I've been looking at the '08-'09 Cadillac CTS as a new daily driver. I like the AWD with the 3.6 DI engine. Prices on these seem to be pretty reasonable right now even on low milage cars.

I like it on paper, and I liked it on a short test drive. But I don't know anyone who owns one so I thought I'd see if anyone here has one and what they think of it and if it's been a reliable car. The only thing that scares me about a car like that is all the gadgets. It just seems like more stuff to break. But some of the gadgets are pretty cool.

Anyway, if you have any experience with this particular car, I'd like to know what you think.

Thanks,

This post has been edited by 00 SS: Feb 14 2012, 09:59 PM

my boss has one, it spends more time at the dealer than anything. the electric steering has failed twice, headlights have had issues and the rear end whines.he does like the car but is it worth the headaches? i don't think so.

I don't know why people do this. My friends, mothers, sister had a car....

Just because you know someone who had a bad experience with a car doesn't mean that's how they all are. And also, people do some pretty bad things to cars. You never know how it was treated to cause all the failures. Not saying this was the case with your boss, just saying.

Steve

I see one problem with the car....it doesn't have a "V" in it's name (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I agree to an extent. On the other hand, I agree much less after buying 4 brand new VW's. Every single one of them lived in the shop, or it seemed like it (the dealer had one for 7-8 weeks total at one point). Sometimes a single sample is just a single sample. Sometimes...well, it's representative of the entire production run. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I'd really love to have a "V". But in Colorado it would not be the greatest daily driver. We get enough snow and bad weather that I really want AWD. I think, for me at least, an AWD car would be better than a SUV or truck. I have a long commute and I think the extra gas milage from the car would pay off in the long run. Also, since I have a long commute, I spend alot of time in the car and I want something I like to be in.

I visited the Cadillac Forums just see if I saw any recurring issues discussed. The only one I saw was a recall on early '08s related to timing chain issues. Unfortunately the thread was very long and I never did get a definitive answer on which of the two available V6 engines it related to. There were lots of other various things people talked about, but none seemed to be "common threads". And yes, I've been on enough forums for enough years to know that people don't take the time to praise things that work like they do to bitch about things that break. So you have to take what you see there with a BIG grain of salt. That's why I was looking to see if anyone here had first hand ownership experience with one.

Well, I have two friends who each own Vs. One just drives it as-is, buying it heavily-used, the other, with a much later version (the SC version) has heavily-modded it (It appeared in an issue of GM high performance mag). Both love them. The only other complaint I heard was from the guy with the really used one who displayed some of the wear and tear that seems to normally happen to the dash controls (paint and labels wearing off pretty quickly).

I'd have one if I could swing it. But my wife and I both cringe when asked to spend more than about $5K on a used car.

This post has been edited by CrashTestDummy: Feb 17 2012, 02:07 PM

Kevin,

Your experiences with VWs and a close friends experience with Audis have pretty much guaranteed I'll never own either of those makes. In fact, I only know 1 person that's owned one of those makes for any length of time and not had significant issues. I guess it doesn't mean those people don't exist, I just don't know them.

Gene,

I hear ya on not wanting to spend much on used cars. I've been buying and driving cheap used cars for the last 10 years. I guess I'm just getting tired of having an old POS and fixing it all the time. On the other side of the coin, I can't bring myself to buy new and eat 50% of the cost in the first 3 years on a car I'm going to rack up miles on very fast and may only have for 3-5 years. That brings me to the '08-'09 models right now. 1/2 the cost of new and still in nearly new condition.

If it were a car I intended to keep a long time, I have would no problem buying new since depreciation and resale value would essentially be non issues.

I would suggest you check out BMW 335d. Not sure what they can be had for, probably still pretty expensive. My dad has one, and that is an absolutely amazing engine. I have never experienced tq like that in a car. And it drives like a dream.

My dad often checks the fuel economy by hand. On the highway, 36 MPG is common. 32 or something like that around town. Maybe 30. And you'd never know it was a diesel. No injector noise, no smoke, no waiting to start. It's just a little bit more advanced than my 99 7.3 powerstroke (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Of course it's only rwd...

Steve,

Interesting suggestion. I took a quick look at autotrader and they are way out of my price range. I'm in the $25K+/- range. The cheapest 335d I saw was about $40k. And, like you said, no AWD option.

