Hello,

I recently got into a car accident and my previous car has been claimed as total by my insurance so as I wait for the paper work to finish I found myself a 1998 Cadillac STS for sale. I don't know 100% just yet and I will be making a visit to check it out tomorrow (3/24).

The seller is asking for $3,500 which from my www.kbb.com research, using what I know, seems like a damn good value but the only draw back is that the car has 158,000 miles on it already.

So, to any STS owners of similar year have an opinion on dropping the cash for such a high milage car? A car-junkie friend of mine says the mileage won't make or break the car as much as other things. A list of things I've already geared to ask involve timing belt, looking for any rust, asking about the transmission problems I've read on STS, or oil burning smells, or radiator leaks, on top of that I read that a fluids flush would be suggest at 100,000 miles going to ask if that has be done, and basically look at it through my own eye.

On top of that any other questions or things I should look at before signing the title that maybe I should address? Any help would greatly be appreciated, thanks in advance.

-Railven

 

Dear Railven,
I own a 99 SLS. Main difference as I understand it, is the STS has 300 H.P. (SLS has 275HP) and you get a little stiffer ride in STS. They are fun to drive, go like crazy (but eat gas if you have lead foot). Otherwise, not that bad on gas.

As far a what to look for, (I'm no expert), but I have bought many used cars (2 Sevilles), I always try to have a mechanic look it over
and check out & test drive whenever possible. I highly recommend this practice, but if not possible, listen to engine closely yourself, look underneath the car and drive it to feel for tightness of steering/suspension, transmission & engine performance/responsiveness to giving it the gas.

Other than that & everything you already mentioned, use your gut feeling & plain old common sense. My SLS was $10,000. 2 years ago with 93,000 miles and almost flawless. My personal preference is always condition over mileage. High mileage is not always the best indicator of condition or value. To me, it's how has the car been taken care of & maintained. Ask how often they changed the oil.
Ask who they had service the car. If their local, go see the mechanic & ask about the car. Again, it should be almost obvious to you as soon as you see the car & look at it closely, as to whether it was taken care of (if it's clean or not matters a little bit). It's a sign of how well someone took care of it. For $3500., you can't expect a cream puff but the mileage is the main reason for price, so as long as it's even in halfway decent shape, you probably can't go wrong. Good Luck & remember, listen to your gut feelings. There are plenty of used Sevilles (STS & SLS's) out there. Check out AutoTrader.com & see for yourself. It will give you a good idea of values. Have a great weekend. One last word of caution: They are not cheap to repair, so be careful when choosing one. Jim

 

Railven,
One other thing. Look at the transmission fluid & if it's brownish, smell it. If it smells burnt, it probably hasn't been changed in a while and/or it could spell trouble. It should be full when hot & look pink/reddish in color. Jim

 

Hey Jimbo,

I appreciate the feedback. I had a look at the car and took down a friend who has more knowledge in cars then I do. The run down of the car was decent, from my point of view.

I didn't get to check the transmission fluid because of another problem the car had I guess we overlooked it. I plan on making a second visit sometime this weekend or Monday so that will be on my list of things to check for.

What I did find, as negatives, where mostly cosmetic with one electrical burden. The steering column uses a motor to adjust the position of the wheel and unfortunately it is broken. The vendor, who is also a mechanic, claims that that rail might have fallen off the motor or something simple. The wheel moves in and out but it doesn't move up and is stuck on the lowest position. He said it jammed because he likes to rid with the wheel down, why I don't know.

He claims he will look into it and see if he can fix it and if he can then I think after having a second look maybe I'll make my decision however, the Cadillac dealer quoted me roughly 500-600 just to fix the motor so thats a downer.

I really have my heart set on a Cadillac so I'm going to go hit up Autotrader.com and maybe even cars.com hopefully I can find another decent one within my price range.

Thanks again Jimbo, I appreciate the information. Oh the car, on the test drive, handled perfectly however my friend and I noticed a slight stutter in the engine he said it didn't sound too bad and shouldn't be something to worry about but maybe a second opinion would help.

-Railven