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Class Action Law Suit against Cadillac for the Catera!

10K views 29 replies 26 participants last post by  Black02SLPSS 
#1 ·
I would like to know how many Catera owners are willing to join a Class Action Law Suit against Cadillac. I just purchased a 98 Catera on ebay thinking it was a cadillac so it was a good car. Week three of owning the car the water pump falls off causing the the engine to self destruct. I am currently talking to Cadillac and would like to know how many people would be willing to join a Class Action Law Suit against them.
 
#2 ·
It's actually an Opel Omega B, made in germany, rebranded by GM-Cadillac... the water pump issue you described aside from being a rare occurance, I do recall (no pun intended) that the 98 did have a recall for the tensioner and water pump, way back... so if you have not done so yet, my first suggestion is to take your VIN number and run it by GM and see which recalls were done or missed.

As for class action, I'll pass and good luck in your endeavor.
 
#4 ·
I've heard of water pumps leaking or the bearings freezing up and squealing, but the water pump "falling off" is obviously a sign of poor work on the car at some point. Try to get the maintenance records on the car and contact whoever did this work.

Also, was there no warranty at all when you bought on ebay? Often these are really dealers and they will give you some kind of warranty, may 50-50.

Barry
 
#5 ·
I also bought my Catera on ebay. I love it yet I hate it. So much goes wrong with it that I bought a code scanner just to keep in the car. I truly do wish that I'd never seen a Catera, but yet, I take the blame for not doing my research before I bought this money pit. I bought it because I thought it was a great car, a Cadillac, at a great deal. All I would have had to do was do a simple type-in search for Catera, and I would have known what a piece of junk these cars really were. It's our responsibilty as consumers to know what we're buying, especially when so much info is so easily available thru the internet. This car was only sold in the US for 5 years, and there's a very good reason for this. As much as I feel your pain, because I feel it every day with this car, we can't really blame anyone else because we bought a car that's known for nothing but problems. The info is out there, all we have to do is look. This was a lesson learned for me, as I'm sure it will be for you. For anyone else who's even thinking about buying a Catera.........DO A LITTLE RESEARCH.......you will change your mind.
 
#18 ·
I want to understand your situation.

1. You are computer-literate enough to go to internet and solicit for a class action lawsuit.
2. You obvious have the ability to be an educated consumer.
3. When you typed in 1998 Catera problems, you saw over 61,000 hits.
4. When you scanned the first 6 titles, you saw words like "Worst car ... I have ever....
5. If you typed in Catera problems, you saw over 100,000 hits.
6. If you type in Catera, you saw about half a million hits.

7. Somehow, these 600,000 + hits did not give you a clue about potential problems.
8. OK.
9. Judge Judy would be proud of you; maybe she has an opening for an intern.
10. You bought the car used--with what kind of a warranty?
11. Which dealership did you buy it from?
12. How much do you hate me?

Not pointing any fingers, man; but someone dropped the ball.
13. Now I must congratulate you on supporting the economy by attempting to start a class action.
14. If you win, the plantiffs' attorney will split millions.
15. You and I will get a non-transferable gift certificate of perhaps $5.00 to be used at any Cadillac dealer on any new Cadillac.
16. Thank you.

Can we do this again sometime?


2. In the meantime, you buy a Catera. You did not say how much research you did related to the Catera.
 
#20 ·
you've got to be kidding me...

if everyone that had problems with a 10 year old car they bought off of ebay for $5000 bucks (and i don't think a 98 catera would sell for even that much, probably more like $3000) sued someone...

well, you get the picture...
 
#21 ·
I've got to tell you buddy, I am with the other guys on this one. When you buy anything used there is no true record of it's maintenance or lack their of. It is not like a artificial heart that stays in one place. Who knows where the car you bought has been or has had done to it. Or for that fact not done.

Furthermore you are correct there is plenty of info on this car on the web and you could have saved yourself plenty of trouble if you would have done a little research. I just bought a 2000 Catera knowing full well what the challenges can be. But that is why I purchased a aftermarket warranty. Good luck brother...:bomb:
 
#22 ·
B.S! Cadillac should be held accountable for this piece of junk. Go to any web site or Blog with Catera entries and you will find hundreds of people that have been sandbagged by this lemon. Cadillac can easily ignor the problem and dealers can easily say they won't work on Cateras...but where is the accountability? Count me in on any class action suit.
 
