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This is right out of a movie...

4K views 28 replies 7 participants last post by  mckellyb 
#1 ·
So...my wife and I head over to the pseudo dealer, today, to press them about this 1SG.

The place is locked up tight. No cars outside, nothing.

Interesting.

I called a half-dozen times, from a phone which I've called from, before. Every time, it's "answered", then put down. I can hear background noise.

Eventually, it goes to voicemail.

Okay...so they are douchebags of the month...possibly of the year. No worries, I'll move on.

So we're driving home, and this is NW Dallas, TX, to SW Fort Worth, and I take 183 'cause I'm still a bit brain-dead from my 20 hours of work/travel, yesterday. It's about a 45 mile drive, but it's a really nice day, and I'm really glad to be home after a week in DC.

As we're passing Westway Ford's used car lot, my wife is lookin', and says, "hey, what about that?!"

Wow, what looks to be an '05 GTO...red, not my style, and with the whole hood scoop thing, but I've always wanted to get a closer look at the Holden Monaro. She knows what'd catch my eye, though I'd prefer white/silver/gray.

So I go to the next exit, circle around, pull in...it's a good 7 minutes of travel time.

Coming the other way in the parking lot, also circling, is a white diamond STS. I muttered, "damnit". Then I said, "I wonder if he's shopping, too?"

We circle around, and meet on the next row. He's already out of the car, beating off a used car guy, and I ask, "are you trading that in?" He answers, "yes, but next week on a truck I have coming in...I'd rather it went to someone other than the dealer."

I park, we chat, I look it over with my wife...it's clean. Lower mileage than the 1SG by 22K (81K on this one), and has everything I want, though I can see it has 17" wheels, which means regular-sized brakes, and likely the 3.23 rear. Plus, the interior is tan, and I'm really not a fan of that color...but I seriously dig on the pearlescent white exterior.

Tires are new Continentals and have maybe 5K on 'em, the car is well-cared for, guy is probably in his late-50's, bought it with 11K on it, and he travels to Houston/Austin quite a bit for golf-related stuff. I don't think the back seat has ever been used. The only "damage" I can find is the passenger door speaker grille has been kicked, and is dented. Meh.

IOW, the driver's seat is in a perfectly normal driving position, not something you'd expect out of a Lay-Z-Boy.

The tan interior isn't as bad as it could be. At least it's light-colored.

I get his number, the VIN, and then we check to see where the nearest Wells Fargo is, 'cause he's picking up his new ride, Wednesday...a pickup...figures :) , and hope we can find one close. It's 1:35P, and Saturday. I think all the banks close at noon, but hell, I'll give it a shot. I'm leaving town, again, on Monday, for a week, and it'll be at the dealer on Wednesday, marked up to $20K.

Whadda know, the nearest bank is quite-literally across the freeway. We go over, and hey, they're open 'till 2!

My wife cashes the cashier's check made out to idiot and moron motors, and pulls out an additional $4K. The guy is asking $13K, claims the dealer is gonna give him $12K, and he seems pretty firm. I'll know more about true "value" when I get to a keyboard.

It's a 1SF, nothing special, no HUD or ACC, but otherwise, it's just like the 1SG I was shopping, though without the 3.42 diff, extra cooling fans, or the ZF steering gear...or the larger brakes/18" wheels. Don't really need those, and 17" tires will be less-expensive/more pothole resistant. Oh, and it doesn't have the "tuscany" leather, but the interior was in better shape, regardless.

For curiosities sake, the VIN is 1G6DC67AX50137841 . 14 VIN 'records' is light years ahead of the last one's 39.

Erk.
 
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#2 ·
Wow...what a story! For the record, the brakes are the same between 1SF and 1SG. Sounds like a better way to go compared to "Fly by night" Motors. The price sounds right, too. That's what I bought mine for 2 months ago. And, the 3.23 is no slouch and will save a bit of gas over the 3.42.
 
