

Hatterasguy · #15 05-30-2009, 12:16 AM

I used G05 in mine, hopefully I won't have to do the intake. Still the kit costs $80 so its not the end of the world if I have to.