Hey everyone, my name is Clayton. I recently bought a 98 Catera and have been hearing all the horror stories associated with it; to say the least its got me shook! Although I only paid 3k for it I'm a little worried about the buy. Is there anyone out there with a Catera that can give a little advice on how to keep this caddy from fallin' off?

Thanks - One!

 

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gosh picasso.... any dealings i've had with Cateras have been real good.... they are a great car, though rwd...... give it a chance, make sure to maintain it...... how many miles on the car?..... got any pics?
by the way....welcome to the Forum.... the Forum will assist you when needed....... get counted in Cadillac demographics- how old are we.... go to member introduction, look around.... have some fun, take a chill-pill on the car..... hope to see ya 'round
rickyd

 

Don't worry too much about so-called online "reviews."People whoare not having problems with their car don't tend to take the time to seek out a review site and tell you about it.People who are angry about the problems with their car do. And since they're mad about it, they find all kinds of little nit-picky things to exaggerate. Kind of like a bad marriage, I guess. It's actually a little comical reading some of those reviews by people who have no idea what they're talking about, or are the actual cause of their problems.

Rear-wheel drive is not anything to worry about either, especially with traction control. Heck, all the Caddies are RWD now (except for the AWDs.) Also, RWD cars are easier to work on. I'm not looking forward to someday having to replace the alternator (water-cooled, no less) on my Northstar.

Enjoy it. Drive proud.

 

For every single bad experience on a car there are probably 50,000 good expreiences that now one writes about.

we are a society of "bad news" since good news is not news.

 

Catera's aren't really bad cars, their just expensive to repair when they break. Their a little harder to work on, because they were designed and built in Germany where cars never break down. Hot water valves dont seem to last. Check with dealer to make sure all recalls were done. DONT NEGLECT TIMING BELT! and dont overheat engine. Also there is a cabin fiter at right cowl it sits in a well that has a drain, that tends to become blocked by leaves,pine needles and the like. When it rains hard well can fill with water till it overflows in to right floor. Drain can be cleared through right front wheelwell.

 

Thanks everyone for welcoming me, I'll get some stats and pics up soon.

Keep those caddy's low - one.

 

You better believe were mad! This is the worse car GM ever produced and they will not stand behind it! I just had a Tensioner failer causing the timing belt to snap and major engine damage on a know defect that was recalled and that I was never notified or advised on a car that has less than 20,000 miles. And now their asking $6300 to repair for a car that's only worth 4K. I am the original owner!! and it is my 2nd vehicle and only drive it locally for shopping in the neighborhood. This piece of junk died the 2nd day I owned it, replaced 6 batteries in 5 years under warranty untill I finally got smart and bought a non GM battery. Car rusted 2 years & 3 weeks when I notided it was rusting from the inside out, 3 weeks past the lemon law and had to take them to arbritration to get the car repainted. When I tried to trade it before for the arbitration they offered me $10,000 on a $36,000 vehicle 2 years old because as they put it "the car is rusting, it isn't worth any more". So yaH, we that got stcuk with this piece of junk are MAD!