gygmy Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 I think a little background information on how I've gotten to the point of having to research Cadillacs is in order so please bear with me. About ten years ago my wifes doctor told her she had bad discs in her neck. She drives I95 in CT and it is insane. He told her if she got into any kind of car wreck she could be in serious shape. He wrote her a perscription for a large car. I went out and found her a gray 91 Deville. After two years of driving this car she complained that the only other people she saw driving this particular model all had blue hair and their turnsignals left on. I immidiatley went out and got her a bright red mettallic Deville with a sun roof. She loved the car. It's been a great family car and suprisinly fun to drive. Especially since you can shock quite a few Japanese burners off the line with such a land yaught. Anyway the car is getting up there in miles,160+k, and she wanted something new to ease her fears of being left stranded on the side of the highway. When I had my truck in for service my wife dropped me off at the dealership so I could pick it up. She saw a 2004 chevy Monte Carlo SS intimidator. She fell in love with the car. I knew now that the midlife crisis had hit. Unfortunately for me is that I was never a Dale fan and I had gotten used to the V8 in the Caddy and my truck. Plus the car was darn expensive and I Knew it would depreciate big time the second we drove it off the lot. And I'm sure the kids would get real tired of having a two door. Well somehow I escaped the clutches of the saleman and had time to remind her of what a great car the caddy had been. She would consider a new cts. Big bucks.How bout an Eldorado. OK. I could not find an Eldorado for sale that was'nt black or white. I reminded her that with kids maybe a two door was'nt such a great idea. How bout a Seville? Fine. Now I had to find a used Seville that could last couple of years that was'nt black,white or brown with a sun roof. By this time I had convinced myself that life was to short to drive a boring dull car. I wanted the sts. I found a green 97 with 70k at a reasonable price. I have come to the conclusion over time that used Caddy's are really a great value. Tommorow we take delivery of the car. Some things that concern me though are that while I was reseaching the sts I came across a few auto review sites. It seems very hard to tell from these reviews what is bull and what is true. For all I know some dude who works for Lincoln or BMW is writing these nasty reviews. Looking for some information I could trust I found this site. From reading your stuff I get the impression that you all are caddy enthusiasts who will give straight answers to any questions. Now I Know that I purchased the car before I had all of my concerns about it cleared up. But you can't have any fun without taking risks, and this car looks as if it has the potential to supply a lot of fun. So the major issues that concern me from reading the garage of horrors reviews are these, Whats-up with the oil consumption of the Northstar,real or urban myth? Is the traction control any good on snowy/icy roads or do you have to turn it off. About when do the struts go bad and if I will have to sell one of my kids for medical experiments to afford to replace them. Will the electrical system be posessed by deamons while my wife is driving 80mph at rushhour. Now we've had two Caddys and we never eperienced anything close to what some of these people were writing so I sincerley hpoe you folks can give me some straight info. It's funny when I was dating my wife I was into small sporty cars. I took her with me when I went out shopping for a used MG convertale or something similar. I came home with a 1972 Pontiac Catalina convertable which is still in my garage. It seems I was destined to own large powerful cars and trucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Good luck with your '97. Oil consumption: Some Northstars will eat up as much as one qt. per 1,000 miles while others will use less. A common trick is to fill with 7 qts. at the change and avoid topping off when the dip stick shows LOW with a cold engine. TC: I don't routinely drive on snow packed roads, but I have experienced slushy conditions on the Interstate and the car was well behaved. Electrical: No problems with my car so far; still on original battery. Do pay attention to cooling system maintenance. If you have been reading here, you already know to refresh the Dex-Cool every 5 years or less and to use coolant supplements from GM or Bars Leaks. And airing it out frequently is beneficial (and fun). WOT operation cleans out the carbon buildup. Enjoy. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob D Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 As far as the traction control goes, it’s world class! These things will go through stuff that scares guys with trucks! No kidding. Been there, done it. I can’t imagine why someone would turn it off, other than burnouts. '93 STS.. opened, dropped, wide...fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norton1 Posted October 21, 2004 Report Share Posted October 21, 2004 Traction control - Awesome and I drive 140 miles a day in everything from sandy wet roads to ice for 30-40 miles. It IS the cat's *smurf*!! Oil consumption - as stated above - check warm and keep it in the center of the measuring area. Otherwise you'll get a bit of a drip at times. Mine uses about 2 quarts between oil changes. Oil's cheap - Cooling system - pay attention to what others have said. Electrical problems - I've had a few but nothing that a little brain work didn't fix. I keep getting a "Service Ride Control" message but it rides, drives, and handles like a dream so I hit ignore and go for it. I imagine it just needs the air hoses replaced - Great cars and will outrun and outlast the majority of what is on the road today. Little spendy if they do break - but then what isn't today? Be well Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyG Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 How can I contact your wife's doctor? Never underestimate the amount of a persons greed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eldoman95 Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 a used cadillac is an investment in my opinion. they last and last, and there good to you. fun spirited driving, and trips to the grocery store are both no prob for northstar vehicals. enjoy that STS like a second wife, that doesnt wrinkle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ranger Posted October 22, 2004 Report Share Posted October 22, 2004 He wrote her a perscription for a large car. I don't get it. Why