Bought a 2005 Cadillac STS V8

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nwjones18

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Well I'd been looking for a nice midsized sedan for a while, and have always loved Cadillac's. Found this one on autotrader and picked it up today. 83k on the clock and seems to run great. One of the best driving cars I've ever been in and it has tons of power. Averaged 23.5mpg on the 250 mile home today. Anything I need to look out for or expect to change? I'm planning on doing a coolant/thermostat swap and using Mobil 1 5w30 in it. Will probably change the transmission fluid soon too.

http://s1199.photobucket.com/albums/aa479/nwjones18/Cadillac STS/
 
Keep an eye on the oil level - they can be major oil-burners if the rings get stuck. They are very nice cars, tho!
 
Change the coolant, refill with Dexcool and be sure to add those GM tablets. My dad is a Cadillac guy and if there's one thing I learned from him about Northstar engines it's to keep the coolant changed on schedule. Way too many of those end up with head gasket related failures due to lack of maintenance.

Oh, and the sump takes quite a bit of oil...about 7.5-8 quarts I believe.

Enjoy it, I love the color. Beautiful car.
 
Originally Posted By: evanautumn
Change the coolant, refill with Dexcool and be sure to add those GM tablets. My dad is a Cadillac guy and if there's one thing I learned from him about Northstar engines it's to keep the coolant changed on schedule. Way too many of those end up with head gasket related failures due to lack of maintenance.



The early ones had that problem, all fixed by 2005.
 
Oh by the way. I really like it. I always look at those when I get the urge to update the Buick. Have fun with it.
 
Thanks everyone. I'll be honest I think these are a bargain. Body style was practically the same from 05-11 and the depreciation is nuts. The vast majority of the world doesn't know you aren't driving a $40k car. I've got no complaints so far.. I will keep you all posted if anything turns up. One thing I did find was that all the intake manifold bolts were loose.. Something for people with late model Northstars to think about.
 
Originally Posted By: nwjones18
Thanks everyone. I'll be honest I think these are a bargain. Body style was practically the same from 05-11 and the depreciation is nuts.


Tell me about it! I bought a 2001 STS in 2006 or 7 for $13k. Sticker on it was nearly $55k!!!
 
Originally Posted By: nwjones18
One thing I did find was that all the intake manifold bolts were loose.. Something for people with late model Northstars to think about.


If they were loose for many thousand miles, could it have already caused any damage? I do not know. I wonder if loose bolt would cause the engine to run lean but then it should throw the CEL.
 
Congrats on the new ride! As someone else who looks for cars that depreciate a lot, there's no question that Caddys of that era are a good deal. When I got my Freestyle, the '04 and '05 SRX was on my short list. They seem like really solid cars.
 
Originally Posted By: Vikas
Originally Posted By: nwjones18
One thing I did find was that all the intake manifold bolts were loose.. Something for people with late model Northstars to think about.


If they were loose for many thousand miles, could it have already caused any damage? I do not know. I wonder if loose bolt would cause the engine to run lean but then it should throw the CEL.


The seal must have still been holding because it was running fine, and there was no CEL. So I think I caught it before it caused any problems..
 
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