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

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

I've been thinking, let's say I find a nice, low mile (>100k) 1993-95 STS (my favorite Caddy ever) in great condition for $7000 when I have about $9000 saved in the bank for a new car. Is a Northstar Cadillac of this magnitude and age a wise choice for a car that is being purchased by a 20 year old who is trying to get a car that's gonna be cheap to own and reliable? Or would I be walking on thin ice with this purchase? Cadillacs tend to be expensive to fix and maintain, compared with other cars, and there's more stuff to go bad, all the electronic goodies and whatnot. Now my Cadillac is relatively simple, as far as newer Caddies go, but compared to other cars from that time period, it's quite complex.

Now I've had pretty good luck with mine, the majority of the stuff that's gone bad is regular maintenance stuff, but I've heard loads of horror stories about many, many things going wrong on the newer Northstar Cadillacs. So would it be in my best financial interests to wait off on the Northstar Cadillac I so desire until I am more financially established or just splurge on it now?

So basically, let's say I find a near mint, low mile, '93-'95 STS that's been owned by a person who's kept up on the maintenance religiously for $7,000...or a near mint, lower mile 97-99 Riviera or Park Avenue Ultra for $9,000, which car would be the better buy for a 20 year old who's very concerned about saving as much money as possible for the future and a house?

Now granted the theoretical STS is $2,000 cheaper, yes, but it might need $2,000 worth of work or maintenance in the upcoming future. Also, there's a lot more to go wrong on the STS than there is the Ultra or Riviera.

The hardest part is trying to find an STS like I described, all of the ones I like (1993-97) are getting to be over 100k, and one of my priorites on my next car is to get one with under 100k on it...preferably 60-80k. Otherwise it's hard to find any nice STS or Northstar Eldorado or Deville Concours with under 100k on it, for under $9,000.

[aamusls06]

I'm your age and I own a Northstar Caddy. I feel as long as you can work on it yourself you will save alot of money. That's what I found out personally. I'll never go back though. I came from the 4.5 motor to the 4.6 N*. My next Caddy will be the 2000 and up model Seville. Honestly, my only problem is that I can't work on my car right now because college takes up too much time, and I have no where to work on it. You can't just drop an engine in the dorm parking lot...lol.

It's up to you on that....If you can foot the chance, time, and have the experience go for it.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Well I'm not mechanically inclined, so working on it myself is beyond me. I've got family that is mechanically inclined, two uncles worked for Chevy dealers in the '80s and '90s, but the Northstar is much differnt than what they're used to tho, and they told me they don't wanna work on any Northstars.

Luckily, I work in a dealership that is one in a chain of dealers, one of the other dealers is a Cadillac/Pontiac/GMC dealer. I could get any work done there at a discount on parts and labor.

[1997BlackETC]

I suggest keeping the deville, those are bullet proof cars, I have a '93 and it still runs great, never lets me down. I also have a '97 eldorado that I bought around a year ago for 5 grand with 75,000 miles. I'd say if you can find a deal like the one I got go for it and then you will have some money left over for repairs should it need them. Just make sure to check the car over carefully before buying, test drive it for a while and then check for codes in the computer, make sure its not overheating and there are no bubbles coming up from the overflow tank indicating a head gasket problem, maybe even check the coolant for signs of carbon contamination (get it analyzed) to cover yourself, make sure the trans shifts ok. If all this checks out, go for it and then sell your deville. If you follow these steps, I think you will be ok, once you have the car just make sure to change the coolant every 3 years or so and maintain it well. Just dont rush into something and keep driving you deville in the meantime until the right one comes along at the right price. Follow ebay and check your local car classified magazines. The biggest mistake you could make would be to pay 7 grand or more for one that has over 100k miles and has existing problems that you overlook. If you are unsure how to check for problems with these cars and you think you found a good one, see if you can get a dealer mechanic from the Cadillac affiliate you work for to check it out for you and pay him 50 to 100 bucks or something.

[GreenMachine]

depends on how much you can afford truely, and what parts you put on it. The key is not going to a shop where as soon as they see a Cadillac, the see $$$. Happened to me a good year, wanted 60 bucks for a gatorback belt, 90 to put it on!, got the same belt at a parts store for 25 and an hour of my time later the belt was changed.

