Cadillac Owners Forum banner

Hey GM! The CTSV worked! LEFT Mercedes. Impressions, experience, thoughts..

2K views 9 replies 6 participants last post by  Haze 
#1 ·
I think it's cool that GM is paying cust service reps to be on the forums and try to improve. That is a big investment, and a big step I've never seen before doing forums for 12 yrs now.

Past cars I've purchased then modded all of them VW GLI (recaros;) ), Audi TT, G35 vortech, clk55 AMG (wife), 335i sedan, MB CLS550 sport sold for ctsv.
In the process of looking at V's the Tempe cadi dealer wouldn't let me drive a ctsv, used one, against their policy, said to do the paper work first and I could return it. I doubt GM agrees with this "policy" especially when looking to trade in a mbz. I thought the ctsv strategy was to take euro marketshare, bring ppl back to domestics?


Recent highlights:

Clk55 AMG would shut off randomly. Go absolutely dead. One time on a highway, construction zone, 2am, no engine, no lights, 55mph, no power steering, DEAD with other cars on the road who can't see me. Shop for 6 weeks couldn't replicate, happened randomly. 4,000-30k miles ~$70k car. White, blk int coupe not vert, wife loved it, hard to find, dealt with it.

G35 only went to dealer once in 2 yrs for a headlight recall, while there they found a bad wheel bearing replaced under warranty. Car had full tein coil overs, spc camber arm kit front and rear, and a vortech supercharger lol! Most reliable issue free car I've had yet.

For the record BMW cares way less about you. My other car is a 335i if your into cars then you know the issues, denials, and lawsuits are about. on my 3rd hpfp, won't replace defective exhaust flapper, loose waste gates rattle, and $850 decarb service not covered under warr or maint (di engine downside) didn't fix rough idle on cold starts. Foreman denied my warranty bc of aftermarket Bolton downpipes. No BMW reps on e90post, huge forum btw.

Mercedes is a complete joke tried charging me for a loaner, Hyundai accent, dropped off a loaded cls550 2009 under warranty. Wtf? Hyundai was bc they were all out of loaners, Mercedes break often FYI. Loaner was fine just needed a to b, but why even ask for $50 at that point for a loaner fee, bad enough you have to go there during normal work hours.
brakes were so loud it would pierce your ears, vibrate through the cabin, wouldn't replace. It was deafening!!
no MB reps on mbworld.org

so far... 2 visits since jan 2012
I get top notch service at the kuchina scottsdale Cadillac dealer, I feel like they wanted me to move away from euros, they want me in a Cadillac. Cadi Dealerships physically are way outdated but I don't actually need a free Starbucks moch choca latta, and an ikea waiting room, with 60" led tv's. Just need the best trained V tech to take car in turni every bolt, not scratching anything, especially wheels with the impact gun. Car is obviously modded, service director inspected it before, knows of Hennesy parts and would honor all warranty.
Had an alignment done and they offered a breakfast voucher for a nearby resturant while I wait. And they just refinished the waiting room chairs with black vinyl w embroidered Cadillac logo, covering the 1980's fabric! Still got a sweet monster 36" tube tv hanging from the ceiling!! They also RUN back and forth getting cars, etc. I've had oil pan seal replaced, and a new ic fluid cap replaced bc it could hold pressure and would spew fluid out the top on WOT runs. All fixed under warr, a teal DTS was the loaner holy crap that thing is a time warp but it's a current model!! Lol!
I'm sure my V has seat rocking, sc rattle, and I sometimes hear a tiny tiny squeak coming from brakes every so often like the wear sensor is hitting the rotor. full Exhaust is loud so I can't really tell for sure, so it doesn't bother me now. If there is a recall I'll take it in, if not then nothing I can do about it, car make big power, and lots of noise, that's what it's all about.
overall I think they did a great job with the car, my wife made fun of me for getting a Cadillac till she drove it. :)
Great so far!

If I wanted a car with no issues I would go back to Nissan or something from Asia, not gtr.
Cars in this class anyways have issues, comes with the territory. Service really does make a difference. Keep it up!

2 things I'd change to upcoming models offer less bulky seats with cf backs like 911's, an auto that shifts like an amg 7 speed quick! and give the V's come fat fat fenders, like BMW m cars get.

