Cadillac DeVille 1985 to 2005 including: 1985-1992 Fleetwood, 1993 Sixty Special, All FWD ForumForum for discussions regarding the front wheel drive 1985 to 2005 DeVille, 1985-1992 Fleetwood and 1993 Sixty Special.
Cadillac Forums: The horror - Head gasket blows after 3 weeks.
I debated and debated my choice of cars and I just loved the 2000-2006 Deville so much I just really really wanted to get one. Found one that had been well maintained, good service records, great option package, etc. 2000 with 98k miles.
I buy it. I drive it home. 2 weeks later, it starts overheating randomly. It gets worse to the point where it won't go 5 minutes without overheating.
Take it to the dealer. Head Gaskets are done. 4000 or so to repair, 8000 for a new engine (give or take).
Honestly, I want to cry right now. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised as the US can't produce a reliable car to save it's life.
Does anyone have anything positive to tell me right now that can keep me from descending into a caddy related depression?
I debated and debated my choice of cars and I just loved the 2000-2006 Deville so much I just really really wanted to get one. Found one that had been well maintained, good service records, great option package, etc. 2000 with 98k miles.
I buy it. I drive it home. 2 weeks later, it starts overheating randomly. It gets worse to the point where it won't go 5 minutes without overheating.
Take it to the dealer. Head Gaskets are done. 4000 or so to repair, 8000 for a new engine (give or take).
Honestly, I want to cry right now. I suppose I shouldn't be too surprised as the US can't produce a reliable car to save it's life.
Does anyone have anything positive to tell me right now that can keep me from descending into a caddy related depression?
Eh tgat is a classic case of buyer beware, is there any recourse you can go though with the party you bought the car from?
if it wasa lot or dealor u should have @ least 30 days
private buyer tricky.
About 2 years or so ago there was a guy who had the same prolbem. do the thread search, it was very detailed about how the isue was resloved.
That's everybody's nightmare right there. I don't want to bark up the wrong tree but I wonder if the previous owner knew there was a problem and it just took you a couple weeks to lose the coolant and overheat it. On the other hand, If I had a nice Caddy that I babied and I knew it was good, and I sold it to someone and the head gaskets went, I would be upset if they blamed me. there are two ways to look at it.
I had a friend about 20 years ago that sold a truck to a private party and the engine died very soon afterward. They took him to small claims court and he had to give them their money back. I don't remember all the details but I guess if you can prove that they somehow knew there were engine problems, they could be forced to refund your money. Keep asking around and you may find a shop that is used to doing these head gaskets and can do them cheper for you. Good luck.
That sucks, especially since you didn't drive it around much before it happened. Like someone else said, the previous owner probably knew of the problem and perhaps did a band aid fix just to get rid of it. My friends '01 blew the H/G's shortly after my '98 did the same thing. Many claim that the problem was fixed for the '00-up models. I'm not seeing it. Go to the N* tech section: http://www.cadillacforums.com/forums...al-discussion/ . There are many in there that have done or are in the middle of doing the head gaskets themselves. IF you choose to go that route be careful because this an extensive job and you should have a decent amount of experience working on cars. Good luck.
I had a friend about 20 years ago that sold a truck to a private party and the engine died very soon afterward. They took him to small claims court and he had to give them their money back. I don't remember all the details but I guess if you can prove that they somehow knew there were engine problems, they could be forced to refund your money. Keep asking around and you may find a shop that is used to doing these head gaskets and can do them cheper for you. Good luck.
Unfortunately it would be hard to prove the previous owner or dealer knew of any problems since it happened weeks later. As far as getting it done cheaper, he should first make sure the shop is reputable and will timesert the block otherwise there will be no savings.
the problem died when there was a minor thread pitch change in 03 (thankfully my 03 was built after this)
the 00+ are less susceptible
imho either ditch it now for the 2k youll get for it as is, or put 3500 into it at the dealer to have them timesert it and the dang thing will be bullet proof
the problem died when there was a minor thread pitch change in 03 (thankfully my 03 was built after this)
the 00+ are less susceptible
And thats the story you will cling too. Even the early ones took maybe 7 years or so before the problems really became known. There is currently a bit of a surge of '00-up models getting the problem. Perhaps in 3 years it'll be the '03-up models. Hopefully not.
i doubt it
the changes were positive and im sure there are plenty of high mileage 02+ FWDs around and i haven't herd of any blowing HGS god knows this is a forum and we hear all the bad stories very few of the good so why not troll around and stir up some more tarnish to pin on the N*!
of course everyone knows that Ford makes some really bullet proof products i suppose he should look into!
Last edited by CadillacSTS2003; 05-08-08 at 10:48 PM.
The horror - Head gasket blows after 3 weeks. 
