Well.... here we are. Five months later. Routine maintenance has been continuing (tire rotation, oil changes, all the normal stuff). The 2003 CTS has hit 60,000 miles - and at the moment, all is fine and I am about to turn this car over to my son. The 2008 CTSs seem to be doing well. I told my wife to go find a car for me over the next week or so. I'll let you know what she comes home with.

 

I am the proud owner of a 2008 Cadillac CTS. My son now has the 2003. These are REALLY different cars.

This chapter is now closed.

 

This was quite a chapter.

I am almost surprised that you got another CTS after going through that.
I dId re-read the thread fast so I missed where you got the new one.

What was the total for the repairs?
Did GM step up beyond the $2,000 coupon?

thanks

 

Post 5 has the detail on the cost
Taxes, and everything else: $5,153.35.

Post 6 has the $2,900 coupon.

Stealth, as the moderator, you probably know better than most how different the cars are (inside and out). That was part of it. Another contributor is my personal requirement to get a vehicle that is as red/white/blue as I can. My choices are GM and... um... Lincoln (Ford).

I can't fault GM for the dealer's issues in the Service Manager. I can't fault the Dealer for GM's problem. In the end, after continued research, it seems my 2003 CTS was one of a very few (dare I say only - the techs on this board can only confirm that) that had the issue. I don't think that ultimately translates into a bad product. OK, maybe for me it was - but for all others who did not have this issue... maybe I am trying to rationalize because when I boil it all down, I don't really have a choice because of my first requirement. And maybe that is OK. After a 1975 Camaro with nearly 200k miles; a 1984 El Camino with nearly 300K miles; a 1994 Camaro with nearly 50K miles and the CTS with about 50K miles and NOT having a problem, one issue is not so bad.

But if this new CTS has any problems, you can bet I'll be all over the dealer and GM like stink on s---.

 

I thank you for the clarification.

Being a MOD I actually read almost everything in three Cadillac sites. We are members of the MOD team in two of those. Its not hard to misread something as we browse at 1,800 words / min.

Your do***ented pains with this issue were well written, well detailed, with status all the way from start to finish. This thread, is very informative not only on the technical problem but how to deal with the bureaucracy of the dealerships as well as GM, the corporation.

As you have,two choices of cars, so do I. To this day, I consider the MK VII the very best family cars I have ever owned - I have owned two. The family stables have either all GM or Ford products. We banned Chrysler in the early '80s - but that may change. It seems that Chrysler is doing a turn around as GM & Ford have been.

Your final decision to get a second CTS is admirable. It was done with logical thinking, not emotion and unless you get hit with the statistical lemon, I do agree that was a damn good decision.

There are TWO cars on my radar for the future: the 2008 STS-V and the 2008 CTS-V. I happen to love the 2008 models, but as the newer models of '09 come out .. my thinking may shift to the ever newer models. I am a bit disappointed that there is no Cadillac CTS-V AWD - Cadillac needs to put a V series AWD car in the market, but of course, maybe they havent got the bugs out and it shouldnt be released until they do, if ever.

I have said it before, I will say it again. When people talk about this era, the 2008 CTS-V will be the car to have had owned. The Charger may also be on that list, will wait and see, in another about 20 years.

I have taken the liberty of adding a opening note to the 1st posting of this thread - a very rare action on our part.
I believe this thread can be most helpful to others that run into such headaches.

again, thank you for an excellent thread.

 

And six months later, the 2003 CTS is behaving just fine (admittedly, my son does not put a lot of miles on it) and my 2008 CTS runs great.

I'll close this book now. Thanks for the soundboard - and the insight.

 

This is one of those things where you, the owner did more than any of us ever could.
Well do***ented and hopefully providing a life raft for another owner somewhere.

thanks

 

I factory ordered a brand new 1992 Bonneville. If you can remember they were an I want it car back then. I was so disappointed that thing had 28 warranty jobs, I couldn't list everything that went wrong on it. I must have driven every car in the Pontiac Buick line up as courtesy cars except my Bonneville! Anyway I owned that car for 14 years and probably my kids would still be driving it if it hadn't been written off by a tanker.

I also kept good records to do***ent everythingand worked with the Zone Represenative. Moral of story is the car was made on December 27th and they blew it, once GM fixed everything it was one of the most reliable cars I ever owned. I've purchased three GM vehicles since as well.

 

Here we are in 2019 and I have a 1st generation luxury sports model, black with beige rag top. love it. Only 70k miles and runs perfect outside of this problem. Car was garaged for few years and back on road in 2013[family owned bought brand new] Here's the thing:

Recently had an oil change. Car leaking oil and coolant -all over my driveway. Replacing both at least 2x per week. A lot of white smoke comes from hood while driving car, although after a while it stops. Smoke looks like car may ignite.. Mechanic says it is valve cover problem. Is that it or hoses maybe because it sat for few years?

If really costly, approx how much in ny and should I keep the car? I LOVE IT!!

 

sell it...…….