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I saw this 03 DeVille at a used car dealership. Can anyone help?

1821 Views 15 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  Lewis98272
I found this 03 DeVille at a small dealership. It's suppose to have no mechanical problems and only 73,000 miles for $3900. Also advertised as one owner only. Does this sound right? Is it possible to change the odometer on the dashboard? I saw the car on the lot but didn't have time to test drive it. The sales guy said the rims are original Cadillac rims and it did have the Cadillac symbol on the rims. Has anyone seen those rims on Devilles before? The paint color didn't look like pearl white but it's suppose to be. Am I incorrect or is that the pearl white. Lastly, the sales guy did put the keys in the ignition but car didn't start, battery sounded like it was dead. The guy wanted to go get his jumper machine but I told him I didn't have much time. But he said this does happen when a car is sitting in the cold weather and not being started for a while. Does that sound right? Thanks for all of your help!!!

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Those are not stock DeVille wheels. (At least from what I can tell in the thumbnail. The picture keeps disappearing for some reason right after the page loads.) You can put a Cadillac center cap in lots of wheels. $3,900 for a 73000mi 2003 DeVille seems suspiciously low to me, but I live in a market where they're in relatively high demand. If the car has been sitting for a long time it's a possibility that the battery could have died, but that takes quite a while.
Those are absolutely not Cadillac rims. Pretty irrelevant though, as base Deville rims aren't in the least bit rare or sought after. The Vogue tires are definitely not a plus.

Not a bad price if it's in excellent condition.
Not OE wheels. And most people call it pearl white when in fact it's white diamond.
Not Cadillac wheels and it's White Diamond - a 3-part tricoat/clearcoat system.

The paint code is on the RPO sticker under the spare tire cover.

https://www.paintscratch.com/cgi-bin/select-color-1a.cgi
I found this 03 DeVille at a small dealership. It's suppose to have no mechanical problems and only 73,000 miles for $3900. Also advertised as one owner only. Does this sound right?
Certainly possible

Is it possible to change the odometer on the dashboard?
Anything is "possible", but unlikely in todays environment.

But he said this does happen when a car is sitting in the cold weather and not being started for a while. Does that sound right?
Rather common on used car lots. Most likely an old battery so plan on replacing it.
That is a low price for year and mileage especially at a dealer. I would be very cautious...
Pretty irrelevant though, as base Deville rims aren't in the least bit rare or sought after. The Vogue tires are definitely not a plus.
I love vogues on a White Diamond Deville. Great look. But that's just me.
When it comes to eighth gens, blades are where it's at... I wish I could get my hands on a set.
Thanks for all of your help!! I guess I just have one more question. I really think these cars are gorgeous but I don't think I will be able to afford a car that will always run into problems. From you guys experience, do the Devilles require a lot of unexpected work done? I'm not good with fixing cars so I'd have to go to a mechanic. Thanks again for your help!
Simply have the serial number run through Carfax. That will verify mileage plus accident history, inspections and number of owners..
I had an 03 DeVille almost just like this. Fully loaded for a base model. (Rear side impact air bags, xm, parking sensors, memory package, chrome rims, heated seats, homelink, white diamond paint, Navigation, sunroof, later installed the wood steering wheel from a rear ended DeVille DTS). Had that car for several years, put 100k miles on it and sold it last July with 140k miles. The only thing I had to do to that car in that entire time was sparkplugs, serpentine belt, plenum intake seal, brakes and tires. Of course gas and air filters for the engine and HVAC every 15k. Didn't leak a drop of oil, and I kid you not, didn't use a drop of oil between oil changes. Of course I ignored the oil life monitor and strictly used 5w-30 full synthetic Mobil one every 3k miles. Sold it and but a low mileage ETC Eldorado 2002, and I've spent 4500 dollars on repairs so far and counting. The DeVille definitely treated me better.
....................................................The DeVille definitely treated me better.
As we see in this site every day, most of these cars are relatively inexpensive to own/maintain. Some are absolute money pits, and those are what this forum is for.

