Cadillac STS-V hunt

Non-repair car talk
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Cadillac STS-V hunt

Post by kevm14 »

The test drive
I wanted to look under it but figured it would be better to drive it first, because that was why I was there. He backs it out and then says to jump in. He wanted to drive first and then would switch to let me drive. His shop is on a little side street and not too far from the stop sign. He fairly gently gets it moving to probably 15 mph and then just boots it right to the floor. It does a 2-1 and really takes off. Then he gets on the brakes for the stop sign. I guess he wanted to make a good first impression. Yes it felt strong. Not really stronger than my CTS-V but we already knew that.

He drives around for a while and we talk about it. He tells me about how the interior is made by "that company that did the Maybach." Yup, I say "Dräxlmaier." He nods. In fact the interior is a bit nicer than my STS. There was stitching on the door panels for example. It is nice. He also mentioned that people were paying $10k over MSRP when these came out. Ouch. I mentioned my CTS-V and also that the guy who had it before me traded it in on an STS-V. We talked about how the STS-V is sort of the gentleman's hotrod. I do like big cars, and this one really seemed to strike a nice balance in terms of combining my CTS-V and STS together. He also mentioned that he had a Marauder with a Procharger and apparently it was quite fast. He likes that kind of car, and so do I.

Finally he pulls over and lets me drive. It feels quite refined behind the wheel. In fact the engine seemed like my STS, but just more. And that's a good thing. It didn't have a gut wrenching low end or anything. It's just a nice powertrain. Refined, powerful, winds out, sounds good (well no real exhaust note, maybe a little). It does do a supercharger blow-off noise when you let off suddenly. It's quiet but there.

I noticed the steering right away. It is actually lighter than my STS! It feels like a blend of my STS and CTS-V. NIce precision on center (better than my V) but somewhat similar effort. Faster ratio than my STS and, I guess, also my V. It felt more willing to change direction than my STS, but had the same precision as my STS. I liked it. It felt fluid, if that makes sense.

We pull onto this service road and he's like "just punch it, do whatever you want here." So I slow down to like 15 and just put it to the floor. I don't know what we got up to, maybe 80? It was quick. Shifted smoothly. It's definitely more deceptive than my CTS-V. This is just what I want for a daily.

Then I got on the brakes. Ah, YES. This is what I want! Nice, tight brake pedal. Just felt great. I need good brakes in my daily!!

I noticed the HVAC was completely off so I'm like "A/C works right?" I turned it on, and it was set to 60. After like 5 or 10 seconds it got cold as expected.

It was just nice to drive. I love a big, comfortable sleeper type vehicle like this. This really would be an awesome daily driver, just as I predicted. It definitely has that Germanic presence which is cool. I'm into it.

Another one of his choice quotes was when we were discussing the Northstar. He was like "these are bulletproof, like even better than the LS." Well maybe the later ones with DoD I guess...

The undercarriage
Time for a dose of reality. We got back to the shop and I backed it onto my ramps to have a peek underneath. I wasn't going to make him move cars around to get it on his lift (but he did have a lift).

First thing I noticed was the subframe, rear lower control arms, anti-roll bar and other stuff was all painted. But you could tell there was rust underneath. That doesn't mean they didn't get the loose stuff off - but this was not like painted young in its life. I asked if he did it and he said, no, but the guys who did the fuel pump probably did. That was like an $1800 job or something. I told him I got a brand new fuel pump out of GM in my V and the STS-V had the same recall. He was like.....uhh.....so that sucks. I can double check that.

Told you.
Recall Number
14V542000
Recall Date
09/09/2014
Component
FUEL SYSTEM, GASOLINE:DELIVERY:FUEL PUMP
Summary
General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2007 Cadillac CTS-V vehicles manufactured October 6, 2003, to March 15, 2007, and 2006-2007 Cadillac STS-V vehicles manufactured June 23, 2005, to March 15, 2007. In the affected vehicles, the electrical terminals of the fuel pump module may overheat resulting in the melting of the flange material.

Consequence
If the flange melts, a hole may be created allowing the fuel pump to leak fuel, causing the vehicle to stall, increasing the risk of a vehicle crash. Additionally, leaking fuel in the presence of an ignition source increases the risk of a fire.

