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Sedans Cadillac DeVille Cadillac DeVille
2476 messages, Last post on Aug 28, 2008 at 8:26 PM
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I've had my DHS for a couple of weeks now and my impressions are stil pretty good. Before stating my opinions, a brief car history is in order to understand my perspective and see were I'm coming from. 1st car - 1990 Mazda MPV Black 4cyl - 17'' wheels 2nd car - 1997 Ford Taurus Wagon Silver 6cyl - 17''wheels 3rd car ( still have ) - 1993 Infiniti J30 Blue 6cyl ( same engine used in older 300z ) - 15'' 4th car - 1998 - Toyota Camry Blue 4cyl - this was my reasonable, reliable family car and pretty much the best car I've owned. The camry is hard to categorize, It was the perfect choice at the time for my situation ( new family, new job )- very logical and rational, but as we know logical and rational when it relates to cars usually equals boring....anyway on to the Caddy: The car is very smooth and I'm impressed by its composure at cruising speeds in excess of 100 while still having plenty of throttle left and still not even breaking 3,000 RPM. During my commute every day I ensure that carbon deposits problems remain a non issue. I enjoy driving and this car makes my 60 mile-a-day commute so much easier. After a long day, I hop in, heat my seat, and get a massage while rolling down the hwy...it's lovely. Night vision is also a great toy and even better bragging point. I couldn't get enough of it at first, but now I leave it off most of the time. I wanted a big car and this is indeed a very big car. I can't easily steer it with my knee as with other vehicles I've owned ( knee steering occurs while removing discs from cases, etc. ), and it has the turning radius of a truck. Also, the car has scared me a couple of times when cornering and braking. I quickly learned to approach turns much more cautiously and brake a little sooner. The car maintains a pretty good velocity once its up to speed even without additional throttle, and sometimes needs to be reined in accordingly. I don't really "hot-rod" and I do not drive recklessly, but I do enjoy driving. I also feel a sense of responsibility to re-instill the respect of Cadillac into my fellow motorists from time to time. I think a lot of people have the image of old people behind the wheels of Caddy's in their minds and don't realize that these cars are 300 ft-lbs torque monstors. I think the overall cadillac image is changing for the better though. I was proud the other day to see a CTS in my rearview approaching fast as he77. People use to aspire to owning Cadillacs, but then that fell off for a while. I knew I wanted a large luxorious car and the price of entry for cadillac ownership was a steal. Were else can one find a better deal on a companies 3 year old luxury flagship sedan? People who purchased new may not have that same appreciation though. I think Cadillac will be OK with a little bit more attention paid to interior fit, finish, and design. My top of the line DHS has the rearview park assist and the display looks as if it was literally cut out from the headliner with a razor blade...rough edges and all. I can also stick my pinkey finger inside a few pannel gaps. And even though I have a sun roof on my DHS, why don't all Devilles come standard with sunroofs. Some small gripes, but some people may not be able to look past these things especially those people that buy brand new. Anyone seen a touregg interior? All in all, I'm am very pleased with my car. I've washed it more in the past few weeks than I did the camry in 2.5 years. Sometimes I find myself smiling for no reason while I'm driving it...I think I may keep it for a long time. ...a few pics on http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/550831 |
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I do my own oil changes and the first oil change I did on my caddy a few days after I got it reminded me I was in a different league. First off, my hydraulic jack which could hoist my Camry with ease, couldn't lift the Deville. Ok..need new jack. Anyway I managed to be able to slide under the car just enough to reach the oil pan plug and preceded to drain the oil. After 30 or 40 seconds I'm lying there thinking..this flow is still going as strong as when I first removed the plug. Needless to say I made a mess in my driveway. The oil pan I normally use didn't have enough capacity to hold the caddys oil. Need new oil pan. So I clean and tighten everything back up and proceed to get the oil I had left from an earlier case... 3..4..annnnd 5. That should do it...wright...wrong. The dip stick was still bone dry. Ok I forgot this is a big engine, let me grab another quart. Still nothing registering on the dipstick. Now I've worked In a shop before and I'm no stranger to oil changes but I rarely encountered engines that take more than 6 quarts of oil so I was skeptical about adding more because I didn't want to overfill it. So now I need all new equipment and 2 cases of oil. I wound up putting 7 quarts in, and have read varying reports that range between 7 - 8. Maybe I'll settle for 7.5 next time. Any thoughts? |
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...takes 8 quarts of oil. I haven't had the pleasure of changing the oil in my Northstar-equipped 2002 Seville STS yet. My previous car was a 1994 DeVille base with the 4.9 litre V-8. Changing the oil was a snap. The oil filter was easily accessible. One small turn with the oil filter wrench then you could twist it loose with your hand and remove it. I didn't need to jack the car to access the oil pan plug as well. Does your oil pan plug still use a rubber O-ring that needs to replaced every time you change your oil? My '94 DeVille did. I got a handful of them from my dealer. |