would a doctor do that? What is it supposed to do? Did you get the car from a pharmacy? What do you do with the prescription after he writes it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gygmy Posted October 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Thanks for the info everybody. As far as the doc writing a scip for my wife he told her right out, you get in any kind of car accident you are risking having your neck broke. Get yourself a big car. As far as I am concerned it is a verbal perscription that you can have filled over the counter, at you local Caddy dealer. Have taken delivery of the car . It drives great under full throttle. Christine brought it home tonight and got it over 90mph to feel how it would handle. Loves it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gygmy Posted October 24, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 24, 2004 Just a note.Put the 94 caddy up for sale on the road in front of the house this morning. Did'nt have time to clean it out. Went out,did stuff,cameback.Started to clean it out. Folks stop. Stuff happens. Car sold. I never thought that stuffed animals and old grody happy meals wrappers might help to sell a car. Who knew.Crud the ad in the paper did"nt even run yet. It is a good car, I hope they have good times with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
an01sts Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 The red is a hot color. My STS is Crimsom Pearl. I live in the Baltimore MD area, and they had to get the car from Alexandria Va. It uses a quart every thousand, and it's been like that since it was new. It also eats up just about everthing on the street. Let me share a unique traction controll situation that happened in the winter of 01, when she only had a handfull of miles: I try not to do snow and rain, but I was visting my mother, they were predicting freezing rain, so I left in light sprinkle. The car's thermomother showed 34 to 36 degrees, and the traffic was light. As I crossed an overpass (divided interstate) suddenly, the oncoming traffic started spinning in circles. The traffic ahead of me had passed without problem. As I saw the skating ring across the street, I heard a grinding sound and the traction control light luminated. At the same moment, all the cars behind me, started spining. I mean all of them. I also noticed that the temperature was 31 degrees. Not trying to boast, but I'm a darn good driver and can drive with stunt driver skills in icy situations. Even so, I give traction controll all the credit for this one. I didn't feel the car go at all, so I didn't have to rely on my skills, hoping that I was one car out of all the rest that didn't collide or end up in the ditch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maydog Posted October 25, 2004 Report Share Posted October 25, 2004 My 97 STS is the best car i have ever owned; however, after 160K of life it has cost me several in small repairs: New Brakes - expected New rotors - rear rotor causing terrible vibration under braking New front struts - were totally shot, passive AC delcos. Resistors to prevent dic message 2 New alternators - 1st one lasted 4 months, this last one is going out Battery - expected Blower motor - blew in the coldest part of winter, great Starter - probably due to an autostart install kit that had an incorrect schematic and overreved the starter Plugs - expected Fuel pressure regulator - simple repair Wires - pending, exsisting ones chaffed Coilpack - was aftermarket, probably bad idea 4 Tires - seem to wear quickly, probably my fault Several light bulbs - bulb sockets corroded due to moisture trapped in tail lights, cleaned corrsion Mufflers - freer flowing, old ones were fine Drilled tail lights to release moisture Sealed up oil pan bolts Tightened / replaced engine mount bolts - all were loose? Alignment after strut replacement Replace trans fluid Coolant change Several oil changes Alldatadiy.com, gmpartsdirect and this site have been a lifesaver. I probably could not afford to have had a shop do all of these repairs. Do not worry too much about the struts, see above, they can be replaced with cheaper passive units. Always use a funnel to add oil, spillage will find its way into your alternator. I am pretty sure that is what did in my original unit. Oil usage is not too bad if you address the leaks you can reach. Enjoy your "new" car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ted tcb Posted October 26, 2004 Report Share Posted October 26, 2004 Maydog: You've had good luck with your STS, considering the miles. How has your 96 Aurora compared? As reliable as an STS? 1989 FWD Fleetwood, Silver 1995 STS Crimson Pearl on Black leather 1997 STS Diamond White 1999 STS Crimson Pearl 2001 STS Silver 2003 STS, Crimson Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maydog Posted October 27, 2004 Report Share Posted October 27, 2004 The aurora has been pretty solid after 145K, the only unexpected repairs we faced are: Leaky quick connect fuel line Leaky fuel rail Oil pressure gauge Input shaft speed sensor - comes and goes, I have not had the time nor the stomach to attempt the repair The fuel pump also makes an audible hum, it seems to have quieted over time. It used to be really loud. After all has been said, I have spent much less time and money fixing the Aurora. My bigges gripe with it is you cannot put a car seat in the rear middle due to the extra length on the middle buckle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gygmy Posted October 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 we had a leaking fuelrail on our 94 deville. it was caused by a screwdriver that was left on top of the engine but hidden from view. when we bought this car i was a bit intimidated by the transversmounted engine and all the computer, vacume, blah, blah, blah. the days when i could stand in the engine compartment to change a water pump were definitely over. nuff said i never laid a wrench on this car and the dealer laid the blame on me. ticked me off big time. would never do business with then again. my insurance did cover the repair but it was precidence setting. they had to put their heads together in an insurance kinda way to figure out if leaving a screwdriver in the engine constituted an accident. i equated it to leaving a sponge or some other medical tool inside a surgury patient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gygmy Posted October 28, 2004 Author Report Share Posted October 28, 2004 off topic, how bout them red sox? wow, anythings possible. what next? peace in our time? or is that pizza on time? woah! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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