From a former GM production employee::ripped:
The Cadillac STS will be ending production this summer, with leftover parts being used to piece together final vehicles. Some of these leftover parts may be past rejects that need to be cleaned up or repaired for installation. Some of these parts, such as body panels, may have large gaps or flaws.
Get them while you still can get a quality vehicle! As you get closer to the build out (like the last 2-3 weeks of production) stay away from those vehicles. Here’s what happens: Every previously rejected part that could pass with repairs or cosmetic rework will be unloaded from the suppliers MRB cages and shipped in vehicle sequence. Sequenced parts are VERY difficult to reject during build out.
Interior fits and finishes will suffer. Anomolous electrical performance can be expected from the contents of 100′s of part totes (PCM.s BCM, Harnesses, Motors that were dropped, and should have been scrapped or had been lot rejected for high defect rates, and the supplier was charged back for the parts. These parts have been sitting gathering dust waiting for this day to arrive.
Nothing that was previously rejected by the assembly plant which can still be dolled up or retested will remain in the suppliers inventory, you can count on that. As the last 2-3 weeks arrive the suppliers will begin mixing these parts in with the “good” parts. They will be able to get away with it.
Every single part in the assembly plants inventory in the last 2 weeks will be necessary so borderline cosmetic rejects will be passed. Any extra parts remaining after the last vehicle has rolled of the final line will be sent out to service parts, and yes you guessed it , those stand a good chance of being previously rejected parts. Nice huh?
The plant body shop also frequently has bodies that are shall we say are less than perfect sitting on skucks gathering dust. These will somehow find their way onto the mixed bank when no one is “looking” and hopefully only make it into rental fleets, but you never know it could end up being yours. (Hint: Water leaks, 8 mm fender gaps, etc.)
Lastly some of the difficult electrical problem vehicles that have been sitting in the plant float will find their way back into the repair areas, ripped down for troubleshooting, put back together and pushed through the “Care line” area by over zealous final line superintendents who want them on the Rail head companies books and out of the plant inventory. Believe me the final scheduled shipment date will be met,
Stay away for these last vehicles. This advice is from one who has been part of many GM model assembly plant “build outs”
