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Thinking of a newer Seville


Caddynut

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Well, for a few months I have been tossing around the idea of selling my 92 seville and getting a newer Seville (99-02). Gotta be Pearl White!!!! I have never experienced driving a Northstar. I can honestly say I love the low end torque of my 4.9 better, but love the horsepower in mid & upper range of the northstar. Wish they could combined the two. You sure can get a deal on these years of Sevilles now. Anything to look out for from the experts here that have these? Thanks.

2008 BMW 328xi

2007 Chrysler Aspen

2001 Cadillac Seville STS

2000 Ford Ranger XLT
1998 Mitsubishi Spyder Convertible

1996 Saturn SC-1
1991 Ford F-150
1979 Chevrolet Caprice
1968 Ford LTD
1965 VW Beetle "Herbie The Love Bug Replica**

1961 VW Beetle

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Try to confirm the coolant has been changed on schedule. If there is any question about coolant maintanence, walk away.

Pull the trouble codes and carry a list of "P" codes with you for interpretation. After a strenuous test drive, pull the codes again. Here is how http://caddyinfo.com/readingcodes.html.

You will find a large pool of white cars in Florida. Plenty of low mileage trade-ins to be found in Tampa, Fort Myers, and Naples, for example.

Jim

Drive your car.

Use your cell phone.

CHOOSE ONE !

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The VVT Northstars will likely have better low-end torque than the older Northstars, and they are rated at 320 hp.

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You'll love the Northstar engine. Once you've become familiar with it I think you'll miss the 4.9 a bit less. The 99-02 Sevilles look sharp and there are a lot of happy campers on this board driving those model year Sevilles and hopefully they'll share their experiences. Really not that many "watchout for" items either. You'll want to observe the typical things like coolant change intervals like JimD mentioned. Basically check the items you would normally check when buying any used car. Take my 94sts for example. I haven't taken any unusual precautions or measures. I just keep changing the fluids as per the OLM and the FSM recommendations. My car is proof that there is no need to get carried away with the fluid change intervals. Still the original engine, head gasket, tranny, etc. And you're looking at the 99-02 Northstars which have evolved considerably. And when parts break or wear just replace or fix them on schedule. Pretty basic stuff. It's worked for this 94 Northstar so far and 225,000 miles is a fairly strong argument.

"Burns" rubber

" I've never considered myself to be all that conservative, but it seems the more liberal some people get the more conservative I become. "

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Caddynut, I am selling my 95 STS pearl white. It is very fast (fastest Caddy years are 95 and 96 with 0-60 in 6.4s and top speed above 150MPH). I kept in a great shape, and has new Starter, Water Pump, Radiator, Heather Core and new set of chrome wheels. The price is $4,750. Let me know if you are interested. I live in New York. I'll try to post some pictures, and you can see my add in Autotrader.com

CaddySTS

1960 Sedan De Ville (sold)

1970 Coupe De Ville (sold)

1987 Mazda RX-7 (sold)

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I've driven both...

There is a reason that GM doesnt make the 4.X engines anymore... The Northstar totally rocks...

What you give up for a couple of foot pounds you gain in a smoother, cleaner, more powerful, more efficient, better sounding engine.

In theory the Northstar needs less maintenance (for both engine families coolant service is critical)... And newer versions (2000+) run fine on regular gas...

The northstar transmission is stronger and shifts better too

If you miss the torque... try this...

On the highway at about 50-55 MPH pull out in the passing lane and hammer it... As this little engine screams to 6500 it just inhales the highway...

300 HP is fun!

Also keep in mind the STS versions have differential gearing that gets the engine into its sweet spot... fast... I know some 4.9 guys argue this... But I am confident that my N* could spank them all. regardless of how you measure it...1/4 mile... 1/8 mile... 0-60... 0-30...stop light to stop light... top speed... etc

caddy.jpg

Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac,

I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back

ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide

Greg

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I've driven both...

If you miss the torque... try this...

On the highway at about 50-55 MPH pull out in the passing lane and hammer it... As this little engine screams to 6500 it just inhales the highway...