#23 ·
I would agree the initial situation described would not warrant a lawsuit, however, after owning and repairing my 2000 Catera, I have come to realize (as I believe General Motors is already aware of) there are numerous design defects and flaws in the car. The electrical system which causes the battery to drain and not hold a charge, I replaced 5 batteries in less than 2 years, and got more help on this forum than from my dealer; the heater control valve which constantly goes out causing a dump of the coolant; the short in the auxilary water pump which causes electrical failures in the radio and other internal systems; the faulty sensor in the overflow tank (I've replaced 3 in 2 years). I'm sure if you review the posts on this forum you will find other design flaws which Cadillac knows about but refuses to do anything about. The resale and trade in value of the car is almost nothing, and when I talked to a salesman at my local Cadillac dealer about purchasing either a CTS or STS and asked about what I could get for my Catera, he (a Cadillac salesman) laughed uncontrollably and said next to nothing, "that car is a piece of junk." So even if the guy who started this tread was off base with his reason for making Cadillac pay for the way they have handled the owners of this car, I think when you look at the bigger picture there is more than ample evidence to support a suit against GM.
 
#24 ·
Then i want a class action law suit against mercury for importing my merkur scorpio. The problem with cateras is that they're affordable to a younger generation that is used to driving hondas and other jap. imports. they drive their cars too hard and don't take care of them like they should. My family has owned 3 cateras and still own two of them with no problems. The designs of the catera saved my life with the loss of our third catera. The 97 & 98 models are cheaper for a reason. They re-did the drive train in the 99 models and eliminated several common problems. Or 97 went through several replacement parts, but even with the money we put into it it's still more in the car vs money ratio than anything else out there and she runs like a dream now. Try carfax before you buy a car next time. You can learn a lot. You just need to know what to look for. All cars have their lemons, and sometimes you just get screwed, but who's fault is that really?
 
#25 ·
CLASS ACTION IS THE ONLY WAY TO GET THEIR ATTENTION. My Daughter's Cadillac Has two blown engines, a blown transmission, blown sensor system and it just never stops, one problem after another. The car needs to be used at the next Hydrogen Bomb testing site. It seems like yesterday that Cadillac won our national award for Quality. Buying a Cadillac today is just a shade away from joining a terrorist cell. Cadillac was synomymous with the highest form of patriotism, the pride of the U.S. skill and ability and everything else. At least a Honda or a Toyota is made for the most part in this country by Americans. Whereas Cadillac with all its cheap parts from the 4 corners of the 3rd world is a national disgrace. A CADILLAC SUV??? Is that what I saw?? I must be hallucinating. I hope it is a bad dream and I wake up soon.
 
#26 ·
heh, so it is just me that has had pretty awesome luck with this car?

I paid $5500 and I couldn't be happier. Of course it's being sold to make way for a G35 coupe I don't regret my Caterror at all.

But a class action lawsuit? are you actually serious, you really think you would get somewhere with that? I'll say what nobody else has said. You're a complete idiot. You should have bought a corolla and kept the Cadillac name away from yourself.
 
#27 ·
Though the Catera is a mechanical nightmare, the OP bought a 9 year old car while doing (at best) limited research on the problems of the Catera. No one forced him to buy (and apologies if someone was indeed holding a gun to your head forcing you to hit the "Buy Now" button). Moreover, even if a class action lawsuit developed, OP has NO claim to any money, he bought the car USED and most likely "AS IS."

Head gaskets on my Deville blew and I had to replace the engine. You don't hear me starting a threat calling for a class action lawsuit again GM.
 
#28 ·
I agree with the others that did their research, knew what was involved in buying a used car of any make or model, and have a little knowledge on how to identify, repair, and prevent common problems (or invest in a warranty that does the above), that a class-action lawsuit is a waste of time and more an exercize in futility born from people that rage without using the IQ granted to a rat, than anything born from a small kernal of simple common sense. And for those people, me and others gladly offer cheerful help to keep them on the road much like they have offered to me and others in the past. They shared their knowledge with me, I likewise share as much as I know with them.

