Buying a Used V Checklist

I asked the same question when I was going to look at a specific V. ;-)

I had studied the forum thoroughly at that point, and have a good understanding of the mechanical aspects of an automobile, so may have a head start.

A lot of it has to do with the mileage of the vehicle. Stuff wears out over time and mileage, so you need to be checking to make sure it was maintained properly and that items were replaced as needed.

Check for how hard it was driven. These cars beg to be driven hard, and that wears them out. Listen for a whine from the diff, for clunks in the transmission, for clunks in the suspension, for a firm break pedal, the way the doors shut, and for rattles in the interior. How is the steering wheel side to side... is it tight?

If you have any of these, those would indicate that the integrity of the parts is beginning to diminish.

Look at the door jams, the trunk, the engine bay, all the seams in the body panels, and make sure everything is square. That will tell you that the body integrity is good. Listen for wind noise when you drive it, that helps you understand how straight it is, and if the rubber seals are OK and doing their job.

Check the fluids... are the clear and show that they are fresh?

Again... all of this is a factor of mileage. Only you can tell if it seems normal to the car.

Get a carfax and get a dealer to run the service history on the car! There is a wealth of information there, and it helps you understand and evaluate what you are seeing in person first hand.

If you are not comfortable with all of this, grab someone to go with you. It is hard to be objective, when the emotional thrill of buying the car is affecting you (it was for me).

I'll bet there are guys here that will help you, if you asked.

Maybe look up my old thread... there was specific items suggested in it, that you could use as a checklist.

check for vibrations during shutoff... motor mounts could be bad. The stock mounts are complete junk and it seems people don't get much life out of them. My 07 with 30k already has shot mounts and I'm still waiting to get them replaced by dealer because of nationwide backorder. Lots of others don't even get 30k out of the stock mounts. Sometimes you can visually see when they are shot because of the green fluid that will oooze out. In my case, my mounts looked brand new and they were still shot according to the dealer.

Also, my 07 didn't have the diff vent tube update installed. I noticed fluid on the diff itself and a few drops on my garage floor. Brought it in and they said it wasn't a seal but just needed the vent tube update. Fixed!

When you find the V you want, have the dealer or a local cadillac dealership run a GM VIS report for you so that you can see the service history of everything done to the car. That is great info to have and can tell you a lot about the car. In my case, I found out the diff was replaced at 14k (whining was what I was told) and again at 28k. So even the 06-07s get diffs replaced due to noise (haven't heard a case of them exploding). In early 08 they came out with the latest revision diff. I have yet to hear of someone with the latest revision complain about noise or exploding a diff. Mine is quiet as can be.

Well since I just got my 07 this past January I can give you a few things I learned. I actually purchased the car from Elder Ford in MI and drove it back to CT. They did not clean the car up very well but they were ok to deal with. My car has some issues but I hope to have them all fixed under warranty around here. The car I got was serviced at Lindsey (8-10 pages of maintenance) and appeared to have everything for common problems fixed. I had hoped since it was taken care at the highly regarded dealer that it would be good. But now that I am driving it regularly problems are making themselves more visible. I have some clunking from the transmission I think I noticed some wine from the diff and it appears the engine is leaking oil and nav buttons are warn. This car only has 43K on it. I still love the car and hope when I get it to the dealer things will be made right under warranty. I really should have done some more research but still don't regret getting it it was a decent price for an 07 and is still under warranty. I just hope it doesn't take long to fix everything.

Re: What to "watch for" when buying a used CTS-V

I am actively looking for a CTS V and asked this question, as have others. I created a list of items of advice that appear helpful. It is in first person, since it was copied directly out of the posts, but it is anonymous. I've done a bit of editing on the list to reduce redundancy and extraneous comments:

• My advice is do all the normal used car checks, but specifically for the V: check the shocks for oil residue which indicates they are going. When you shut it off check for big vibration/weird noise (some is normal with the stock fw but not excessive) which would indicate motor mounts are shot (you can also check them for leaking fluid). While driving listen for diff whine during light accel/decel, you'll know it if it's there, it whines and typically goes away when you press the clutch. Listen/feel for parade clunk (clunking when shifting/working the clutch/reverse and 1st gear starts, etc.) or overly vibrating shifter.

