Hi, i am new to the forum and have a coupe of questions for you guys. I haven't had that much time to look around the forum so here we go. I am a 17 yr old and i was looking at a one owner 2000 sts with 51000 original miles. I was really wanting to know the trouble spots on this car when i go check it out. And for the heck of it, i am a senior in high school and was wondering if this car has a cool factor, its off white with a white interior. The only owner was an old man and he had this car detail cleaned every week. He has passed away and his daughter and her boyfriend are selling the car. They are asking $9000 is that too much or should i nudge them down some? It has never been wrecked. And the car is (or so he says) in very good shape

P.S. I ain't spoiled i hadto work to be able to get this nice of a car. Thanks for all you help guys

 

Cool factor ? My own son is20 and he drives a Cadillac. My 16 year old daughter says when ever he picks her up or drops her off all the guys go "like Bomb car" that is good right?

Money ? I think $9,000 is too much but I can't see it, I just judge by comparables on eBay and other listings which are in the $5,000 to $8,000 range for similar miles. Also you have the Socially irresponsible image which pushes the value down, 300HP V8 gas guzzling thing, not too many people want the car, play that up big with the seller. You'll be doing them a favour buying it.

Pitfalls ? With 51,000 miles it could have a coolant issue if it has not been attended to. Do a visual on coolant and make sure it is nice and clean, should be a nice bright orange. If it is not could be a hint of corrosion. Also check oil and make sure it is nice as well as trans fluid, nice bright red, if brown not good.Drive it make sure it runs smooth and shifts well, steering should be solid and no shakes or shimmies. This car should be a rocket and run smooth, very smooth, and when I say rocket probably the fastest thing you have driven so far in your life. If it does not impress you when you stomp it then somethingis wrong.

 

if it is nice as he says (or dang near perfect but that is as he says) would it be worth that much? thanks for your help

 

FRom Motor Trend:

2000 Cadillac Seville STS Sedan Pricing





Mileage
Trade-In-Value
Retail Value


Clean
Average
Rough
Excellent
Clean
Average
Rough

1 - 40,000
$7,285
$5,585
N/A
N/A
$9,555
$7,370
N/A

40,001 - 50,000
$7,160
$5,460
N/A
N/A
$9,430
$7,245
N/A

50,001 - 60,000
$7,035
$5,335
N/A
N/A
$9,305
$7,120
N/A

60,001 - 70,000
$6,910
$5,210
N/A
N/A
$9,180
$6,995
N/A

70,001 - 85,000
$6,360
$5,085
N/A
N/A
$8,630
$6,870
N/A

85,001 - 100,000
$5,760
$4,560
N/A
N/A
$8,030
$6,345
N/A

100,001 - 115,000
$5,085
$3,960
$2,576
N/A
$7,355
$5,745
$4,220

115,001 - 130,000
$4,335
$3,285
$1,976
N/A
$6,605
$5,070
$3,620

130,001 - 150,000
$3,660
$2,535
$1,301
N/A
$5,930
$4,320
$2,945

150,001 - 170,000
$2,985
$1,835
$526
N/A
$5,255
$3,620
$2,170

170,001 - 999,999
$2,185
$1,110
-$174
N/A
$4,455
$2,895
$1,470[/align][/align]
When you buy private you should not pay Retail. If they traded it in you see what they would get, you should getthe car for $7,500 or less imo.

 

http://www.motortrend.com/cars/2000/...ing/index.html

Have a look here. You should not pay retail with a Private sale.

 

Just bought a 99 myslef, few more miles then yours, and so far love it. But it is easy to get a bit pie eyed when you drive one. Check all the electrical stuff, mine has a few gremlins. Read up onthe headgasket stuff (lots of info here). If it was an old guy i would suspect it was either taken really good care of, or was just drove and had oil changes (not taken care of), guess you will have to judge how well it was taken care of. Price: well depending on where you are and the market, i might lean a bit toward to high myslef. I got mine for about 1/3rd of average private party value by the pricing sites (KBB, NAPA, motor trend (didnt know they did it too)) so... price is sorta based on demand. As was stated, they are looked at like gas guzzling monsters by some.. mine does 26-28 so far (in winter) which is pretty impressive considering the size IMHO. Was driving a midsize box before and it did about the same.

One thing, I do my own repairs, and when researching cars will look at the general replacment parts on parts store websites.. this is not a cheap car to repair, looks like about half the "standard" parts are in line with everything else (pads, wheel hubs, etc) but some stuff is kinda ugly (alternator) priced.. I think a 2000 has a normal alternator (mine is water cooled).

I love mine, wouldnt swap back... but that can be a problem too.. now i dont want to drive the average car anymore so when this one is ready to be "parked" will I be able to afford anotehr one?

good luck, dont get pie eyed.. look it over good!

 

If I was you I would try to talk them down a little on the price. But for what your getting I would say go for it! Im 25 and just got a 2000 STS 2 months ago with 60,000 miles on it. I paid a little over 5K for mines but I got mines from a dealer and with the auto industry being in terrible shape, I was able to talk them down from $7500 to $5200. If you ask me, these cars look just as cool as any other car on the road! They have a perfect blend of performance and luxury! When tha ladies get in they will fall in love with the interior, yet when some punk pulls up next to you at a light in his rice burner you got 300 horses to blow up his ***!! Plus the White Diamond paint is truely beautiful when the sun hits it! These cadillacs will run forever if you treat them right and keep up the maintnance, and with only 51,000 miles you got yourself a practically brand new beauty!! Work the price and hop on it!!

 

Price sounds high even if it has new tires and brakes. If your rating of "cool" is aboutpower, performance, comfort and dare-I-say "classic" styling then it's hard to beat. Gas mileage isn't terrible (I get about 18 in-town in a VERY hilly area), but I also drive for mileage... Would suggest a thoroughcheck by a goodmechanicespecially thecooling and suspension systems. The shocksand struts for this car are very expensive and age alone [seems] tobe as much a limiting factor asmileage.Mechanical repairscan get VERY expensive VERY fast andalmost nothing under the hood is what I'd consider friendly to a well-intentioned person withdecent skills and ordinary tools. Read the manual and test everything. Check the interior illuminationin a dark garage or atnight. Everythingsave the dimmer for the dash and overhead console should light. If things like burned out lights (the switch lights are incandescent) bother you, be forewarned that the bulbs are not intended to be replaceable and the switches are fairly expensive with some rather difficult to replace. With the ignitionon, engine off and climate control on,put your ear right next to the itsy bitsy square grille below and left of thesteering wheel. You should hear the faint noise of a fan runningthis is the air temp sensor for the interior. If you don't hear a sound,the climate control will not maintain temperature properly. The part itself isn't terribly expensive, but it's an utter pain to replace and is a common problem. Take a nice test drive including a bitof wide-open throttleyou should NEVER feel a gear shift, the temp gauge should NEVER go beyond dead center and when you punch it you should understand why the headrests adjust inwar