I have little pity for those that whine about blowing two engines, eating 3 batteries in two years, replacing the same part over and over, etc...as it seems most of these people have no clue to what they did to exacerbate the problem, did no research, have no business driving anything complicated without a warranty, good mechanic, constant inspection, etc. I bought a 1997 Cat with all the standard problems covered on this board, fixed them all, and now I drive the hell out of it with 170,000 miles on it and couldn't be happier. Seems there are many out here like me, and we all come to this board to help each other.

And the few postings on here that noted that this car will SAVE your life where other cars will KILL you in a severe crash (and my own experience with a rear-ender in my Cat - see my posts last year) convinces me I bought the correct USED car for my level of knowledge and my type of usage (i.e. no teenagers or abusive drivers, and no one that drives it while ignoring symptoms of problems common with ANY high-mileage car). This car does have its benefits, and for those that spend their work time on the highways, its a huge benefit. All of the maintenance inconvenience will be forgotton the day you walk away from the accident that would have sent you otherworldly in any other car.

What about those wanting a class action suit against a company fighting bankruptcy on a vehicle 10 years old??? I bet they are also waiting for the gov'ment to pay their mortgage and credit cards too. Hold your breath for 20 minutes (or more if necessary) and quit wasting good oxygen that could be breathed by reasonable and intelligent people.

Those that just want to get on here and whine and try to drum up a pipe dream cause they expect a very complicated used car to run like their last cheap new Honda are wasting forum space for those that are here to keep their old used Cats on the road and are willing to learn a bit about the car to do so.

I invite the flames. Bring 'em on, and maybe someone will lock this thread and kill this insanity before it wastes any more space.

My $0.02
 
#29 ·
The problem comes from not the multiple night mares but from rather the expensive repairs, a guy on here went to the dealer to do a brake job and he got a bill that was nearly 1000$ or more for 4 rotors and pads... something you can do at the comfrot of the curb in front of your house in a matter of 2 hours with some hand tools... now where is the sense in that...

About a year ago when my car was somewhere in the 60K miles the water pump started leaking, so I went to replace it the thing was around 50$ from the dealer and the guy asked me for 600-700$ after which I told him to go shove something large up his back end and went around shopping... with the part in hand I found a shop that did it for 150$ total of 200$ parts and labor... so saved myself 400-500$...

A few of the reparis are simple and dont requre any special work so you can do them yourself... and save all that money... and to be honest the car is not so much of a terror, its just that people expect it to behave like a piece of gold... well go buy an econo box but dont complain when that thing gets into trouble and you end up paying similar amounts of money to fix it....

I mean in all reality in europe the car is fine, it has a great reputation of being reliable, and often cranking more then 200K miles on it, they even use them for Taxis and Police cars... kinda like the crown vics over here...

At least the problems are common and mostly known... with the exception of a few...

Oil Cooler, Heater valve, Water Pump, Tie rod ends, Coolant Sensor, I am sure that there are a few others but cant think of them right off the top of my head... and once you take care of those the thing is golden...

I have put over 50K miles on my car in two years and the car is not even driven in the snow, for the most part and have had nothing but luck with it, I mean occasionally something brakes but I go out and fix it... no biggie... shop around for cheaper parts and you should be good, just do most of the work yourself, its really not that hard... I am a computer guy and I never learned to be a mechanic but I do learn from peopl, I get out there and I work on it, and I never approach the car with fear, in fact because I know the problems of it, I am considering gettin another at some point in the future....

My friend has more problems on his 3 series, my Neon has had more problems then the catera... and problems that are totaly random, at least with the catera they are mostly similar...

Dont fear these cars, and dont think that the new CTS and STS are better, they are even worse when it comes to reparis... and my dad is not a big fan of the new Cadillacs, he says the quality under the hood went down... same goes for Toyota and Honda... Ford seems to be picking up at the moment, or so he sais...

Good luck with the lawsuit hope it works out for ya...
 
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