My son wants to buy a 2002 Deville

[arcamm]

My first post here. My son is looking at buying a 2002 Deville. It has 171000 miles on it and was wrecked in 2006 according to car fax. They don't say if it was serious or not, just front end damage due hitting a parked car. Service records are good up to 80,000 miles. Sales price on a used car lot is $1000.00.

How expensive of a car is this to maintain? He's a decent parts swap mechanic, but this will be his only car and he has a wife and two small kids. Any know issues with the 4.6 v8?

I'm thinking this may be one to be avoided, but I know nothing about Cadillac's. Thanks.

[KHE]

Test the coolant for combustion gasses to make sure the car does not have a bad headgasket(s).

[barczy01]

I would steer clear if it's on a used car lot. Honestly. I have had 3 people this year buy cars from used car lots for 1200-1500 and they were disappointed. Especially I had to put head gaskets on and they were 3200 into the car already.

Look for a private seller.

[RubberCarrot]

I would stay away from this one. Once problems begin on these cars it can quickly turn into an avalanche of problems. There are too many unknowns on this one.

[Logan]

The bad:

Headgaskets. (some)

Intake plenum gasket.(all) Codes 171, 174.

Noisy steering column intermediate shafts while turning. (some)

'Pop-n-drop' window regulators.(all)

Seems impossible to get 4 tires and wheels balanced good enough for smooth ride.(most)

Warm drivers side AC if low on freon.(some)

Third brake lights can pop up at each end.(some)

Transmission input speed sensor (some) Code 741. $20 sensor, $2000 deep inside the trans.

TCC solenoid (some) Code 1860.

The good:

Batteries last for a long time under the back seat.(all)

On-board self diagnostics.(all)

[KHE]

With any used car, you need to inspect it closely. I bought my '05 Deville when it was 4 years old with 39,000 miles on it and it has been a great, smooth riding car. I replaced the tires a couple of years ago and the car still rides smooth as silk - no vibrations.

To operate the onboard diagnostics:

With the key in the run position or the engine running (it makes no difference), simultaneously press and hold the ON/OFF and INFO UP buttons on the dash to the right of the speedometer and above the gearshift lever. The system will go through a segment check and then you will see ALL? on the driver information sensor (DIC).

To operate the diagnostics, the following buttons are used:

• ON/OFF = Yes
• INFO RESET = No
• INFO UP/DN is the toggle to between systems
• To exit the diagnostics, repeatedly press the INFO RESET button or turn the ignition to OFF.

Any codes will be displayed on the DIC as CURRENT or HISTORY.