#7 ·
I have driven both 1SF and 1SG cars and could not tell the difference between the steering gear. I also didn't think the difference in the leather was that pronounced. And installing larger wheels isn't a problem if you decide you need bigger wheels. Unless you are racing the car, the heavier duty cooling package won't be necessary either. 1SF cars have an upgraded cooling system also. I think these are the only differences between the packages.
 
#8 ·
WOO-HOO!!!

Thanks!

I had a feeling I'd not be able to notice steering difference. I'm sensitive, but not that sensitive, to feedback. I'd notice much, much more from tires.

I've never liked the huge wheel/short sidewall craze. Where I drive, there are beat-up roads, railroad tracks, et cetera.
 
G
#9 ·
For curiosities sake, the VIN is 1G6DC67AX50137841 . 14 VIN 'records' is light years ahead of the last one's 39.

Erk.
I do hope you know most of the times those "records" are regular performed maintenance, emission testing etc. A well documented car with oil changes when needed is worth a hell of a lot more than one that shows to have it done once every few years...
 
#10 ·
Addendum:

While I was mowing the yard, I asked my wife to call this guy, so we'd know when he'd be around, today. Mind you, he said he had to do this Monday or Tuesday.

Turns out, he still owes money on it, so he doesn't have the title.

Sigh....

We'll see. I'm keeping my eyes peeled...for a "V", just in case.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Oh, I'm aware of that. However, the first one had so many records because of GM's buyback, it going through a few dealers/auctions, and every re-registration had a duplicate LEMON alert.

My 16 year old Mercedes has fewer than that paperwork disaster.

However, CarFax & Autocheck do not track maintenance, as you imply, only items related to insurance claims or the title/registration. Ergo, fewer are better.
 
#12 ·
I think you are going to love the car! This is the smoothest non-body on frame I have owned, and it is my favorite car thus far. A perfect mix of performance and comfort. Mine is a 3-year lease turn in that had 21,000 miles. I have put 30,000 on it with the only non-scheduled maintenance hiccup being an early throttle body cleaning to clear up the engine-light. My car is the performance luxury packaged 1SF with larger (JE5) brakes, cooling package, mesh grille, and every other option besides HUD, ACC. It came with staggered 17's, now my winter wheels/tires. Not sure about ZF steering gear, but the ratio seems to quicken when in MRC performance mode. As far as gear ratio, I would like the higher ratio for fuel economy. Since mine is a 2005 I think I have a different tranny altogether. I'm going to dig up the sticker. It pulls out and lights 'em up if you turn off the traction control, (Done that twice, but it's dumb!) I have cat back exhaust and an intake. If it's a N* you should love it.

For my car oil change records are innacurate - I religously do Mobil 1 oil and filter Synthetic changes in my garage. Very few oil change records will show in 3+ years of ownership. My 6 year old car is a few rock scratches away from showroom condition.
 
#14 · (Edited)
All I've ever seen on a CarFax/Autocheck report is ownership change, registration renewal, change of address on titles, state-mandated emissions testing, lemon buyback, damage repair (not all of those, either), and the like.

There are folks on this board who are ultra helpful, and have access to the network of GM's records. That is as helpful, if not more so. You see recall items were inspected, servicing, et cetera.
 
#15 ·
You have been busy "almost" buying cars it seems

For the record..you can go to any Cadillac dealer and they can give you the warranty work that has been done on the car

Thats worth a lot more..IMO...than the carfax services etc
Of dealing with a car that has been out of warranty for a long time poses a challenge...as GM does not like the dealers like Mercedes or Lexus, for example, where any dealer can see work that any dealer has done to the car...warranty or not

And unfortunately...there cars don't get taken the dealer, after factory warranty, in the same numbers as Mercedes and Lexus owners do

But anyway....keep seaching...you will find the car you want

Interesting thing..on the 18 wheels...my car has them and the performance brakes, steering etc.and the 3.23 rear end...I don't there was another one offered on AWD V8s?


