04 CTS What did you wish you knew?

jgalon04 · #1 (**permalink**) 07-09-08, 10:42 AM

Hi everyone. Let me introduce myself very briefly. I'm 24 turning 25 in a few weeks and my wife is purchasing a car for me for said birthday.

I had chosen the 05 Infiniti g35 as my next car, and though i loved the power output (280 HP/270 ft. lbs) I found the interior a bit small and rather uncomfortable.

I sat in a grand prix to compare cabin size (My first car was a 99 Grand Prix GTP- supercharged 3.6 liter engine), and found that the gp was larger interior wise.

I then saw a cts and got inside and immediately liked the way it felt as well as the design. I looked at the price and found that an 04 cts runs a few g's less than an 04 g35 with similair mileage.

I'm pretty sure I'm going to purchase an 04 black on black cts this week.

So, my question is, what did you wish you knew before you bought yours? Any wisdom to impart to me?

The one I'm looking at seems to be lightly modded. There's a CTS/V grille as well as chrome side sills (which I'm not crazy about) and finally new exhaust tips...

Here's the link for the car I'm looking at:http://www.carmax.com/enUS/view-car/...7-830e3fba6bb0

Thoughts?

Sammy Z · #2 (**permalink**) 07-09-08, 11:12 AM

Looks good, the rear bezel on that year leaks water. Look at it close to see if water is trapped in there. Most of the guys had them replaced under warranty. The new style is all black. You can probably remove the chrome pillars and look for some 18" wheels or bigger. Get some HIDs for it to light up the night.

You may want to ask for a vehicle history to set your mind at ease. Good Luck. I have the 03 and love it. Great power and excelent gas mileage(32 with premium gas) ( 28 midgrade)

AmerLux · #3 (**permalink**) 07-09-08, 11:39 AM

As someone who was looking at a g35 also before i got mine, i say do it!

I see G's all the time on the road and thank god i didn't get one. Hot looking car for sure but the size is an issue just like you said. Also, couldn't get over the fact its just a really nice 350Z. RICE-mobile.

Price seems more or less right, However, CTS-V's can be had for a couple of thousand more then that price. I'd give my left *** to be in a V. Some guy on this forum had his V with low miles for sale for $22,000.00-ish.

If you have the time/patience and extra $$$ search for a V with Warranty.

My 2 cents...

LS6TT · #4 (**permalink**) 07-09-08, 12:15 PM

my word of advice, dont buy from Carmax. bought a eclipse from them back in 03, bought the warranty, stupid me, horrible work when it was needed. nothing but problems. Dont care to go into the long list of details, but I wont ever go or send anybody to carmax

Civardi · #5 (**permalink**) 07-09-08, 12:19 PM

That price seems a little high. For 5k more I bought an 04 V.

I 2nd on Carmax. Horrible company.

caddyshack33 · #6 (**permalink**) 07-10-08, 12:34 AM

Definitely get a service history and check for any leaks in the rear. You don't want that, since this car is not under the recall. Take a good look around the interior for any peeling -- mine started peeling just a month or so after I got my car and I'm glad I got the cadillac extended warranty to take care of it.

catch · #7 (**permalink**) 07-10-08, 01:04 AM

Personally, I wish I went with the g35. I'm actually considering trading mine in for one.

I have an '03 3.2

From the outside, it's a beautiful car. The interior is becoming less appealing as time goes by, and it's cheapness is starting to bother me. Mechanically it's been alright, I've only have a few problems. The few problems I have had have been very frustrating though.
Overall, I'm not overly satisfied with the car. It doesn't feel the way I thought a Cadillac should feel like.

But even still.. I don't regret purchasing it, and I do still like the car. I just don't love every bit of it.

FL01SS · #8 (**permalink**) 07-10-08, 01:37 AM

I too looked at the G35! Glad I got the CTS!

Things to know about an 04 CTS...Things to look for-17" wheels=Sport Package=StabiliTrak, better brakes, load leveling shocks, probably forgetting a couple things.

Wood Grain & seat heaters=Luxury Package=Power on both front seats, power lumbar, 6 disc Bose, memory settings.

Looks like that one has both Sport & Lux packages. And it has the 3.6 engine which is (IMO) is a lot better then the 3.2 in the 03s & 04 manual trans cars.

I agree that that price is a bit up there. Now that the 08s are out, the prices on the earlier CTSs should be coming down a decant bit more than that!

FL01SS · #9 (**permalink**) 07-10-08, 01:42 AM

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...tent=retail_uc

KBB says $19.8 for excellent.

I wouldn't pay a cent over $18.5!!!

jgalon04 · #10 (**permalink**) 07-10-08, 09:43 AM

Thanks for all the responses fellas. The original one that I showed you was not taken well care of, so I ended up getting another one transferred from OH to SC. This one has 5k more miles and is 4k less in price.

I especially appreciate the feedback about the g35. As far as catch's post: I drive an 04 eclipse, so the caddy is definitely an upgrade as far as interior goes.

As far as mods. I'm more of a performance than looks guy, but my wife doesn't want me to screw around with the caddy too much. I would like to add some decent HP and was very surprised to see that the intake for the 3.6 adds minimum 7 HP and could be upward of 12- that's very good...

I plan on tinting the windows immediately. I look forward to being apart of this community...