Learning extensively on this forum!
 
See less See more
#2 ·
well i JUST switched from an 04 E55,and I'm VERY happy now! I owned it for 5 years, it was a love-hate relationship! loved to drive it BUT hated the visits to the stealership!! it was a stage 1 car, Eurocharged 172mm pulley, E.C. frnt mnt heat exch.,E.C. ECM tune,k-n filters,upgraded intercooler pump.

But I love my V!!
 
#8 ·
Just came out of an 04 E55 as well. It was probably the best car I ever owned. I sold it with 125k on it but the list of needed repairs got too long. I had a local repair shop take care of the car that specialized in mb so the repairs weren't completely outrageous but they were not cheap either.

The difference in interior quality is greatly overblown IMO. I gave a list of the pros and cons in another thread. I am getting used to the recaros now too. Absolutey loving the V so far.
Y
 
#4 ·
I agree AMG = Ah My God for repairs, and performance. I wanted an e55/cls55 for years, but now with the V putting down 520/520 I think even a modded AMG wouldn't feel crazy. AMG mods are sooooo expensive in comparison. Be interesting to see what the tuners do with the turbo e/cls63's though of breaking something would be worst nightmare.
V/corvette parts are all over and relatively cheap whole engines/rebuilds and lots of experienced ppl around
 
#7 ·
lol I tell my buddys that owning an AMG out of warranty is "financial suicide"! The car was very fun to drive it ran mid 11's consistently BUT was consistently in the shop lol! (main issue airmatic suspension ARG!!), As far as the mods being $$ some are! but the last couple years a few companies came into the picture and basically tore Renntech and Kleeman away for perf. and price! But if you blew a motor OMG! $30K!!! The freakin car is only worth $15-20K max!!

SOOO, I'm very excited to have my new car and looking forward to modding it and keeping it for a long time!
 
#6 ·
TTuned, really appreciated your post.

In accord with Jim's post, the reason I bought this car is because it is actually "cheap" to fix when you blow it up. A new transmission can be put in this car for about the cost of a mainshaft in some others. It is cheaper to make it go fast than a Subaru STi, no reason to discuss my AMG and M3 experiences. Neither did I see that large of a gap in the interior quality, some, but slight outside of the headliner. Gave me the excuse to have the "piano black" covered in carbon. Yes, my seat rocked. Dealer fixed it in a day, while I drove a new CTS. Best dealer experience I've had, and only slightly missed the Latte. No, the interior of the dealership is not at the level as others, but hey, the people actually give a shi* - what's that worth?

Maybe I'll be disappointed at some point, but after about a year, there is no car I'd rather have that is presently sold that seats 5.
 
#9 ·
The difference in interior quality is greatly overblown IMO. I gave a list of the pros and cons in another thread. I am getting used to the recaros now too. Absolutey loving the V so far.


yeah the interior quality of my MB was nice (for about the first 6 months) then the plastic was SOOO brittle everything started breaking and the leather on the console was bubbling all over!I had bought my MB with 28K miles and got rid of it with 74K miles (I couldn't deal with the not knowing what would break next!!),and it was garage kept! My wifes 08 Escalade stays outside (no tints) and her (so called) inferior interior quality has been superb!! Another reason that helped me switch to the the V was my MB dealership was no longer honoring ANY sort of aftermarket warranty (I had Western General)! As I was not ALLOWED to purchase through MB! They said due to the type of car (AMG) THE REPAIRS WERE TOO MUCH TO COVER!!(WTF?)

BYE BYE MB!!


Y[/QUOTE]
 
#10 ·
TTuner - My first new car was an '88 GLI. That is a real blast from that past. It was a great car for a 1.8 liter and fast enough in its day, but nothing in the way of a suspension. Also had a new '04 CLK55. The screaming matches with Mercedes over that car were epic when it was consuming two quarts of oil a week. They never admitted it directly, but it had a poorly installed piston that ate one of the cylinders. Compression was around 60PSI on that cylinder after 2,200 miles, and it was only the worst of a host of problems with that car. I still own an historic Merz (a '72 sedan), but I stay away from the company for the most part.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top