Tips on buying a classic Cadillac?

[evaneparker]

I'm looking at Coupe and Sedan DeVille's between '78-82 and was wondering if there were any tips on how to make sure the car I choose is in good condition.

A few questions:

If the car has low miles, is there a way to know that the odometer is accurate and it didn't roll over when it hit 100,000 miles?

What is a good resource for finding common issues with the cars during that era?

Is there any way to estimate how much $ will have to be used for repairs/maintenance over the next 5 years on an old car like that?

Thanks

[Bruce Nunnally]

My main advice would be:

a) have another car you can use at a moment's notice

plan to do as much work as possible yourself to cut costs

c) prior to buying the car have it thoroughly examined by a mechanic and request a quote to repair each item mentioned. This is also useful during negotiations.

d) repair each thing you notice as soon as it comes up. Do not let problems stack up.

e) reserve some $K budget for immediate repairs that become obvious the weeks after you get the car

I think you are asking the right questions. If you budget 200 or 300 per month for car repairs & maintenance then you can repair one fairly large thing per year.

The actual cost would depend on the year and model and condition and LUCK, so there is not really a way to gauge exacts costs.

[human]

I would concur with Bruce's assessment. One thing you don't mention is whether the car will be a daily driver or a weekend toy. If it's a daily driver and you're budgeting $200-$300 a month for repairs, you could easily make a monthly payment on a new car (though not a Cadillac). But that's a lifestyle choice. My dad has a good friend who is quite content to spend the annual equivalent of 12 monthly car payments on maintaining a '66 Fleetwood as a daily driver. Fortunately, the technology on a 30-year-old car simple enough that it's feasible to do a fair amount of work on it in your driveway and save the labor cost. My dad has a '76 Seville that he uses for his AACA (Antique Automobile Club of America) tour car and has very little trouble with it. No major repairs in the six years he's owned it, just a refrigerant conversion on the air conditioning system. At one point, he considered putting an overdrive transmission on it to improve the fuel economy, but decided that wasn't cost effective, considering he only drives it a few hundred miles each year.

My main advice would be:

a) have another car you can use at a moment's notice

plan to do as much work as possible yourself to cut costs

c) prior to buying the car have it thoroughly examined by a mechanic and request a quote to repair each item mentioned. This is also useful during negotiations.

d) repair each thing you notice as soon as it comes up. Do not let problems stack up.

e) reserve some $K budget for immediate repairs that become obvious the weeks after you get the car

I think you are asking the right questions. If you budget 200 or 300 per month for car repairs & maintenance then you can repair one fairly large thing per year.

The actual cost would depend on the year and model and condition and LUCK, so there is not really a way to gauge exacts costs.