While reading this thread, I also thought 335d for the long commute. What about a 3/5 ix model? or an X3? We had an X3 for a while and my wife loved it.
Other things come to mind like Infiniti G35x and Volvo S40. What if you went a little crazy and looked at GMC Typhoon/Cyclone? That could be a fun drive to work. (IMG:http://www.frrax.com/rrforum/style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

get a CTS-V and put winter tires.
AWD won't help you much if you don't have much traction w/ all seasons anyway... plus, the AWD in the vehicle doesn't lock the diffs... it relies on using braking if any wheel is to spin.
I've driven a Suzuki Kasashi AWD... that thing is sweet and not expensive... something to consider if you want AWD.
Obviously, there are also Evo's + STI's to consider... depending on budget.

I picked up a '08 CTS today. I got the 3.6 DI engine, AWD and the performance package. I have just about every option except NAV and the sunroof. It's dark grey with black interior and the full wood package. It's a certified used car so it has a 6 year 100k mile warranty, for me that means about 2.5 more years and about 66,000 miles. So far I really love this car. I've been reading through the manual finding more and more little features I didn't even know existed. This is by far the nicest and fanciest car I've ever had. The Camaro is faster and more fun, but this is going to be nice ride for the daily commute.

I just picked up a new Charger R/T AWD. I'm loving it, almost like the perfect DD for me to keep me happy while the WS6 is stored. Lots of grunt from the 5.7 Hemi and it's been awesome this winter (not too much snow this year however). Plus the red seats are right on the money.

I like the looks of the new Charger ('11+). Red seats? What color is the outside? I thought about one, but the prices are still too high for the '11-'12 models for my budget. I didn't care for the older body style as much.

Please let us know what kind of mileage you get and how it wears.

Those 3.6s run pretty well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJhozNOBQFA

2008 CTS 3.6di 0-100

~25 seconds. wow.

I get compliments on it daily actually, so it definitely has the looks. It's Pitch black exterior with Black/Red interior. Before the 11+ models began production I never gave chargers a second thought. The new models however are really, really awesome cars for the money. They have decents incentives for them if you can get employee pricing. I'm leasing this one for $240 a month with $1,300 out of pocket when I signed. Could've got it for $200/month with a returning lease. The MSRP on mine is $36,540.

Redbullet, sounds like a very nice car. Leasing was never an option for me. I drive way too many miles per year. $36K was above my budget and is about $10K more than I spent.

Gene, I'm getting about 22-23 mpg according to the onboard computer average so far, but I'm still on my first tank of gas. That engine does seem to be pretty strong. It's not near as quick as the Camaro, but it will get out of it's own way.

The thing I'm having the most trouble adapting to is the throttle by wire, I've never had that before. There is a slight delay in reaction to me moving my foot and it results in me hitting the gas a bit harder than I intended to sometimes. I've also had a couple anxious moments on the highway with the variable weighted steering. The steering is very light at low speed, but at highway speed the steering effort increases noticabley. It caught me off guard when trying to use a light touch to make a very small correction. I actually thought the PS went out for a second before I remembered the variable weight.

Mine seems to have weathered the first 33K miles quite well. According to the carfax, it's had no major service performed, only routine stuff, like oil brakes and tires. Everything works, it's quiet, it's smooth, overall it's pretty amazing and still looks basically new. The brakes are really good. I haven't beat them up to test for fade, but I don't really care to on daily driver. The six speed auto is wonderful. It never seems to hunt for the right gear and alway seems to downshift just right for what I want. It has the "manumatic" mode, but I've yet to even try it other than to see if it worked.

Looked to me like 19-20 seconds from the video. I wonder why he turned off the traction control for the run? I didn't hear any tire slippage. That really isn't that quick. My Camaro runs the 1/4 in 13.8 at 104 up here in clouds. That puts 0-100 in the 12-13 second range. I may have to do a run and time it to see what mine will do. I think it would do much better than 20 seconds.

This post has been edited by 00 SS: Feb 23 2012, 04:01 AM

Instead of a diesel 3 series, look at a gas model which can come with AWD. You could get a 335xi; AWD sedan or coupe with 300+ hp twin turbo I6. Or if you don't want that much power there is the 328xi with a 230 hp NA I6.