Cadillac Sevilles

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I'm wondering whether one of these would be good for a teen driver. They look sturdy. Are the engines okay?
 
The Northstars are debatable. They've got a million sensors and things that could go wrong. If it's tuned up and running at 100% (hard to find) it can get decent mpg on the highway. But for the 95% on the road it'll probably get the typical V8 gas mileage.

Your choices for looking for cars is quite odd. Saabs, Cadillacs, Alfa Romeos, & GM cars with their 3.1L motors.

If for a teen driver what most people want is dead reliable and cheap to maintain. IMO NONE of the above in that list should even be in the same sentence as "cheaply maintained and reliable"

Look for a Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, any GM with the 3800 motor, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994


Your choices for looking for cars is quite odd. Saabs, Cadillacs, Alfa Romeos, & GM cars with their 3.1L motors.



I had to laugh a little at this. I'm just looking for something interesting!

(I wish I had been able to get the Alfa 164 I saw. That was a very interesting car.)
 
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Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
like what year?

close to 300HP for a teenager? Get a corolla.


There's a 1995 near me for cheap.
 
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
The Northstars are debatable. They've got a million sensors and things that could go wrong. If it's tuned up and running at 100% (hard to find) it can get decent mpg on the highway. But for the 95% on the road it'll probably get the typical V8 gas mileage.

Your choices for looking for cars is quite odd. Saabs, Cadillacs, Alfa Romeos, & GM cars with their 3.1L motors.

If for a teen driver what most people want is dead reliable and cheap to maintain. IMO NONE of the above in that list should even be in the same sentence as "cheaply maintained and reliable"

Look for a Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, any GM with the 3800 motor, etc.


Sorry but a Saab can be as reliable and cheap to maintain as any car and certainly as safe.

A 2003-200? Saab 9-3 is a great buy for a first car IMHO.
 
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Originally Posted By: 123Saab
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
The Northstars are debatable. They've got a million sensors and things that could go wrong. If it's tuned up and running at 100% (hard to find) it can get decent mpg on the highway. But for the 95% on the road it'll probably get the typical V8 gas mileage.

Your choices for looking for cars is quite odd. Saabs, Cadillacs, Alfa Romeos, & GM cars with their 3.1L motors.

If for a teen driver what most people want is dead reliable and cheap to maintain. IMO NONE of the above in that list should even be in the same sentence as "cheaply maintained and reliable"

Look for a Corolla, Camry, Accord, Civic, any GM with the 3800 motor, etc.


Sorry but a Saab can be as reliable and cheap to maintain as any car and certainly as safe.

A 2003-200? Saab 9-3 is a great buy for a first car IMHO.


I like Saab 9-3s, but some of those years had surprisingly bad interiors with cheap leather and plastics that have aged very poorly. This makes things tough; you want to avoid the sludge years (99-03), but the later cars have these worse interiors.
 
If you were actually looking for a Seville to purchase, I would say no, there are many better choices for a new driver. Having said that, my soon to be 16 year old son will be driving a 2009 DTS when he is able to drive. It is a 1 owner relative's car with 40K miles on it that I purchased for less than 1/2 of NADA value. I like the fact that it is a full size vehicle with airbags everywhere. It was trouble free for my granddad and has been fine for the few months we've had it. Besides driving it from AR to TX, it's only been driven for 1 tank of gas. We detailed it inside and out, put new tires on it, and it has been sitting in the garage since. It is powerful, but not blindingly fast, and definitely not quick. 22-23mpg on the highway, 16mpg around town. By current efficiency standards it's a pig.

If the Caddy had not been available for $7900, my budget would have been between $5-9K to spend on a third car to share with a new driver. I would have been looking at a used 4 cyl Altima, Accord, Fusion, Mazda, Volvo, or Subaru.

Side note anecdote. I have a different relative who has owned a 2004 Deville since new, it currently has over 140K miles on it, and it has been trouble free except for normal maintenance. Similar engine architecture as mine and the one you are looking at most likely.
 
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You really don't want to get a north star for a teen driver. There faster then a teen needs to go, poor on gas, and repairs are expensive.

I love theses cars myself. My grandmother had one as a child and the car was beautiful every time I seen her she would take me for a ride. Never owned a Cadillac but their probably right up there as my favorite car brand.
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
You really don't want to get a north star for a teen driver. There They're faster then a teen needs to go, poor on gas, and repairs are expensive.

I love theses these cars myself. My grandmother had one as a child and the car was beautiful every time I seen saw her she would take me for a ride. Never owned a Cadillac but their they're probably right up there as my favorite car brand.


Spelling nazi on duty today.
grin2.gif
 
Originally Posted By: ET16
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
like what year?

close to 300HP for a teenager? Get a corolla.


There's a 1995 near me for cheap.
be prepared to spend $3000 to pull the heads and fix the headbolt holes in the block.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris142
Originally Posted By: ET16
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
like what year?

close to 300HP for a teenager? Get a corolla.


There's a 1995 near me for cheap.
be prepared to spend $3000 to pull the heads and fix the headbolt holes in the block.


I thought I remembered some such. Thanks.
 
I've owned two. They're not as bad as internet parrots make them out to be. You can do the head gasket job yourself, if it needs one, for less than a grand, and not have to pull the engine. I had a '97 Seville...great car. Our family drive it to 180+k miles with zero powertrain issues. The Northstars are quite easy to work on. Water pumps are a breeze. The starter motor is in the middle of the V, and, despite what you'd initially think...it's quite easy to R&R. But you almost never need to, because it's out of the way of the salt and the corrosion. I also had an '01 STS. Also a good car, mechanically, but I didn't like the suspension tuning and didn't like the 300hp version of the engine. I think the 275hp version is where it's at.

They're tanks in the snow. Cadillac's traction control system is excellent. I routinely got 18-20 mpg in the city and 28-30 mpg on the highway. These engines are quite impressive. It'd be a great "fun" car if you can buy it cheap.
 
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