[dleone]

Hi all,

I've been luring here for a while since I would like to get ourselves our first CTS wagon. Now I found a deal at a local dealer, but I'm not too sure if it's kosher... here it is:
- 3.6L RWD premium wagon 2010, 4975miles, asking $37,999. The thing is, the carfax history only begins in 1/2011 with the 4975 miles entry, followed by an emissions test failed and passed on the same day in January. In any case, I'm wondering what's going on here - given this is a 2010 model, it should have a history in 2009, or at least in 2010, right?
I don't want to put down that much money into something that has a hidden history. Aside from that, the car is pretty much my dream car.... this makes the decision making more difficult, obviously...
I would very much appreciate any comments.
Thanks in advance,
Best

 

[chagrin falls]

Don't ever rely on Experian/Carfax for a complete or correct report! Any GM dealer can run the last eight digits of a vehicle's vin and get a run-down on the car's history from the day it arrived at the selling GM dealer. It is the best way to go in my opinion and hopefully help in your descision. If you want, forward the last 8 digts and I will get a report for you. Good luck!

 

[dleone]

thanks so much. I wasn't aware of this. Here's the vin number: 1G6DP8EV7A0146898

Thanks so much in advance

 

[chagrin falls]

You're welcome-I will leave you a message on Monday as to what the car is all about!

 

[b4z]

There are lots of new 2010s left. Go to autotrader.com and there is a loaded wagon brand new for sale for $11,000 off at harry's cadillac in Asheville, NC.

 

[dleone]

Thanks for the idea. I had checked for this as I would prefer a new 2010. Turns out there's only 4 2010 CTS 3.6L premium wagons in a 250 mile radius from the SF bay area. Cheapest is listed for $49.7k, then they go up to $57k. Even with the current dealer rebate of $7k (which will expire on 2/28), I doubt I can get one for less than $40k (including tax). I am missing something here? Is there any chance a dealer will sell significantly under invoice price? I had been under the impression that the invoice price is more or less the low end (+/-... there's hold back too). Does this apply for last year's models?

 

[b4z]

Some dealers will take an actual loss on a vehicle occassionally. i paid 33,900 for a 46570 srx last february. it was on a brand new 2009 that had been on the lot for 18 months. invluded in that price was 4000 for early termination of my other srx and 1000 for being a pontiac owner. so the dealer probably still made the holdback.
but dealers will frequently dip into the holdbac to get a car gone and hope to get the buyers trade in.

 

[Limerockracer]

dleone,

Not exactly apples to apples...but here is what I paid for my 2010 SportWagon.

I picked up a 2010 3.6L Performance Pkg wagon (not a Premium Pkg) in October for $33k. Car had 13,xxx miles. SportWagon was equipped with Nav, but no sunroof. Mine was formerly a GM vehicle that was sold at action to the dealer I purchased from. There were two other Performance wagons for sale at the time with fewer miles, one with S/R and one with Performance and Premium. Both were in the $36k price range.

Expand your search beyond 250 miles to see what else is available. I flew from NY to Ohio to pick up mine. If you know what is available you will have ammunition to deal.

Good luck with your purchase. I love my wagon.

Bill

 

[chagrin falls]

hey deleone-your CTS Premium was delivered to Coast Cadillac-3399 E. Willow Street-Long Beach-562-595-6076 on May 15th 2010 with one mile on the odometer. Looks like it was a "Program Car" which means it was used by a Cadillac factory rep, vp, or whatever. When he/she was finished using it, the car was turned in and sold at auction on 1-10-2011 in the Pacific Zone Region. For some reason it failed an emission test at 4,975 miles. The reason for failure was corrected and the vehicle passed California emissions at 4,978 miles. The car is stated as like new with absolutely no damage or problems. Sounds like a great car to me. Hope this helps you!

 

[droptopron]

You should get at least $10K off any '10 that is still on a dealer's lot.

 

[dleone]

Thanks everybody for replying. A big, special thanks to chagrin falls for looking up the history. I ended up buying this car. My very first Cadillac. I'm very happy. The car feels like brand-new. Still has that new leather smell. It was quite a few tiny little, little scratches all around the body, but that's just normal for any car that has been around for a year I guess. So far, we have only put about 50 miles on the car, but it feels great. I'm a little overwhelmed by all the options and extras, but I'm just taking my time to learn all the little things.
Thanks again to everybody for the helpful comments!

 

[rkp]

Congrats! Enjoy the car.