Remember that the V does not have a caddy feel. It has engine vibrations, it has a clunky drivetrain, it's a hot rod not a bmw, it isn't very smooth in general and it isn't very easy to drive smoothly. You get used to all of this as an owner but it is different from other cars I've owned, it's not for everyone.

• I'd support listening to the diff while in 6th gear under a very mild acceleration at between 45-50 MPH. A little whine isn't bad, IMHO, but a screeching whine would be a red flag.

If the engine shimmies/shakes at shutdown, that would mean motor mounts are shot.

Most of everything else is what you'd check on any other car made: clutch wear (get going 50-ish MPH in 6th gear, push clutch in, let motor rev slightly, then let clutch out to see if you get any slip), brakes, shocks, tire wear, dents, chips, cracked lenses/windshield, cigarette burns on the seats, etc.

• Check the clutch fluid before you drive it. I just had mine bled during standard service and it made a huge difference in operation, pedal feel and overall smoothness. And that is at 27,000 miles.

• Don't let some people scare you off with talk about replacing all the bushings, motor mounts and broken differentials. Remember this is an open forum and my 12 year old could register and post his thoughts. If you're just going to drive it like a normal human being, you'll be fine with just going over the normal used car items (leaks, etc.). When you buy it, just don't launch it so hard that the wheels spin and start hopping and don't bang second gear and your diff should be fine.

1. Drive the car at 45 mph in 4th gear and listen for a loud whine coming from under the back seat/trunk. Some noise is OK, just not excessively loud.
2. Feel for any engine vibration around 2000 rpm, its a sign of a bad clutch/flywheel.
3. Listen to the motor while idling. Listen through the wheel wells to see if there is any knocking coming from the bottom end of the motor, most do it a little but a loud knock is bad and usually a sign of a well 'used' motor.
4. Look for signs of leaks. Most can be fixed easliy by replacing seals that are all mostly less than $25 each. I'd be wary if I saw a leak coming from inside the bell housing as it's a sign of a leaking rear main seal or trans input seal, both are not quick fixes and require dropping the trans to fix

• Also slip the clutch in 1st and reverse a few times and see if there is chatter or clunkiness, it should be minimal. Look for build up of rubber on the rear wheel well/bumper area. Work the sunrooof, seat heaters, change the cd, and if the g-meter reads over 1.00 ask him what he was doing.

• Rev the motor to about 1200 rpm and start letting the clutch out really slow and hold it half way engaged. There should be no chatter or jerking of the car.

• The 'g' meter is accessed with the steering wheel controls. Find the button on the wheel that changes the information on the left hand information center. Go to until it says 'g' in the middle. I would say anything over .80 in either direction is more than normal driving. But this doesn't mean the car has been beat on or is in bad shape, it most likely means the owner used the car for what it was meant for.

• If we assumed your budget was $25k and lower, a nice '06/'07 would insure that you had the best differential. In addition to a mostly-stock V, you might want to improve the shifter.

• The thing about the OEM shifter is that it's rather rubbery and lacks a certain crispness that I, for one, prefer. I have a B&M shifter, but they're pretty rare right now, and you probably won't find one very easily. Lots and lots of guys have the UUC shifter which, though pricier than the B&M, is quiet and works great. A few guys have the Katech shifter, and they swear it's also very good. Within the last six months of so, one of the members here (PISNUOFF aka Brian) as begun offering to rework the stock shifter. I'm told that the result is truly magnificent, and you can't go wrong with the price he charges, either.

• A lot (though not all by any means) of the '04/'05 cars have received the improved differentials via warranty work ... I have for one. I believe the '06s came with an improved diff right out of the factory, so you'd have no worries there. Seems right now the '06/'07 models are staying a bit above $20k, and the '04/'05 models are a bit below or right at $20k though for sure they vary all over, but those are rough guidelines.

• The question is, do you plan on racing this car regularly? If no, you have virtually no worries with the original diff. Check the "who here is on their original diff" thread and you will see tons of '04/'05 owners with excess of 100k on their original diff with just occasional whine.

I hope this list proves helpful to others who are looking for a CTS V and look forward to additions to the list.

Happy Holidays!

Mike