JUMPER0237 Posted May 1, 2012 Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 HOWDY, I have been lurking for a while and believe this is one of the best and most informative automotive forums on the net. CONGRATULATIONS!! I am 75 YO. My Bucket List includes another Cadillac—a used one with a N* engine. I have been screwed by the General by a 1974 aluminum Vega engine that ultimately used a QT of SAE50 every 300 miles; and a used 1981 Seville Diesel that just stopped running. Lost my A$$ on both. Therefore, I am deeply concerned about what model year N* to purchase. I believe that to mitigate the N* head gasket problems, GM did something in the 2000 model year that apparently was a ‘temporatry’ stopgap fix. I also understand there was another ‘major’ fix in mid-2003 involving coarse bolt threads. Supposedly these ‘resolved’ the problem. I have been unable to pinpoint the exact modifications and/or the DATE or SN when they took place. i have read their also may be cracked block issues >2000. With this in mind, it seems prudent for me to find a low mileage used Seville or DeVille that excludes anything manufactured prior to the 2004 model year. This can be accomplished since time is not an issue when you are retired, and there is a plethora of used cars on the internet to choose from. QUESTIONS: Since each excluded model year means a higher initial price, it would be nice to consider earlier model years. However, I do NOT want any inherent GM problems that I can avoid. Am I correct to completely avoid the 1993 to 2003 N* engine?? Is 2004 or later the model years to purchase?? TIA, JUMPER 0237 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted May 1, 2012 Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 Jumper, In my opinion... and that's worth what you pay for it... If it was "ME"... I would not even consider anything older than 2004. You are right, there was a change in the headbolts in 2000 and again for the 2004 model year. I have not heard of any headgasket problems in 2004 and newer. I have no idea of your budget, and with that being said... personally, I like the body style of the 2006 and newer, a lot better than I do the 2005 and older. Obviously, the newer the car, (in general)...the fewer things are likely to go wrong over a set period of time. I have over 113,000 on my 2006 and it still runs and drives like a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Nunnally Posted May 1, 2012 Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 My favorites would be: 1996 Cadillac Fleetwood RWD with LT1 V8, although the optispark can be troublesome 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V with LS6 V8 2004+ DTS Performance Sedan FWD like Jim's 2004+ STS RWD with V8 or V6 If may be easier to suggest if you have a range you want to spend? Bruce 2023 Cadillac CT4-V Blackwing Follow me on: Twitter Instagram Youtube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JUMPER0237 Posted May 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2012 TEXAS JIM, Thanks for the comments and opinions. Good to hear, apparently I am on the right track. RE the budget. I was hoping to stay <$10K, but with this new anti-head gasket approach, a ‘properly’ loaded [read almot everything] 2004 Seville within a reasonable distance from far W. TX will probably be difficult. On the other hand, jumping from a ‘90’s ‘intermediate’ STS to a ‘full-size’ mid-00 DTS means an increase of only 3.4” in WB; 6.6” in OAL; and fractions in height and width is not a huge leap. Certainly not enogh to worry about in this age of shrinking vehicles!! Therefore I have increased my budget and expanded the search to the DPS. How many $$ TBD. The most daunting task is learning all the Cadillac alphabet car names!! Tnks again for your comments. JUMPER Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Jim Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 TEXAS JIM, Thanks for the comments and opinions. Good to hear, apparently I am on the right track. RE the budget. I was hoping to stay <$10K, but with this new anti-head gasket approach, a ‘properly’ loaded [read almot everything] 2004 Seville within a reasonable distance from far W. TX will probably be difficult. On the other hand, jumping from a ‘90’s ‘intermediate’ STS to a ‘full-size’ mid-00 DTS means an increase of only 3.4” in WB; 6.6” in OAL; and fractions in height and width is not a huge leap. Certainly not enogh to worry about in this age of shrinking vehicles!! Therefore I have increased my budget and expanded the search to the DPS. How many $$ TBD. The most daunting task is learning all the Cadillac alphabet car names!! Tnks again for your comments. JUMPER A quick rundown of the current generation... I will use 2006 as an example... newer years are the same, except some of the nomenclature changed. The