Anyway...I really didn't care about the performance whatever...I just thought the 18" wheels look a lot better than the 17's do

Also my understanding is the performance brakes are not much different from the standard brakes...though I can't say from experience as both cars I was considering had them


Warren
 
#16 ·
I find a lot of differences between my wife's (ex-Hertz) RWD 1SE and my AWD 1SG. But that is a much bigger difference in trim level & setup.

I have to observe that the rental package rides softer but doesn't handle quite as well. It does have all the upgraded leather & wood trim, NAV, etc. than is normally more rare on the 1SE. For half MSRP at 1-year old, it has proved to be a good value. Her car had around 10,000 miles on it when she bought it in early 2008.
 
#17 ·
I would imagine the typical Cadillac buyer would prefer the softer ride of the 1SE to the firmess( perhaps harshness) of the 1SG AWD

It seems they were going after the germans with the set up of the 1SG

I was driving the other day and was thinking what is this car lacking to have hit its targeted competition

I think the chassis needed to be more rigid maybe to handle the stiffness in the suspension..maybe more suspension travel..??

I am no engineer...but I would think that these guys could dis assemble one of the german and try to understand why they ride and drive the way they do...and frankly even from a basic level, without the need for $1000 each shocks

Its much better in that regard than the older bodystyle..but the car still makes some sounds and creaks over bumps that it should not when chasing german competition

The brakes also needed to be stepped up...the "performance brakes" IMO are not performance brakes. The steering is pretty good and light years ahead of the older car

Warren
 
#19 ·
Woo-hoo!

Okay, the guy who has the white diamond 1SF, he's not in the hurry he intimated he was, which is cool, 'cause I'll be back in-town by Saturday.

Being he still owes on it, we're going to get a third-party release from the bank, and with a "significant" downpayment, we'll get the car, a bill-of-sale, and the title when it comes in. I'm cool with that. I'll be even cooler with it after I put it up on jack stands and roll around underneath for several minutes.

So, come my commute, Monday, I should have a new-to-me ride. Bitchin'! I hope the Bose system in there has the performance it indicates it should with the speaker setup it has. I love the idea of speakers in the tops of the seatbacks. Clever.

Also quite appealing is having an MP3-compatible 6-disc changer in the dash. I'm not certain there are six discs of songs I like... The way I ripped my CD collection, I manage to put about 125 songs on a disc, and 750 songs is a bunch.

Load it up one time, choose 'random', done...forever.

Looks like I'll shop for a Lock Pick. I want to be able to use my NAV while crawling along, or have my wife key in stuff while we're in-motion.
 
#20 ·
Congrats! I had the same MP3 plan for my car until I got my XM radio activated. Now I'm hooked on it. Oh well, the MP3 is still a good backup. If you have a concert DVD or a CD recorded in DTS you will be blown away by the stereo system. I love to play The Eagles Hell Freezes Over DVD in my car. I have heard The Police have a good CD recorded in DTS...I'll have to find that one. I got my used lockpick yesterday. I will install it after my service appointment tomorrow.
 
#21 ·
Ooooh, yeah...a DVD full of MP3's. Just a plain ol' 4.7G one would hold pretty much everything I'd ever want to hear.

Oh, but would an audio DVD play while the car is moving? I like to think it has the capability to shut off video, independent of audio.
 
#22 ·
Yes, the screen just changes from the picture to "picture not available while driving" when you put the car in gear the music keeps playing. I wonder if the player can read burned DVD's...never thought of that...I was talking about purchased concert DVD's.
 
#26 ·
Excellent!

One thing about my wife's RX300 bugs the crap out of me...to bypass the NAV so it can be used in-motion requires five touchscreen "touches", after getting to a menu screen, and it resets with every ignition cycle.

I'm definitely going to check the NAV disc. I know the updated one for my wife's car wasn't inexpensive, but it was finally dated enough to make updating worthwhile.
 
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