Repair-It

So what are the market prices on a Performance and a Premium? Is under $20k realistic for a non-CPO for the mileage you'd want it to have? Off hand I would estimate that you'd save ~$10k opting for the ATS over the other vehicles on the list. Does that seem accurate?

Yes, I would. With Premium, you get MR shocks, standard 18s, standard LSD, standard HUD and Nav. It just makes it easier to shop for a Premium too because there are so many things standard that are optional on the Performance.

The ATS will actually be tricky to shop for compared with the SS and Vsport that really don't have many options.

Agreed, though the Premium trim more or less compensates. I think all Premiums are actually FE3 - I thought I read that. That says a lot about how Cadillac thinks of the car.

kevm14 wrote:So what are the market prices on a Performance and a Premium? Is under $20k realistic for a non-CPO for the mileage you'd want it to have? Off hand I would estimate that you'd save ~$10k opting for the ATS over the other vehicles on the list. Does that seem accurate?

Without too much shopping, this is 40 miles away from me. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... lCode1=ATS

Got to assume you can get it for under $20k since it's at a dealer.

So here's what I've got:

Requirements:
- Sedan or something with rear seats usable for family stuff
- Chassis has to be pretty top of class (RWD-based) or otherwise meet intangible criteria on steering feel, dynamic response and overall handling capability
- Traps 100+
- Reliability has to be reasonable even post-warranty (no German stuff basically)

Other criteria in roughly decreasing order of priority:
- Age
- Price
- Acceleration over and above the 100 mph trap

I guess one that I don't know where to place in the other criteria section is luxury car stuff (toys, general trim).

Notable characteristics that are NOT criteria:
- Fuel economy
- AWD

Bob wrote:Without too much shopping, this is 40 miles away from me. http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale ... lCode1=ATS

Got to assume you can get it for under $20k since it's at a dealer.

Color is not good, obviously. Interior looks pretty nice. I like all the toys. That keyless remote is exactly the same as my 2008 SRX.

Kevin is really happy with the parts bin SRX if you haven't noticed. LOL. I mean the RAV shares parts with the Corolla/Camry, but that isn't really cool. If I found out the RAV gauges were out of a Supra I would probably tell people.

You are thinking of the STS-V. I am sure the only thing the ATS shares with the SRX is the remote.

I specifically do not want AWD. There are no positives to owning an AWD car in a place where it snows once a year.

As far as fuel economy goes, I am far less concerned with this than I used to be for a few reasons:

- Gas is cheap and will likely remain that way.
- I drive a lot fewer miles now than I used to.
- What I do spend on gas is a far less significant part of my total household budget than it used to be so spending a little more (or even 2 to 3 times more) will not be very visible.