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You're more than welcome. Here are a few other considerations, for what they are worth: 1. Cadillac dealers may go the extra mile to deal in order to retain you as a caddy customer, it won't hurt to try to exert a little leverage when dealing, especially if you know approximate invoice/wholesale prices from sites like edmunds. 2. Current model devilles (2000 - 2004) are good looking cars. I still get compliments on mine. 3. You are spoiled and pampered by the: heated and massaging seats, memory seats and steering wheel, programmable auto lock/unlock, back up assist, sunshades (side/rear) (dhs), bucket seats and floor shifter (dts), heated outside mirrors, auto adjusting backup side view mirror, rain sense wipers, triple zone climate control (wives/significant others/backseat passengers love it and the heated seats), sophisticated trip computer, xm radio, onstar, night vision and nav system. Jags may have some of these features, but not all of them and probably not at such attractive prices. 4. You may have to pay up for the extra goodies on the 2002 dhs/dts, especially one with all of the extra options (navi, xm radio, night vision, parking assist). Guesstimate is 27k-32k, a steal compared to 48k-55k [depending on region and negotiating skills] new selling prices before taxes and finance charges. Base 2002 devilles will be much cheaper and easier to find. If you don't need the extra interior goodies, they look the same on the outside, ride and handle almost as well as the pricier dhs/dts (if you can live with the digital dash)and are probably available in the 22-25k range. This and maybe some infiniti models represent value luxery, it borders on highway robbery  5. The Northstar engine. Nuff said. 6. Just for the heck of it you might compare the best deal you can get on a loaded 2002 with a new 2004 from the same dealership. You may be surprised at your findings. Dealers who are overstocked with loaded new cars may give you a better deal if you've done your homework and they know you are considering a used model to save $$. The same may be true of the used car seller. Even though the loaded 2002 may be marked up due to scarcity and high demand, if your offer is reasonable and you let it be known that you'll consider buying new before being highly overcharged for a loaded 2002, you may get a surprisingly good deal. A final tactic which may work or backfire is to mention that you can buy a loaded new accord or camry for the same or less $$. 7. Be sure to test drive each model. You will be surprised at the difference between the 02-04 caddy and your current model. Happy hunting and make sure to choose what you really like. |
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| I'm the excited winner of a Cadillac DeVille in the GM Hot Button Game. And that's great. . . but I can't keep the car because I'll owe so much in taxes on it. The dealer I'm taking delivery from can only offer me 33K for this base model Deville with the Comfort and Convenience Package on it that stickers for $47,915. Another dealer has offered me a little more to trade it, but I still would like to get closer to what they are selling for. Anyone have any ideas on where I could privately sell this car? | |
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| I'd pay the taxes even if you have to borrow the money and then sell the car on Ebay. If you aren't currently doing business on Ebay I'd find a friend or relative to put it on for you. I'd then sell it as an essentially new car. You should be able to get around 40 for it, perhaps more. 33 is highway robbery. This is way under dealer invoice. They ought to at least pay you what they have to pay GM for one. | |
| Problem is that even though the Deville is "new", it is still pre-owned. Sticker may be $47,900, but you can buy it for 39,900. That is not titled before, full tank of gas, brand spankin' new. So dealer is definately going to be well below invoice on trade in. They take it in on trade for $34/$35 ask 38/39ish and make a couple on it. | |
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| I agree. My car cost Alamo $36,000 -it was a 2003 base Deville -so it probably cost a dealer about that since the car was delivered direct to Alamo in Florida - probably from a distributor somewhere. No dealer was involved. I still think 33 is too little. Until the winner takes delivery and a title it is not registered. I'd at least hold out for 36. Frankly I'd pay the taxes and enjoy driving it. Its a nice car and the taxes will be a lot less than payments. | |
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Thanks for the replies, all. I understand that even tho it's new, it's used by virtue of the fact that I had to title it in my name. But I still think that they ought to give me 35K for it. I played nice and did the press conference and said good things about Cadillacs and GM in general for the interviews. I dunno, I thought with what I did they could give me $35K for the car and sell me a different car at invoice. Instead, they originally offered me 33K for the DeVille and an unspecified discount, which when I said was too little I got offered 35K and the other car at sticker price. (The other car has a 2K manufacturer to dealer incentive on it). Cadillac currently offers the dealers $4K in marketing support and the customer $750. So the dealer COULD sell my model car which invoices for 41K for $36,250 if he was willing to make nothing. With my car, he gets no GM money, but he could still sell mine for the trade I'm asking for (35K) and make a little on the other car even selling it to me at invoice. I don't get why he's balking. I'd take 2K to sell the other car I'm looking at. And I KNOW he can get more than $35K for this car, even though it's consider used. As for the taxes, the sales tax I had to pay to pick the car up. And the contest rules specified that in order to take possession I had to title it, which means that I could never have sold it as "new". The 12K in income taxes won't be due until next April. I thought of selling it on ebay, checked it out and they aren't going for very much. I thought the car was going to be badged with some reference to being a Hot Button car, and would be unique. Now THAT would make it a car worth the invoice price! |
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| At least you have some time to sell it. 12k seems high for income taxes but perhaps you could use it for business and write some of that off. Unfortunately on a trade a dealer normally gives you what he can buy a similar car at auction for. Does the other car you are considering have a rebate on it? I think it is a good thing to try and get top dollar on a trade but you need to consider the fact that somebody gave you a commodity worth more than 30k. Before you pushed the button you had nothing. I'm not a philosopher but it seems logical to consider what you have as a windfall and if you don't want the Cadillac, it is nice to know that you have a choice of many other lesser cars absolutely free. I don't know how to get out of paying the taxes but I suppose that you could get a new or used car in the 20s and the difference between 33 and the price of the other car might pay most of the taxes. In short, I wouldn't worry a lot about resale value on a free car that might at the most cost you 12k. | |
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