Honestly, is a Northstar Cadillac a wise purchase for a ~20 year old?

[Cadillacboy]

For anyone who thinks Cadillac is a grandpa car and a young driver should drive a sports car. Do they ever consider average age for the sport cars owners ?
Porsche owners are above 40,Ferrari owners well past 45 and Lamborghini should be same neighborhood as well.
I don't care anyone can buy any car at any age .Should I say more any lol
Back to the thread, I think the best looking STS models are around 98-04 . For that money I mean 7 Grand, I would recommend you to buy those years.I came from '96 to '00 and there is almost a night and day difference . Gauges are nicer and much better looking,seats are much smoother and comfortable , ride is out of this world . I can gladly put same comments for lade as well.
May be what makes me say that I bought a car that I shouldn't . Because that car was a trouble bag so to say .Perhaps, had I known this site earlier prior to buying that car , I wouldn't have bought it .Thankfully my current is excellent and I just love it .
You can also consider FWB but Northstar is a nice engine when you rev it up you can get much better what I stress on .
Anyway, good luck for your choice and hope you will enjoy it

[bhoppes]

If it was me and I had $7000 to spend on a car, I would buy a 2000 or newer Seville which does NOT require Premium fuel. Also they are more advanced after 2000, so reliability and dependability will go up because it will be a newer car. You also have a better chance of finding a car that is around the mileage you are looking for.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I'm not concerned about the proper age of a Cadillac owner, nor have I ever been. I've been driving "old farts cars" as long as I've owned cars and it doesn't bother me one bit, I think matching a car with a certain age group is juvenile and close minded, it's stupid.

I've heard that the 2000 Northstar was improved in the areas of reliability and efficency, that sounds like it's been much improved since the motor came out back in '93, am I correct? If I were to go newer than 2000, I'd be going Eldorado. The 00+ Deville is ugly in my book...too bloated and rounded and the 00+ Seville (which dates back to '98) never did anything for me. They lost the sharp, european lines the gorgeous 92-97's had..they kinda remind me of Nissans or Toyotas.

Cadillacboy, yes I've considered the FWB, and as a matter of fact, I still am. I've owned a Roadmaster, so I know what those B and D bodies are like, but I'll have to drive another to see if I like 'em or not. I've discussed those with my dad and he didn't say no to them, but they're not his top choice, nor are they mine right now...too big and too simple...Cadillacs should have more gadgets than those do, also, I wish they had more in the way of instrumentation...I'm sick of cars that only have a fuel guage and speedo, I want a tach, a speedo, temp guage and fuel guage, atleast.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Just thought of something.

The "good" Northstar came out in 2000, 2000+ Eldorados are still over 10k, whereas the 2000+ Park Avenue Ultras are below 10k, that's enough to push me in the Buick.

[Jesda]

Any luxury car will cost plenty to own and maintain. PLENTY. You need to have the means or have the tools.

[Ranger]

I've been driving "old farts cars" as long as I've owned cars

Hey,hey

've heard that the 2000 Northstar was improved in the areas of reliability and efficency, that sounds like it's been much improved since the motor came out back in '93, am I correct?

2000 runs on regular, got roller followers and longer head bolts I believe.

I want a tach, a speedo, temp guage and fuel guage,

Seville, Eldo, DHS & DTS all equipped as mentioned above.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

(To what Jesda said) Well in that case, Buick. It's the more logical choice for somebody of my age and seeing as how I'll be paying for everything myself, and even though I work full time, I'd like to save up for the apartment, which is the next major purchase.

I had to wash a '95 Park Avenue the other day at work, and I almost bought one of those over my deVille, and the entire time I'm in that car, I'm thinking "boy, I really should have bought one of these, so cheap to own, cheap to run, reliable, efficent"..the only thing my deVille has over that car is the additional power and the exterior design, along with some little stuff. Basically the Buick would be the more logical choice, and the Cadillac is a dream car...for now.

[ELDOminator]

Hey, I got a 97 ETC with 101k miles for 5 grand at the age of 17. I am mechanically inclined, but I still say: Why be so darned afraid of the Northstar?! What is there more to go wrong with this car then others? Sure they have a lot more electronics, but it's rare, if at all that any of the "brains" of the car kicks the bucket. If it's electronic, it means you gotta replace the spark plug wires. That counts as electronics right? Other then that, these Cadillacs have just the same things to go wrong as any other car! What I've gone through is a window switch, a trunk pull down, an A/C repair (which I didn't realise was bad when I bought it...) and I think thats it. Obviously I've done brakes and tires. But all cars need those eventually. What could really go wrong that you, yourself, couldn't fix? As long as you're not "afraid" of turning a wrench, or getting your hands dirty, you can do almost anything you'd need to on this car. Almost all repairs that you might have to do is just as easy as an oil change: Untwist old part; twist on new part. There you have it! (A FSM helps!)

[davesdeville]

I got a N* car at 17 years old, they're not that expensive to maintain/repair if you can DIY, hell I wrecked mine, transferred the steering box, trans, and engine seperately onto a new subframe and replaced the oil pan as well for a total cost of around $220. But if I had to have a shop do it the bill would've been well into the 5 digit range. If you can't work on it yourself go L67 or Mark VIII.

[TripleblackETC]

I say if you can afford it, buy it. Things never go as planned with cars anyways. If you buy a new car, your making payments on it. If you buy a used car, you do maintenance and repairs on it. You're going to have to dump money into any car you have one way or another, why not put it into something you really want.

I'm on my first Northstar and I love it. I'm only 3 years older than you, work on the weekends while going to school and have no problem keeping up on repairs and maintanence.

I say go for what you originally wanted.