Okay, i'm looking at a 99 Catera with 80,000 miles on it. Dealer wants 7,500 for it. Everything is clean but there were some problems. First thing is during the test drive the oil pressure gauge would move up as i accelerated, and down on deceleration. Also had the famous radiator fluid spewing out of the car which i didn't know was an issue until i came to this site. Would the oil pressure gauge have anything to do with this? What I'm afraid of (and correct me if I'm wrong on this) is that the radiator and oil pressure gauge are directly related... if the rad is boiling over, and possibly leaking into the oil (no idea on this) would it cause the pressure to increase? Other that these problems the car seems to be in really good shape. If somone has unlimited carfax reports privlidges i'd really apperciate a report :D Hate to pay $25.00 to just do it once. Also, the incidents on the report would be on pages 5+ correct? I really like the car but i'm a college student and this is more than i wanted to spend anyway, is it worth it? I'm going back tommorow to make my final decision.

The oil pressure gauge will move with the engine speed; that is perfectly normal. If it is leaking coolant into the oil you should be able to look on the lid and filler neck of the oil fill and see a white milky substance. If it's leaking oil into the coolant your coolant will be discolored brown and be slimy.

The $7,500 price tag is pretty good but you have to consider how expensive these cars are to repair. The 99's don't have that many problems but when they do they can be very expensive to fix. If 7.5k is more than you want to spend I would consider passing on the car because of the cost associated with maintenace and repair of the Catera. Allthough, it is a wonderfull car, and I definetley love my 99. (even though it is in the shop right now getting worked on)

I don't have any help for you, but I think you should hear my story. I purchased a 99 cadillac catera w/55K for 11K out the door. I assumed that if I kept up on the service on the car I wouldn't have any major problems. So when I hit 60K of course I took it in for the $650 svc. Only to find my coolant light on 1 1/2 weeks later. When I parked the car the coolant all flushed out of the bottom of the car by the manifold. They said a hose needed to be replaced, so I paid another $400. This morning the light came back on, and low and behold the coolant flushed out again. If any 1 has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate it. I can't afford to be side swiped any longer. :tisk: Thanks in advance for any help that u can provide.

gypsy_prnss@hotmail.com

Oil pressure gauge movement is normal... but this was very fast movement and nearly hitting the 80 mark at times. The engine was just detailed so I dont know if i'd be able to see the milky substance, i'm going to look anyway and see if i can spot it. I was also going to purchase a warranty with the vehicle which i think would cover this issue but I need to read the fine print. By the way how do these handle in the snow? My other choice is a Toyota Tacoma so I'm trying to figure out which would be the best for me, maintenance on the toyota would probably be cheaper, but I wont have the warranty with it. The price on that car is very good though, way below blue book and the car (other that what i mentioned) is absolutely spotless inside and out.

Edit: I ran the carfax repot (figured it was worth the $25). Car had two lease owners before me (if i get it) and no accidents, came out clean.

Concerning the waranty. If this is not a GM or the selling dealership waranty I would be hesitant. Some of the companies (not all) selling waranties are not very legitamite. I have heard of people with waranties that wouldn't cover anything due to loopholes written into the waranty itself. I have a friend who had this problem. I looked over his waranty paperwork after he had problems with his car and the waranty said the powertrain was covered but the company would only cover aroun 5 or 10% of the actual cost. The waranty itself looked legit (I'm not a lawyer) but they still wouldn't pay. Just a thought....maybe not all of the companies operate this way.