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keeping Brougham v. newer Deville

1383 Views 18 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  ReagansRollsRoyce, 
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I've been offered what many people would consider a sweet deal by a relative. '01 DeVille, 75K, well maintained with new head gaskets, on a no-interest installment contract with very low payments until I get out of law school. Total price to pay up to, $9500.

Currently I have an '87 FWB. I love the look and appearance (Cotillion white, white leather, red accents). Underneath it's very clean and has 113K on the clock. It hasn't had a new tranny yet, nor a new radiator, a/c compressor, or alternator, or any kind of engine rebuild. I have, however, dropped a lot of cash on the car...probably $3-4K (part of that because I was naive at first and went to the dealership) on things like front/rear brakes, intake manifold and valve cover gaskets, a carb rebuild, water pump, fan clutch, and heater core.

Some things are starting to go on the FWB: The Torque Converter Clutch solenoid problem, from the posts I've read on here, seems to be starting for me. Also, I've had to move from 5W-30 to 10W-40 oil to prevent the oil pressure light from coming on after traveling at highway speeds.

The practical side of me says to ditch *this* FWB, grab the newer car, and save myself the possible cost of further repairs and the inconvenience of having it as my daily driver. Then I can graduate, get into practice, and save enough from lawyering to buy another old Cadillac, while also having the resources not to use it as a daily driver and be able to fix it up, as DopeStar does with his.

The sentimental side likes the '87, sort of envisioned keeping it, and doesn't want to see it driving around the area with big subwoofers and bling bling rims on it...or worse.

A third option, is, I suppose, to rent a storage garage and put the FWB in there, cutting off the insurance and starting it up and running it a couple of times a week.

Any thoughts on what you'd do if you were in my shoes?

Edit: Part of me also wonders which of the two cars is "cooler"...I realize that's a totally impractical, juvenile way of looking at things...but sometimes the idea of Northstar and new features seems "cooler," other times, classic things like chrome, whitewalls, white leather, and the remanants of tail fins seem "cooler..."
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I~LUV~Caddys8792
I'd stick with the '87, you've spent the money on it and know what to expect. Sure, it's got some minor issues, but those aren't gonna run you $9,500. The older Brougham is a much simpler car, much less to break down, cheaper to own in the long run. But on the other hand, the deVille is a lot more modern and has a lot more toys and gizmos and stuff, which is a big attraction for a lot (myself included). As far as styling goes, I'm all for the Brougham, inside and out..I love the long, formal, upright elegant lines and boudoir interior, it's classical Cadillac elegance at it's finest!

As far as drivetrains go, the Northstar will stomp all over the 307 as far as any sort of performance measurement goes, but I believe the 307 in the end is cheaper to own and maintain (yes, I did see that the N*'s HG's had been already done so that's a big bonus for that deVille) they should post similar mileage around town, but the Northstar will get much better mileage on the highway.
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Good points on the "you know what you've put into it," but I am not a mechanic. I can't do much besides check the oil, rotate the tires, change the air filter, and, if feeling VERY ambitious, change the oil and plugs.

If the a/c ($1400 estimate), radiator ($300-400 estimate), tranny ($1400 estimate) went on the '87 within the next two years, I'll be without a car while it's being repaired in an area with not much mass transit and dropping a lot at once.

Whereas, one hopes, the '01 would hold up without anything major besides regular service for at least a year or two (it's been driven by a 75 year old lawyer, who has 4 Cadillacs and a '69 Catalina convertible, all mint) and I could make the small payments on my student budget, then start paying more as I became employed...not all lawyers are rich by any stretch but most seem to do well enough to make car payments.

I think the Brougham's a better looking car myself, I just wonder if I might be able to save on repairs for a few years and then be in a position to buy another classic that I could afford to keep off the road and pay somebody to fix up for me in phases. Like a '63 convertible.
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G
Look more into the Deville, they have problems. The headgaskets were already done so thats a plus. Since you really haven't done much to your '87 and you admit that you are not very mechanically inclined, it looks like trouble may be coming. I would advise to get rid of the '87 and not buy the '01 opting for something with a better track record for reliability like a Toyota or something. Save yourself a few bucks in gas in the process too. Good luck.
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You'll be sorry if you let her go. You'll wind up making payments on a pretty but delicate car that just can't measure up to what you have now.

If you wind up in a Toyota you'll feel even worse.
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bicentennialcadillac said:
You'll be sorry if you let her go. You'll wind up making payments on a pretty but delicate car that just can't measure up to what you have now.

If you wind up in a Toyota you'll feel even worse.
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Agree on the Toyota. Over my dead body.

It's not that I can't afford the repairs, more that they're becoming annoying as it's my only car. Nor do I care about gas mileage, otherwise I would not have bought a Cadillac in the first place. I will certainly pay for repairs to continue driving a Cadillac. It is almost an insult to suggest that I even consider a Toyota. Really!

