2005 Deville what an over priced sled

[ALS]

On the way to work this morning the old girl died.
Had it towed to the dealer and got a car from Enterprise. They think it may be as simple as a bad relay but they can't get to it until later today or tomorrow.
The only car Enterprise had was the 2005 Cadillac. Got dealer rate of $25 a day so I'm not complaining. I am not impressed at all with this $45,000 hunk of steel. Rides nice and the stereo is OK but not great. Leather all around and everything is digital. For $45K they could have spent a few dollars on improving the dash other than just adding wood grain trim. That car isn't worth more than $30K. But when you target market is the over 60 geezer I guess you can get away with it.
Edit: Let me add the seats are junk and very uncomfortable and the window sticker has a price of $48,215. My 87 Volvo's seats are far more comfortable. I would not even think about driving this Deville to Florida and back with how bad the seats are. But it does have a steering wheel heater. O'boy that is a plus!!!

[ January 14, 2005, 01:58 PM: Message edited by: ALS ]

 

[JHZR2]

Isnt much better in Lincolns either, IMO.

I cant understand how they make these luxury cars, often with pretty good lines, and sometimes with neat technologies, but with such parts bin-ish interior looks.

JMH

 

[Schmoe]

My car pool bud just bought one. I was too not impressed. The thing that stuck out the most is the controls. You have a speedo, fuel guage and temperature guage. That's it. The REST of every control is on a LCD screen. I mean everything....AC controls, stereo, heater, etc. etc. If that one piece goes out, you loose everything. I can't believe GM would put the much liability on one particular item.

 

[seotaji]

They rely on the fact that people are brand loyal.

They can pretty much charge whatever they want, since their customer base is 50+ years old and has decent good disposable income.

GM tries to recruit younger buyers with their new ads and such, but younger people look for quality which just isn't there with domestic products (also MB, BMW are almost as bad).

The only luxury cars I would consider would be the Lexus brand. Unless I wanted to step down, then I'd get the Acura RL.

 

[dwmcqueen]

Well, I like the newer Caddys - the STS and XLR, for example. Those, in my opinion, are good looking cars and a good value (compared to other luxury cars).

I hope Cadillac is moving that way and away from the Devilles - the same I hope (and by the looks of the new LaCrosse am still hoping) Buick moves ot a new design...

 

[FL-400S]

A 2003 Deville is the best car Ive ever driven. Not that Ive driven a lot of luxury cars though. I loved the seats the most. That and the fact that I could bark the FWD just by mashing the pedal. It also has a lot of room front and back compared to an STS. I wouldnt pay $45,000 for ANY car though. But I think you can bring one home for $30000 new. They have huge discounts sometimes.

OTOH I saw the LaCrosse at an auto show and thought it was no nicer than my parents Century. The rear seat was puny compared to the cavernous Ford 500 and Malibu Maxx. GM didnt really improve on anything, unless it drives a bit better like Ive heard it does. But the century wasnt bad anyway.

 

[k1xv]

In the Northeast, cars like the DeVille are subject to aggressive discounting, especially at the end of the model year.

A couple of years ago, I was on a business trip to Israel. There was a story in the newspaper about a stolen car ring that would steal cars in North America and ship them to Israel for resale. The fanciest car stolen/resold was a DeVille with the optional night vision system. The owner had to drive through Palestinian territory at night and wanted this feature to see what/who was lurking ahead.

The article said that it was believed that this was the only night vision car of this kind in Israel.

So I guess the DeVille is good for something.

Some of the other new Cadillac offerings coming along look quite interesting, and well outside the "old man with a hat and white shoes" Cadillac market.

 

[JohnnyO]

My dad has an '04 DeVille. It's okay. I do like the dash display for tire pressure and that you can blow the heat and A/C through the seat leather.
It's a fast sucker and still gets great mpg.
The CTS is the performance car, the DeVille is an easy cruiser for old folks...like my dad who got tired of the hideously expensive service and repair bills on his previous car, a BMW 740iL. Meanwhile the Caddy motors on without complaint.

 

[2002 Maxima SE]

Back from the dead...

Been thinking about these cars for the past few years...not to buy a NEW one but a USED one. 2003-2005 Devilles with
So, given that the 4500 adn 4600 Northstar V8 was/is a good engine...what is the weak link in these cars?

Picking up a fully loaded DTS with 40k on the clock for < $20k sounds like a really good deal...and they ALL go for around that much.

 

[Merkava_4]

I drove a 1997 Deville before I bought my Lesabre. I thought the Deville was a very nice car; the seats were very comfortable and went back on their tracks a very long ways. The Northstar V8 has a nice muscular sound to it.

 

[Matt_S]

FWIW, the '06 DTS (formerly Deville) is totally redesigned and is a MUCH better car all the way around.

Regarding FL-400S's post about the LaCrosse, those cars can be very plainly equipped, as the Century was or very nicely equipped, more along the lines of the old Regal. In the upscale trim levels, the LaCrosse is quite a nice car. It's almost night and day vs. the lower trim level.