300 HP is fun!

Actually, you can do it up to 69 MPH and she'll down shift to 2nd gear. At 70 it only down shifts to 3rd gear.

The same applies at 34 MPH, down shifts to 1st instead of 2nd. 35 -69 down shifts to second gear.

Jim

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I appreciate all of the responses. I just put my 2000 Honda accord coupe out in front of my house AND my 92 seville to see if I can sell them to get some working cash.

2008 BMW 328xi

2007 Chrysler Aspen

2001 Cadillac Seville STS

2000 Ford Ranger XLT
1998 Mitsubishi Spyder Convertible

1996 Saturn SC-1
1991 Ford F-150
1979 Chevrolet Caprice
1968 Ford LTD
1965 VW Beetle "Herbie The Love Bug Replica**

1961 VW Beetle

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I appreciate all of the responses. I just put my 2000 Honda accord coupe out in front of my house AND my 92 seville to see if I can sell them to get some working cash.

You will love the Northstar,

I love the 4.5/4.9 as well.. the 4.9 in the 91 body was a runner,

If you don't find anything let me know.. I might let you have a steal on my 94 STS since I haven't found extra money for the injectors yet (paychecks come in, poof, gone, wash rinse repeat have a heart attack repeat repear :lol:)

MerryChristmas

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MerryChristmas

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I have personally declared the 1999 model year as the best example of the "newer version" Seville. The multi disc CD changer in the armrest instead of the trunk, the cruise control stalk on the lower right segment of the steering wheel, and pulling 28 MPG on the highway doing 72 mph with REGULAR gas are some of the reasons why. (this with the lower geared STS btw).

I would also consider the 2003 (or was it 2004) model year STS with MagneRide shocks as the only serious competition for the 1999.

All that being said, any year from 1998 on up would make an outstanding car if it has been maintained properly. I also think the 2005 and up versions of the Deville are built on the same platform as the 98+ Seville, so it would be very difficult to fault the ride or handling characteristics of these cars.

This is my biased opinion, of course.

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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I would also consider the 2003 (or was it 2004) model year STS with MagneRide shocks as the only serious competition for the 1999.

It was 2002.

Magaride was first available in '02 as a mid year "standard" addition to the STS...

Look for RPO F55 on the bottom of the spare tire cover...

First car in the world with this system BTW.

Technically the 2000 was the first year that GM gave the "green" light to running regular gas in the Northstar... But I do know lots of people who have no issues with regular in the 93-99 N*s... Then again I know of lots of people who "just gota" run high test in the 2000-2004 N*s too...

caddy.jpg

Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac,

I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back

ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide

Greg

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It was 2002.

Magaride was first available in '02 as a mid year "standard" addition to the STS...

Look for RPO F55 on the bottom of the spare tire cover...

First car in the world with this system BTW.

Technically the 2000 was the first year that GM gave the "green" light to running regular gas in the Northstar... But I do know lots of people who have no issues with regular in the 93-99 N*s... Then again I know of lots of people who "just gota" run high test in the 2000-2004 N*s too...

Thanks for the clarification on the model year for the MagnaRide. Our local Cadillac dealer swears to this day that MagnaRide was ONLY ever offered on a Corvette..... Oh well.

Yes, 2000 was the official engine redesign that made exclusive use of 87 octane acceptable. There were many changes in the piston design on that year, including moving the topmost piston ring down a little. There were also MANY reasons why these changes were made, but I think most of them had to do with the effects of carbon build in the combustion chamber/ring area. GM realized that people wern't driving these cars the way they were designed to be driven, and had to rethink the design a little. A little WOT goes a long way!

Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed.

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Thanks for the clarification on the model year for the MagnaRide. Our local Cadillac dealer swears to this day that MagnaRide was ONLY ever offered on a Corvette..... Oh well.

About 6 months ago I probably would have agreed with him... But I have now seen first hand 2 2002 Magnaride STS's and I have even driven a Canadian 2004 F55 STS.

BTW Corvette did not offer Magnaride untill 2003. The STS was the first by a full 6 months.

caddy.jpg

Easin' down the highway in a new Cadillac,

I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back

ZZTOP, I'm Bad I'm Nationwide

Greg

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