What Owners Should Do
GM will notify owners, and dealers will replace the fuel module and fuel tank jumper harness, free of charge. GM sent out interim notices in late October. The recall began on March 12, 2015. Owners may contact Cadillac customer service at 1-800-458-8006. GM's number for this recall is 14405.
Maybe I'll send this to him. If he could get money back then maybe he'd discount the car. Haha. Though I think the window for reimbursement closed in 2016. Which sucks for him because he didn't even own it then. But GM's own website says this is still an outstanding recall on this car! I actually just texted it to him.

But anyway, yeah. The paint itself isn't necessarily bad but clearly this car has some corrosion and is frankly worse than I would have expected for 46k, even for a New England car. Now it isn't all bad, but what's rusty is pretty rusty.

I did notice some non-factory brake lines, too. They MAY be stainless which would actually be a huge bonus. At the time my heart sank but the brakes felt great and again, if more of the lines are stainless than not, then this is actually a plus. I didn't really like the hand-bent lines or the unions but it does ease installation. I dunno maybe it was a kit? I should have tried to look more closely. I didn't consider that they could be stainless until I left.

OK looking again, it looks like they cut the rear lines off and made the union with the OEM lines that run to the front. Those are definitely regular steel. But the new lines to the rear COULD be stainless just from appearances. But why the hell is the car so rusty in the rear?? Maybe it WAS from being parked in some situation that had moisture around. He may have been playing dumb a little. I bet the shop was like "this car is really rusty back here....want us to paint it or something?"

Point is I expected better for the mileage. Certainly better for $15k. For $12k, maybe. But I don't want to start with something that looks like this if I am going to drive it for 3, 5 or even 7 years as a daily. Seems like it won't hold up, though this metal is considerably thicker than body panels like the wheel wells, which looked great. It's a balance. This may not be the right balance.
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The bottom line

I did not make an offer. It seems like he paid in the $18k range at auction, failed to sell in a reasonable time and just held onto it. He would take $15k and in fact was offered $15k from some guy in Indiana but that guy has not put a deposit on the car and I forget if he had some financial issue or transportation concern. I wonder if he'd be happy with it for $15k. I wouldn't. But due to that I elected not to bring up my possible $12k offer. I think he would have refused, and it would have pissed him off. Didn't see the point after I just took over an hour of his time.

These will continue to depreciate which is good. I don't know that I can get the car I want at $12k but that may be something in the 90k area, owned long term by a private owner who took care of it, in a salt-free state. I would take a few exterior blemishes for an overall better car.

He did mention Bring a Trailer which is funny.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2006- ... c-sts-v-2/

He recalled the price from memory, too. So the red is "hideous" but this seems better overall for the $15k price point, despite the higher mileage. Nice maintenance record. And 4 matching tires, what a concept.
Look at that undercarriage. This is a very similar shot.
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There is simply no comparison. Interior is in better condition, too. So yeah, if this is a $15k STS-V, the one I looked at is not. Though someone from the rust-belt may still pay $15k, but that's their problem.

So my thought is, a 90k STS-V with a similar track record and condition may be the $12k car I'm looking for. I will just have to be patient to find it. It could take over a year.
Bob
Posts: 2440
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:36 am

Re: Cadillac STS-V hunt

Post by Bob »

Yeah, upon further review, that BaT car is way nicer.
Bob
Posts: 2440
Joined: Thu Dec 19, 2013 7:36 am

Re: Cadillac STS-V hunt

Post by Bob »

a rare 2009 in the Bay Area: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/ctd/d/ ... 38782.html

87k on it for $17,577. Looks pretty clean.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Cadillac STS-V hunt

Post by kevm14 »

Theoretically I would prefer the 08-09. Standard HUD, newer steering wheel and, well, they are extremely rare.

But it's still going to be a while before a good one is available in my price range.
kevm14
Posts: 15200
Joined: Wed Oct 23, 2013 10:28 pm

Re: Cadillac STS-V hunt

Post by kevm14 »

Not a good example. This one had two accidents within 3 months.

https://www.carfax.com/VehicleHistory/a ... fxX33pWfaY
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