Consumer Report: What's YOUR opinion? We'd like to know...

[KansasKatera]

Own 99 Catera with 84k. I love this car when everything is working properly. The handling is tight and responsive. The power is adequate (actually quite quick out of the gate for 200hp). Have had the usual problems; crank sensor, oil cooler replacement, hot water valve, brake light switch. Other than these repairs, I have had 4 years of fine motoring from this daily driver.

[brandonwilhelm]

Where Did You Get The Cat-back Exhaust System, And How Much $ ?

[phrog]

99' here, all the bells and whistles, I have had the same maint. problems that everyone else here has had, but I will tell you this, for the cost of this car new, there is NO american built auto anywhere near this range that has the quality of coachwork, period! If anyone disagrees, they should tell me which car for under 40k is as refined. As far as performance goes, it is a sedan, and performs well enough as one. if they increased the power, I would suspect that the brakes would need a little something too. Overall, my biggest gripe is the lack of cupholders?

by the way, I also own a Mercedes ML320, and the Catera coachwork is every bit as high quality.

regards,
phrog.

[figgie]

well add a dead confornt control panel out of no where. HOPE it is not another 1k fix

[ScottCatera]

I just bought my 98 Catera. You mentioned a hot engine. I can smell coolant. Had resevoir replaced( light came on) Did an oil cooler help the engine from running hot?

[R-Caddy]

I have a black '97 Catera with 113000 miles. I've had it for a year now. Had to replace transmition, rebiuld engine, change all belts, pulleys, gaskets, A/C compressor and receiver drier, water pump. And some other stuff. Other than that, it's all good... I have a K&N intake, resistor chip. Thinking about some other upgrades, although it's not easy to fing something for this little diamond
BTW, A/C still doesn't work Anyway, I am enjoying every ride with it, and, like one of you guys said, like taking care of it (unlike the previuos owners )

[gixxer_751]

i got the car w/103000 miles on it, so far i've changed the valve covers, crank sensor, and plug wires. so far 1k in costs , car runs good, looks sweet but damn these mechanical problems

[wamanning]

first one was a new white '01 sport factory fresh off the dealer lot. really enjoyed the car...great driving experience and best sound system i've ever heard in a car. i would have purchased the car @ the end of my 2-year lease, but GMAC wouldnt budge on the buy-out # (there was a huge discrepancy between buy-out and mkt-value), so i just turned it in out of spite and picked up an acura TL - which was much less of a car! this particular car was perfect - no complaints.

last fall when i was turning in the acura, i was depressed to see every new car in which i was interested cost north of $500/mo to lease, so i turned my attention to the used-market and another '01 catera...this time an '01 sport in silver. found the exact one i wanted (only 41k miles to boot!) in wisconsin for only $11k!

this one had some minor maintentance-related issues...poor alignment and wheel balance, which were easily corrected. otherwise it was cherry. my car also exhbits some "tramlining" (i.e., wandering) on pavement with lengthwise ruts. it's manageable right now and i'll get the whole suspension checked out this spring when i get new 18" wheels/tires.

overall, i'm very pleased with the car...my biggest complaint: no 5th gear/OD in the tranny!

[Tronicv6]

whoops sorry double post

[Tronicv6]

Originally Posted by SilverFleetwood85

I used to own one. It was a 1997 model, The car was well built and was extremely solid. I attribute its problems to being a first year model.

Incorrect the First Models were Produced and sold in Europe in 1994 came in various engine sizes 2.0, 2.5 & 3.0 with varying degrees on spec's. And UK cars only get 3 Years warranty, later "Facelift Models" were available from 1999 with 2.2 2.6 & 3.2 ltr engines

Face lift models still suffer the same problems as the earlier car, cambelt & tensioner replacement has been lowered from the original 80,000 change period to 40,000 miles or 4 years withever comes first.

[frustratedinIA]

My '97 Cat.jpgSomeone help me save my 97 Catera! My husband swears he is getting rid of the piece of SH@T! We've had the car since it had 53,000 miles on it and it now has 92K. We've put way more into the car than we paid for it. In 2005 we put over $5K into. One would think it would be problem-free at this point. After to oil pump and coolers, the oil pressure is lower than should be (per Cadillac shop) and it still leaks oil. Not only this problem, but now the break lights come on whenever they please and it drains the battery which means I am constantly getting jumped. My husband just looked at the break pedal and tells me there is a plastic twisty tie on the top switch --doesn't sound factory. I've had this situation checked into by the Cadi dealer and out of all of the mechs. they can't fnd the problem. I really do love my car and feel like there should be some solution to all of these problems. Anyone with answers this is a 911. My husband is putting a "For Sale" sign on it as we speak.

[R-Caddy]

Tell him that despite the expenditure , it's still a lot of bang for the buck

[vegaspro]

Its now been one year. You may see my glowing post early on this thread. As an update, I still have the opinion that this car is the best kept secret in the used car market.

I have taken the car from 24k to 44k in a year. I had one 12.5 hour 1 day extended turn-around trip to a distant city. Much of the drive was at 100+. When I got our of the car on return, I was neither tired nor sore. That's incredible. The closest I've experienced, and it was not as comfortable, was an XJS I owned in the mid-90's.

Problems to date have been extremely minor. I replaced a heater control valve myself, and per other posts on this site, it was not a nightmare. Took about 1.5 hours.

Currently I'm suffering through an idiot light for the coolant, but it's full, doesn't leak, and is therefore likely a sensor.

The front door hinge occasionally springs, but is fixed with a hammer tap.

I am not suffering inordinate tire wear.

There is a click in the steering wheel I cannot locate, and a power steering pump leak that cured with stop-leak. This will likely need maintenance in the future. I had a lighting problem with the brake lights that cost $70.00 to fix at a non-Cadillac facility.

And the remote keyless system appears tempermental at times.

Lastly, the driver's heat seater has quit. Not a problem in Las Vegas.

In short, I remain jazzed about this car. Recognizing the problematic writings in other posts, I recognize I appear the exception, but I would recommend this car.

[TKE_CAT]

98 Catera with 116k on it. Runs awesome, got it from my dad a few weeks ago, who had it since 2000. It has had its share of usual problems, and now my check engine light is on, but its a gas cap , so i let it stay on. I love this car , but I have a q? Is the voltage meter supposed to ride like one line below the middle line? Like i noticed one day at the hardee's drive through, it started off at the middle line, but by the time i left,45 mins later, it was on the line below. It only does this at night, when the lights are on, and i can go somewhere, cut it off, and it still cranks strong. I have not tested it anymore to see if it will drop anymore than 1 line, but i was just wondering? I do not know whether or not the alternator has been changed yet, but I know the battery has been changed at least once in the last 8 years. Any insight would be helpful. Oh yea, I love this car. I just cleaned it up today, and it looks nice. I plan on putting some more headlights on it as well. They are yellowing, lol.

[R-Caddy]

Took my Cat to autocross on Sunday. Did it just to make everybody laugh. Surprisingly, I was not the last one. I beat at least 10 other cars, which included: Subaru WRX, BMW M3, some Cobra and a Mustang and some others. Just wait til I get new shocks , since these still have "GM" on them... I just loved the spectator's reaction: they loved my intake sound, most of them didn't even know much about the car. That's why I did it and that's why I love my Cat