Caprice engine swap?

[kevm14]

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/deta ... /overview/

Black 2006. 1SG, AWD, FE3, and adaptive cruise. Naturally it is pretty over priced though some of that is the model year. Higher mileage though. Interior kind of shows the miles. Not terrible but for the price I'd expect a little less wear on the seats (weird dent/stretch areas) and steering wheel spokes. Either way, over priced. Another $6k car, given the miles.

Edmunds dealer retail is $6,960 and private is $4,769. Like I said, it is over priced.

It is not hard to tell adaptive cruise. The wreath and crest on the grill has a black surround on the adaptive cruise cars.

Still thinking about this car. If the dealer put down the crack pipe and dropped the price from $8k to $6k, I would consider it. It may be that they paid too much, rather than they are stuck on making some big profit on it. Even at $6k 144k is kind of high mileage.

Theoretically, it is almost the ideal car in configuration. Only a 2007 with the 6L50 would be better. And it would be a lot better admittedly. 05 and 06 were the same.

[Bob]

It seems like for $8k, you could probably find a 2007, right?

[kevm14]

I haven't found a single one that has what I want yet. They get pretty rare as the years go on.

[kevm14]

I called on the 2006 in PA. It did not go well. The guy was pretty annoyed that I was even calling to negotiate the price without seeing it which is understandable. But he also made sure to interject that this car is priced "$4000 under KBB." I said I am too far away to just drive there without knowing if the price is negotiable and that I had been to NJ twice with bad results. He gave me the same story I've heard before, which I think is true: this is basically their best competitive price. They must have just paid a lot for it.

So my read, and I could check the rest of their cars out, is that they are NOT a discount used car place selling bottom dollar cars. This may also mean that the car is nice. Then again, the seats were not mint (they weren't bad though) and the steering wheel spoke did have wear on it so at 144k this is far from "brand new" condition. All that said, this car is not on the value curve for these cars at $8000. I did mention that Edmunds put dealer retail at $7k in clean but he didn't really say anything.

Originally I thought buying a car remotely was a great way to get a good deal. Now I am not sure.

It may be that I will have to live with some condition things to get the price I want. I didn't want to buy a car that had some issues but at 8 grand for this, that is more than twice the cheapest V8 STS on the market. And it doesn't even have really low miles.

I did notice on the website that they include a 6 month 7,500 mile powertrain warranty. But honestly that isn't worth that much money.

[kevm14]

KBB trade-in is $4-5k in Very Good condition. I hope no one thinks that dealers do anything but buy cars at the absolute cheapest price they can, which means wholesale typically. Which is below this price.

Also he was full of shit and I wish I looked this up before.

KBB fair market range for dealer retail: $7200 to $9200.

Suggested retail price $8878.

Fair purchase price $8200.

Which means at $8k this is basically market value. Not heavily discounted. Not a great deal. Market value. Edmunds said $7k.

I admit $6k from a dealer was WAY too much of a stretch if it is nice. But to act like $8k was an outstanding price, I don't see that. I can get a lower mileage V for $10k. It doesn't matter, I wouldn't even have paid $7k and I don't think he would have even taken that. Moving on.

[kevm14]

I am going to see if the Cadillac Forum has anything in regular STSs.

I wouldn't be surprised to find a deal because they would be looking to beat trade in which would put a decent car right at my price range.

[kevm14]

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/st ... k-7-a.html

See. That didn't take long and I missed this by only 2 months, and it was in CT.

This is a way better deal than that one in PA. I believe it has everything except adaptive cruise judging by the description. 2006. Only 73k. Looks very nice. Asked $7500 firm. Took 2 weeks to sell.

Guess what: Edmunds private party is $7600. That black one was under $5k, because of the mileage. That means this silver one was worth over $2k MORE than the black one, yet was $500 cheaper. Not that I want to spend $7500 but it just confirms what I said from the first second I saw the black one (remember that thing I said about trust my gut): it is over priced.

[kevm14]

Did one better. I priced out a theoretical car on Edmunds. Really it was just this 2006 one on the forum but with 110k instead (an acceptable number). Private party plummets from $7600 to $6000. Bam. An 05 would be a little less. My expectations are not out of line, I just may need to be patient. And not buy from a dealer...

[kevm14]

LOL

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/st ... sts-v.html

This is real life here.

I am not happy about this but up for sale is my 2006 Cadillac STS-V. This is a two owner car with just over 48k miles that has spent it's whole life in Georgia so it is rust free. According to the dealership I bought the car from, the original owners were an older couple and they wanted something with better gas mileage. I've had the car for 11 months. I bought it with just over 40k miles on it. I'm only selling it because I bought a Chevy SS and I'm being told I don't need two cars that are the "same." I love this car and it looks and drives fantastic. I had full intentions of keeping this car for a long time.

The car is in excellent shape for being 10 years old, the paint is very clean with minimal swirls. It was in great shape when I bought it but I went ahead and polished it to clean it up more when I changed out the V emblems for the 16+ versions and removed the supercharger badging. The interior is very clean and still smells new. I only have an all weather mat in the driver's floorboard but I'm almost always the only one in it and I kept them from my old STS so the passenger mat didn't fit anyway. I have the carpeted mat that will come with the car.

"Modifications" are minimal. Corsa mufflers, wheels powder coated satin black, tinted the windows - 20% on the sides and back and 50% on the entire windshield, changed the V emblems to the 16+ versions, removed the "supercharged" and "STS" badging, and had the steering wheel and shift knob done in suede. The heated steering wheel was broken before I did the suede, which is a very common issue anyway. I also changed the key fobs to the 2008+ version but the originals with back up manuals keys will be included. Repairs I've done are as follows in order: front and rear pads (Akebono ceramic, almost no dust) and rotors (GM), right headlamp assembly,6 2 front tires (Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3), left rear wheel bearing, left front inside door handle, update radio software, both front lower control arms, front and rear poly sway bar bushings, left front wheel bearing, steering column, and water pump. The only things that need doing at the moment are I curbed the right rear wheel and it has an oil leak (big surprise for a N*). I have all the parts to fix the oil leak (right side cam cover gasket, cam actuators, and front cover gasket) and they can be included with the car or we can discuss me fixing it. I planned on buying another wheel and having the powder coating redone but I haven't done so yet. The rear tires are crappy Nexen's but they ride good so I was going to wear them out before I replaced them with Michelins. They're probably 4-5/32 left (I haven't measured them in a while).

I'm asking $19,900. There is currently a loan on the car.

Is the Chevy SS a better car than the STS-V? Yes it is. It is lighter, faster, handles better, bigger inside.

[kevm14]

I made a WTB post.

http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums/st ... st16581546

I still have my 05 CTS-V that gets maybe 2-3k miles per year and sits in the garage most of the time. And my wife likes her 08 SRX. But I am in the market for an upgraded daily driver. The STS came to mind (why not 3 Cadillacs, right?). Here are my requirements:

- V8
- 1SG
- FE3/F55 MR shocks
- Most of the rest I think tends to come with these like the 18s, BOSE Studio/Nav system, ventilated seats, heated steering wheel, rear heated seats, etc.

Ideally I would like to find:
- An 07 w/ AWD as I would prefer the 6L50
- Adaptive cruise just because

Originally I wanted RWD but as a daily in New England AWD would not be a bad idea. I will look at either but I know that AWD is far, far more common in the configuration I am looking for.

Not super picky on color combo but more condition, mileage, price, with the options I want.

Speaking of price, I really would like to pay about $6k for an 05-06 with 110k or less just to give an idea of expectations. I am in RI but will travel for a good deal.