The biggest expense the car asked for is brakes, tires (any car will ask for that), and a waterpump...if I was a little wiser when I first went hunting for waterpump info I could have done it myself.

The suspension components can be a bit pricey if they are active suspension, otherwise just the regular stuff (with auto level) isn't really that bad.

If you can get the work done cheap, its a great car. But remember it is very old at this point and as any car ages it runs up the bills quicker, I personally think 7 grand can get you something newer (7 is kinda high for that age caddy I would think) with a similar power train, like an 4.0 Northstar Aurora and it wont have the expensive stuff at the corners. If it has all its service history documented and it looks like the big expensive stuff has been replaced, then it is worth a consideration.

[pimpin88]

Yea, 7 grand is definitely high considering my 01 SLS with 87k miles was $6700.

[mtflight]

$7K is a lot, for that age. I have a feeling it would be closer to $5K.

I paid $8995 2 years ago, for a 98 ETC with 68K. It now has 101K.

I say the big thing is the cooling system maintenance, and if you could get a garage-kept it would mean the car aged less (less exposure to extremes which age the rubber/plastic components).

I did purchase an aftermarket warranty, which I've only used once. It cost about $1600, which may be pricey since I've only used them for a $450 claim so far and only have 5K miles to go on it. That should speak about the reliability of the car. It did help with the peace of mind, as my main concern was headgaskets (from reading this forum). I see that problem may be about 1-2% on the forum, possibly less than that, which means out in the real world it may even be less than that.

My biggest expenses have been the blower motor fan (it was under warranty but I R&Rd myself for $200), the radiator ($70 on eBay, OEM old stock!) since the side tank sprung a leak, and the generator which was the recent one which I paid $300 and the warranty co. paid $450 (included an 07 DTS loaner for a day). The reason I paid so much was the warranty co maxes out at $75/hr for labor and my Caddi dealership was a whopping $125/hr.

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

Originally Posted by 1997BlackETC

I suggest keeping the deville, those are bullet proof cars, I have a '93 and it still runs great, never lets me down.If all this checks out, go for it and then sell your deville. If you follow these steps, Just dont rush into something and keep driving you deville in the meantime until the right one comes along at the right price.

The deVille is going, one way or another. That car is at the point where it's nickle and diming me, and my parents and I have decided the time is coming to get something new. I have been consistently putting $150-$200 a week away in my bank account towards a new car, I believe right now I'm at about $2700, which is pretty good considering I've been saving up for about 4 months or so. So yes, I'm in no direct hurry to get something new, but it's my next big purchase, as I will be buying a new car before I move out. Honestly, I'd like to get the new car by December '07, I feel that is a plausible date, at 150 a week, times 4 weeks in a month, times 10 months...that's about $6000 give or take a few hundred for various stuff that I may need to do. Now with the $2700 I've already got, that's about $8700..give or take a few hundred. I can buy a pretty nice car for $9000..whether it be a Cadillac, Buick, Nissan, Pontiac or what have you.

But yeah, if I do somehow get my parents to approve the Northstar, which would be very hard, I know there are many things you have to check for when you're test driving them to make sure you're not gonna buy a soon to be opened can of worms.

[RunningOnEMT]

its all about what you can afford, honestly.

I get shit all the tim for driving a CTS-V at 25. But hey i can comfortably afford it, so who's to say any age is too young for any car. If you can afford it witout taking handouts from mommy and daddy ... more power to you

just evaluate all the costs, fuel, regular maintenance, and whatever mods you plan on doing.


just have fun, my motto is do it now while you can before you have a house and rugrats to worry about, thats why i'm gonna have my V paid off before i buy a house, all part of my 4 year plan

HAVE FUN!!!!!!!

[blb]

'93 to '95 STS's with < 100,000 miles around here are $1500 to $3000. I would strongly recommend NOT purchasing one of these unless you own a complete set of tools, feel comfortable doing your own repairs, and have plenty of spare time. There are many better choices for a young person who does not want to work on his own car and is concerned about saving money for the future.