Need Help Fast

[jh50]

He was impressed and somewhat nervous when I told him this board had helped me out with a VIN search ... he had given me the #, asking for the results ... and was nervous about the collision repair from 2004.

Unless its a really low $$ figure, I will happily stay with my own car ...I've spent about 2k this year in rims, touch ups, tint, brakes, leather dye, coolant changes, belt and hose replacements, etc., and I don't have a single mechanical issue.

Ted,

I don't know how long you have been looking for a 98+ Seville, but if you feel the deal is too good to pass up then go for it.

However, let the dealer know that given the collision work on the car, you are more than willing to look for another car. There are plenty of others out there.

Personally, I would rather have a car I knew the history of (plus no mechanical issues) than take a chance on a car with an unknown history that was involved in an unknown accident. I think your car looks great You have obviously taken care of it.

As far as depriciation goes, all cars depreciate. I'm sure the 98+ Seville's will start to see their depriciation with the ending of the car and the new look of the STS, CTS, SRX, etc. (BTW, the CTS is undergoing a facelift for 2007 which will make the 2002-2006 CTS look outdated).

Joe

[67coupedeville]

jh50,

It's better say "no accidents were reported".

CARFAX will show only the accidents that have been reported.

When I bought the 1995 Eldorado, I used autocheck.com. It told me that the car was originally from California, was registered in Illinois in 2000, etc. It also said "no accidents were reported". By taking a little look see at the driver's side fender, I could tell that it had been re-painted. Most people can not tell but I can.

The way I notice is that the pin-striping was just a little bit different colour than the door. It does not bother me in the slightest but it is something to be aware of when using Carfax or Autocheck.

Spence

[Poobah]

What, exactly, constitutes a "reported accident"? I assume it is an accident that is serious enough for a police report to be filed. The report, once filed, would be linked to the VIN and would show up un the Carfax report.

There are a huge number of minor fender benders, parking lot scrapes, driveway accidents and the like, that require some body and paint work to fix but are never reported.

If the forgoing is true, it would follow that if no "reported accidents" show up on a Carfax report, one could assume that the car had probably never sustained major damage in a serious accident but may have had some minor bodywork done somewhere along the line.

[ted tcb]

TED , i noticed you mentioned on your 97 , that you had used leather dye this year , what kind did you use and where did you get it and what were results. I am curious on this matter . i assume you have the shale color interior.

Regarding leather dye, I didn't want to attempt using Leatherique because my interior looked good with the exception of the centre armrest. I applied leather conditioner from the business I work in .... mink oil and preservatives. It basically wiped off a touch up that the selling dealership must've applied, and the armrest looked dark grey, not shale.

We have a contractor who does leather repair and touchups on our sofas ... he basically mixed a match and died my centre armrest and repaired my split drivers door armrest for a cost of $80 CDN ... if I didn't have this contact, then I could've found someone through the car dealerships ... they all use independant contractors for this type of work.

The results are professional and relatively cheap ... if you're doing a steering wheel or seating surface, the results may not last due to perspiration and oils, but nothing looks worse leather where the dye has slowly faded away.

My touch up looks fresh after almost 1 year.

[Oldgamer]

What, exactly, constitutes a "reported accident"? I assume it is an accident that is serious enough for a police report to be filed. The report, once filed, would be linked to the VIN and would show up un the Carfax report...

My car was in small accident (not my fault). It was needed small body fix (it was a scratch on a right rear door and fender). Police report was field and I won a court. So what? This accident is not reflected in my car CARFAX history. I agree, that wasn't a major accident, but still... I read somewhere that different states have different rules about what to report to CARFAX.

[davedog]

...I've spent about 2k this year in rims, touch ups, tint, brakes, leather dye, coolant changes, belt and hose replacements, etc., and I don't have a single mechanical issue.

IMO you have answered your own question....you more or less already know your current caddy, and know what to expect....if it were me I'd hang onto your current car.

-dave

[jh50]

Ted,

How did you make out?

[ted tcb]

Well, its still a work in progress ... as a matter of fact, I just drove home from checking the car's finish with a fine tooth comb (car lot was closed, no pressure).

I drove the car on Friday, and it was interesting .... at 70mph, the dreaded vibration starts to come on .... the young lads who own the dealership have agreed to allow me to swap my 1 month old BF Goodrich rubber at the shop I purchased the tires from. That way, if the vibration persists, I can make some type of pro rated exchange until I kill the vibration. I assume the 99 and 97 STS use the same rubber?

What surprised me the most is that the 99 body didn't feel improved over the 97. From what I've heard, the Aurora structure is much stiffer, better NVH, more engineering structural developments. It was nice, but back to back with my 97 STS, not much different. Coming onto a curving highway onramp, I WOT'd on a gentle curve, and it seemed to plant down a little better than mine.

I received a call today from the dealer ... the car is going in for a safety check Monday morning, using my mechanic ...the deal started at $3k, then went to $2,500... I told them I was thinking of $1k to $1,500, citing the Carfax report, high speed vibration, and necessary tlc on fluids, paint, etc. They had my car for about an hour, and feel stronger about the value due to near showroom condition .... it looks like I'll see a number on Moday closer to $1500 depending on safety cost.

There's no question though that all the little things are improved .... the tactile feel of switches, the colder AC, the chrome rims that are spotless, the body seams line up better, the leather hasn't started to fade. I actually tried some rubbing compound on the hood scratches and they came right out. Newer safety features would also be a plus.

So, if they come back at $1500 on Monday, done deal . I can change the coolant and plugs, add the pellets, buff up the odd scratch, and end up with nice colour combination, newer generation car.

I stopped off at the Caddy dealer on the way back tonight, and they had a used 2004 White Lightening STS on the lot with 45,000 klm, for $42000 CDN. The car is identical physically to the 99, except it has navigation, parking assist, and ugly bumper grommets. That's the appeal for me for the 99 ... it just looks more current.

[jh50]

Good luck! I hope everything works out.