DTS is the largest one.. It comes in two distinct flavors... The Luxury versions and the Performance Version. The luxury versions all have the same identical drivetrain, but come in 3 different trim levels... Luxury l, Luxury ll, Luxury lll... The Performance version, has everything the Luxury lll has and then adds a more powerful engine, lower gearing and Magnetic Ride suspension along with a Performance Shifting Algorithm for the transmission. All LUXURY versions have a "Y" as the 8th digit of the VIN number and the Performance version has a "9" as the 8th digit. The STS is slightly smaller than the DTS, but the biggest difference, at least to "ME"... is it seems a good bit smaller on the INSIDE. I am not sure of the actual measurement difference between the DTS and the STS... it is possible that part of it is just my PERCEPTION. The STS can be had in several trim levels also and it can also be found in either a V8 or a V6. There is also a Supercharged STS which will be labeled as a "V" with "V" badges on the trunk and both front doors. The CTS is smaller than the STS by a pretty fair amount. Again, it comes in various trim levels. It only comes in a V6 and there are two versions of the V6... There is a 3 liter which to me, is very anemic and underpowered and a 3.6 Liter that runs real well. The previous generation ... 2004 and 2005...Had the Deville and the DTS. The DeVille came in (I think)... three trim levels.... the 2004 and 2005 DTS was the Performance version. All Deville versions have a "Y" as the 8th digit of the VIN number and the DTS has a "9" as the 8th digit. I don't know much about the previous generation of the Seville SLS and the STS. Did I do a good enough job confusing you?? Writing is not my strong suit... LOL But I will answer any question that I can...if I can't answer it, I'll bet there is someone on here that can... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott y Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 I own 2 VERY different Northstars, a 94 and an 02. The 94 I bought when it was 6 years old and the 02 5years old. In the 12 years of the 94 there were few problems, nothing more than just regular maintenance. However troubles are starting to increase,Rads,fuel pumps,various hoses,sensors,fuel injectors,etc. etc.185kmiles so nothing that shouldn't be expected for that much use. Be very careful of the early Northstars... On the other hand my 2002 STS has also been trouble free but may rear its ugly head soon. If you are considering an early(2002 or newer, now) Northstar just make sure that the damned thing has been well maintained. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
94pain Posted May 2, 2012 Report Share Posted May 2, 2012 For what it's worth, I had a'94 SLS I purchased about 8 years old w/ 100k. With regular maintenance and only a few inexpensive repairs, (that's how I found this site!) I ran her to 305,000. Was easy to work on. I fell in love. NO COMPLAINTS. I missed the Cadillac experience so much that I picked up a 2002 Deville 1 year ago last January and Good God, what a difference. I purchased it from the 82 year old original owner- all regular maintenance and repairs done at the dealership. I've now spent a "2004 Seville" on repairs and still have problems at random intervals, I won't take it on a long trip. This is the 33rd vehicle I've owned and I've never seen anything like this. NOT the same "Cadillac experience" I remembered. You are a much wiser man than I for asking these guys BEFORE picking out the one that you should be enjoying for years to come. I don't know yet how I'm going to get rid of mine and get into a 2004+ model, but it must be done... as soon as it stops breaking..! (Turns out, you can put a price on pain and suffering.) Good luck with shopping, and I hope you'll post what your final decision is. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
donandmax Posted May 12, 2012 Report Share Posted May 12, 2012 I think Texas Jim is correct I have a 98 and it is a huge money pit as beautiful as the car is. If I had to do it again......I would'nt...158,000 mi. Like someone else said I thought it was a good deal but everything except the engine seems to be wore out one code after another is starting to pop up. I've had used Caddys before and had similar experiences I think this will be my last old car. Now I know why it sat on the used car dealers lot for 14 mos. One thing I found out old guys shouldnt be buying old Cadillacs. This is a much younger mans game.If you cant do the work yourself either due to age or lack of knowledge let these old guys sit unless you have deep pockets and can afford to have a knowledgeable mechanic do the work... Just my 2 cents... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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