So the new Deville's are "delicate," eh? That I did not know...this bears further inspection and reading up on my part. But I appreciate the "on the face of it" opinion so far.
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R
Having done a read-through of the DeVille forum my general sense is that my '87 has far cheaper parts, and therefore, even though several major things have not yet gone on it, I should try to keep it running for another year.
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I~LUV~Caddys8792
If you choose to get a newer Caddy, get something with the 4.9L. You get most of the modern amenities of the '01 with a rock solid, fairly powerful engine.
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lochenjons
keep the brougham dude! either that or stick it in storage that's what i'd do. happy trails!
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ReagansRollsRoyce said:
I will certainly pay for repairs to continue driving a Cadillac. It is almost an insult to suggest that I even consider a Toyota. Really!
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You come off as someone who is struggling a bit with money right now based on your first post, perhaps not. Anyway between the two Cadillacs you mentioned the Deville is the nicer of the two from a drivers standpoint but will be the more expensive of the two come repairs.
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Destroyer said:
You come off as someone who is struggling a bit with money right now based on your first post, perhaps not. Anyway between the two Cadillacs you mentioned the Deville is the nicer of the two from a drivers standpoint but will be the more expensive of the two come repairs.
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Sorry, I didn't mean I was really insulted, I was being a little sarcastic, but I'm not a huge Toyota fan. I understood that I came off that way, however, which is why I clarified that I could afford it. The real issue was whether the Deville might save me some money in the short run and trips to the mechanic, but when I think about it, short of an engine rebuild the worst things that could happen to my FWB in the next year are not going to be that tough to swing. And if the DeVille costs more and the northstar is as tricky as the other threads suggest, then maybe that engine is not much more worthy of betting on than an old 307.
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B
The "delicate" term was made relative to the Brougham. My DTS is a terrific car, and the Northstar is incredible, but it's wholly incapable of withstanding the kind of punishment you can dish out on one of the older beasts.
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D
Keep the '87. I have an '88 and love it. Granted my primary commute transportation is a motorcycle but when I am on 4 wheels the Caddy is the first choice. Look with an older car yes there is maintenance, but with most older cars the parts are cheaper and the work easier than the newer equivalent. There is no guarantee that a newer car will break down less or less severely than an older car, that is a fact, the true measure is how each is driven and maintained and well if you know the history of your car you know that better than the newer car.

If you are worried about being without a car, get a roadside package on your insurance that covers rental cars. Or have a POS backup car that can be bought for under $1,000 like an old 80's or 90's escort or something. Just in case you have a backup car. Also remember you save money with older cars by the fact that full coverage really is a waste as if you total it out you would be lucky to get much from insurance. That savings easily offsets fuel efficiency differences.

Then again I commute on a motorcycle and it gets 40-45 mpg, so what do I know?!?

Ken
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devilock76 said:
Keep the '87. I have an '88 and love it. Granted my primary commute transportation is a motorcycle but when I am on 4 wheels the Caddy is the first choice. Look with an older car yes there is maintenance, but with most older cars the parts are cheaper and the work easier than the newer equivalent. There is no guarantee that a newer car will break down less or less severely than an older car, that is a fact, the true measure is how each is driven and maintained and well if you know the history of your car you know that better than the newer car.

If you are worried about being without a car, get a roadside package on your insurance that covers rental cars. Or have a POS backup car that can be bought for under $1,000 like an old 80's or 90's escort or something. Just in case you have a backup car. Also remember you save money with older cars by the fact that full coverage really is a waste as if you total it out you would be lucky to get much from insurance. That savings easily offsets fuel efficiency differences.

Then again I commute on a motorcycle and it gets 40-45 mpg, so what do I know?!?

Ken
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Yeah, I'm convinced. Thanks for all of your input. I slept on it and decided that I don't want to let the '87 go. I may look into the idea of finding a POS backup.
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A
Well guess I am too late. I'd say keep the 87 as a weekend cruiser and use the Deville as a daily driver.
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R
That was an idea, but the Brougham and beater would be a lot cheaper than the Brougham and DeVille...
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I~LUV~Caddys8792
As a "beater", get a late '80s, early '90s 4.5/4.9L FWD Cad!
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caddieboy
Can't stand the new Devilles which I think look plain ugly compared to the 80s FWBs. At 113k your FWB is still a young'un. If you find a good non-dealer mechanic costs shouldn't be too much. Parts are pleantiful and comparably less expensive, me thinks.

As for storing the car, and having gone through storing mine over thw winter and asking for tips, I learned a few things. One is NOT TO START IT AT ALL while in storage. Disconnect the battery so the risk of discharge is lowered (5 months in storage and my Brougham started up without any issues after I reconnected the battery). Make sure to fill up the gas tgank to full with the recommended amount of Stabil so the fuel doesn't go bad.
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caddieboy said:
Can't stand the new Devilles which I think look plain ugly compared to the 80s FWBs. At 113k your FWB is still a young'un. If you find a good non-dealer mechanic costs shouldn't be too much. Parts are pleantiful and comparably less expensive, me thinks.
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Yes, and I now have a good mechanic, after some bad apples in the past. It was a purely convenience idea, but in reality, anything that broke on the DV would probably cost as much to fix as several things on the FWB would!

Also, I went through the repair files on the '01 and though it currently seems fine in the test drive, it has already had problems my FWB has never had, like a dashboard rattle, head gaskets, and cruise control failure. Although I know from reading through here the gaskets are a common issue for N* engines, the other stuff is a bit bothersome...and when I sat in it, the new car seemed slick and fast and comfortable but it was just different somehow...I could see owning both, but not dumping the FWB for it, and owning both is not going to work right now.

I'll soldier on with the old-school dreadnaught...although it did just fail NOx and HC on emissions, so I think it's time for a tuneup.
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