Lewis, Your Deville experience closely mirrors my 2002 STS - relatively inexpensive to maintain, 6,500 miles to the quart of oil, and NO oil leaks. For the flip side, a same year SLS near here that I help to maintain, is a rolling mechanical and electrical disaster.

jxjaxj, In light of all the above, and your admission that the car would be dealer/shop maintained, I would not recommend the Deville. Have you ever considered a Ford Panther body car - Crown Vic or Town Car ?
From you guys experience, do the Devilles require a lot of unexpected work done?
They are no different than any other car. One is trouble free and the other is one problem after another. Other than normal wear items, mine has been relatively trouble free. It helps a lot if it was maintained properly from the start.
I been also looking into the town car because of its reliability but I just always loved the look of the DeVille. I do read though that it kind of gets costly to maintain Devilles after it goes past 100 k miles. I want one a lot but I'm just trying to be realistic if I can own a car that will run into problems frequently, especially since me and my girlfriend share one car, whichever one we decide to buy. Also, is it basically a hit or miss buying a used DeVille from those used car dealerships? You obviously can't get a honest answer from any of them about current car problems or anything. Thanks again for all of your help! I really appreciate it.
When buying a car, any car, from a used car lot other than a major dealership you have to fight for anything other than a Golden 90 Warranty (90 seconds or 90 feet, whichever occurs first).
Any and every 'Used Car With 100,000 + Miles' is a 'Hit And Miss'. DeVilles, and any other Northstar car is reliable, comfortable, fuel efficient, and an iconic American image. Your looking at a car that cost $45,000.00 dollars brand new. Same thing with a town car. You can't expect because the price of the car now is $3,900.00 dollars that it's going to be a 'Cheap-Luxury' car. Those two words never go togather. Now I said that I only had to do Normal maintaince on my 03 DeVille. What I didn't say was the price... The brakes alone from the dealer --just pads and rotors--- were over $700.00 dollars. Not to mention that I had to have the two rear rotors shipped from some dealership up north that just happened to have some laying on their shelves. I installed the brakes myself. I did all my work on that car myself. With OEM parts. The battery cost me close to 300.00 bucks, the plenum cost me 50. The plugs and belt cost me 100.00. The tires costed me 1450.00. Now I understand most people don't have 'car savyness' and can't do their own work for various reasons, so they rely on dealers, and private shops. And if you go that route and desire a 'real' cadillac with OEM parts and not a mix match of other parts with a Cadillac emblem on the hood, now your paying 700 dollars for brake parts AND 350.00 dollars PER AXLE to have those 700 dollar brakes installed. So yeah, you can buy a 12 year old luxury car for 3900 bucks, with only 70,000 miles on it, but stuff breaks. That car and any other 12 year old low mileage car has been sitting. Not drivin very often. Take my ETC for example. Sat for a year or 2 at a time between drives. I've had to go in and replace almost every single rubber component under that hood and chassis. Here's a list of what I've had to do for a 6,000 dollar Luxury Coupe.
1. Cooling System (Radiator, Hoses, clamps, water pump, thermostat, cross over) :$1,550.87
2. Charging system (Battery, alternator): $637.89

3. Suspension system OEM. (2 struts, 2 shocks, 4 springs, 2 sway bars, 4 sway bar connectors, and every bushing in between) about 3,750 bucks.
4. Engine Reseal (Valve Covers, timing cover, oil pan, and rear main) 1200.00 bucks.
5. Ignition and air induction system (Spark plugs, cassettes, plenum, intake seals) 531.79
6. Tires and brakes (4 rotors, pads, 4 tires, and 1 caliper) 1500.00 bucks
And then all the accessories I've installed (window tint, xm radio with a factory head unit, upgraded digital onstar, 1/4 top biarritz mock) almost 2 grand tied up in that. I'm afraid to add up all those numbers, and most of this I've had done by myself and a friend who owns a small shop who helped with some discounts for our long time friendship. All I know is that I now have a fully restored 2002 ETC and I've put almost 12,000 miles on it (and of course stuff is still breaking - HVAC Blend door actuator, wheel bearing etc.) And these too shall be replaced in the near future. But as much trouble as this car has been for me, I knew from the start what I was getting myself into. The body and interior were/are immaculate, but the original owners didn't know how to store a car, and didn't know that you had to replace items based on time as well as mileage. Not just mileage. The Eldorado sits under a car cover in my air conditioned garage here in Texas most of the time. As a daily driver, I drive a Lexus 2012 RX350 AWD with 17,000 miles on the clock. If you want a cheap luxury car, buy an acura.
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