RE: Shed of the Week: Cadillac Seville STS
Discussion
Nors said:
There is something slightly appealing about this, but when you read all the potential pitfals / issues stated in the article and other comments here, you suddenly realise what a huge money pit this could be.
Appeal now severely dented!
Pretty much any V8 barge at this age and price level is going to be risky (e.g. E38 BMW 740i or early X308 Jag), but they both have a better support network of independent specialist garages than the Caddy. Appeal now severely dented!
I like the idea of owning a Yank barge and standing out from the crowd, but I’d prefer to spend a bit more and get a nicer one than this.
Well at least it's an "interesting" shed this week.
The rusty rear subframe is supposed to be an easy repair. A good used sub-frame will cost about 400 quid plus shipping.
However, the Northstar V8 has a fairly poor reputation stateside.
There won't be much of a market for the spares if you parted it out in the event that it failed it's next MoT.
Suddenly 1500 quid doesn't seem like so much of a bargain. Maybe worth the risk for a grand?
The rusty rear subframe is supposed to be an easy repair. A good used sub-frame will cost about 400 quid plus shipping.
However, the Northstar V8 has a fairly poor reputation stateside.
There won't be much of a market for the spares if you parted it out in the event that it failed it's next MoT.
Suddenly 1500 quid doesn't seem like so much of a bargain. Maybe worth the risk for a grand?
Rich Boy Spanner said:
I have friends in the US who have Caddy's, none have silver hair and all hit 80MPH with regularity.
Modern Caddies are very different to the Caddies that prowled the highways 20 or 30 years ago. The latest CTS and ATS look great and have some excellent high-performance versions to rival the M3 and M5. Caddy in the US had the same problem that Jag had in the UK - an image trading off great iconic cars from the 50s and 60s, an elderly customer base that is gradually dying off, and a range of cars that needed to be dragged into the 21st century. Both have upset the traditionalists as they’ve tried to change their image...
When I was in the trade a dealer lent me a red one for a week. Luxurious, head turning, but a languid drive. I remember getting about 15mpg but in those days I got free fuel so all that meant was more Sainsbury's points. After a week and 300 or so mixed miles I was happy to give it back.
Tyre Smoke said:
raspy said:
"This produced 300hp at a lofty 6000rpm, somewhat more than a GS ever had"
Not quite true. The 2005 GS430 had 279bhp from a 4.3 litre V8.
Err, 21bhp is somewhat more? Not quite true. The 2005 GS430 had 279bhp from a 4.3 litre V8.
also the GS430 had 275hp...Tod shed, wafty, ruinous on fuel and everything else, massively left field, if I were in the market I would buy it!
Then I would wait for the body to rot away and put the engine in the back of a kit car type thing
Many years ago, I watched Pushing Tin and thought the STS looked a great car. Scoured the Classifieds and travelled to South Yorkshire from South West Scotland to pick it up. I was genuinely gutted by about Southwaite - it just never worked on the UK roads for me - they were too bumpy and too narrow for the STS.
In saying that, I didn't pay Shed money for it, so maybe my expectations were a bit high. The engine did sound amazing in fairness!
raspy said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Err, 21bhp is somewhat more?
300bhp from a 4.6 litre V8 vs 279 bhp from a 4.3 litre V8. If you were to compare like for like on displacement then they are similar in terms of power per litre. MadDog1962 said:
Well at least it's an "interesting" shed this week.
The rusty rear subframe is supposed to be an easy repair. A good used sub-frame will cost about 400 quid plus shipping.
However, the Northstar V8 has a fairly poor reputation stateside.
There won't be much of a market for the spares if you parted it out in the event that it failed it's next MoT.
Suddenly 1500 quid doesn't seem like so much of a bargain. Maybe worth the risk for a grand?
Lots and lots of scrap metal to weigh in though The rusty rear subframe is supposed to be an easy repair. A good used sub-frame will cost about 400 quid plus shipping.
However, the Northstar V8 has a fairly poor reputation stateside.
There won't be much of a market for the spares if you parted it out in the event that it failed it's next MoT.
Suddenly 1500 quid doesn't seem like so much of a bargain. Maybe worth the risk for a grand?
I dont see the appeal in one of these TBH
raspy said:
300bhp from a 4.6 litre V8 vs 279 bhp from a 4.3 litre V8. If you were to compare like for like on displacement then they are similar in terms of power per litre.
The article was talking about power output, not specific power. 300 is somewhat more than 275 (or 279 if you insist).Mr2Mike said:
raspy said:
300bhp from a 4.6 litre V8 vs 279 bhp from a 4.3 litre V8. If you were to compare like for like on displacement then they are similar in terms of power per litre.
The article was talking about power output, not specific power. 300 is somewhat more than 275 (or 279 if you insist).snowandrocks said:
Mr2Mike said:
raspy said:
300bhp from a 4.6 litre V8 vs 279 bhp from a 4.3 litre V8. If you were to compare like for like on displacement then they are similar in terms of power per litre.
The article was talking about power output, not specific power. 300 is somewhat more than 275 (or 279 if you insist).Good shed.
I had one of these at uni. Paid £2500 in 2004 for a 1998 example. Amazing value for a 6 year old car that was £45k new.
Hilarious handling - rolled like a ship in a storm, but simply would not break traction. Would go around roundabouts on its doorhandles, but grip was strong and true relentlessly.
Really comfortable too, best seats I’ve had in a car, great stereo and some cool US bits (beep when locked, remote boot that opened violently, MD player) and I loved driving it.
Hilariously when it cooked itself on the A12 it was so polite - the messages on the display were along the lines of “engine temp abnormal - apologies shutting down inessential systems” and “advise stopping to allow engine cooling”.
Miss it, might buy this one. History looks good, it has 14000 miles on it before it got to the legginess that mine did when it died, burbly exhaust.
Great shed!
I had one of these at uni. Paid £2500 in 2004 for a 1998 example. Amazing value for a 6 year old car that was £45k new.
Hilarious handling - rolled like a ship in a storm, but simply would not break traction. Would go around roundabouts on its doorhandles, but grip was strong and true relentlessly.
Really comfortable too, best seats I’ve had in a car, great stereo and some cool US bits (beep when locked, remote boot that opened violently, MD player) and I loved driving it.
Hilariously when it cooked itself on the A12 it was so polite - the messages on the display were along the lines of “engine temp abnormal - apologies shutting down inessential systems” and “advise stopping to allow engine cooling”.
Miss it, might buy this one. History looks good, it has 14000 miles on it before it got to the legginess that mine did when it died, burbly exhaust.
Great shed!
unsprung said:
snowandrocks said:
The GS460 had 342bhp so the article’s wrong regardless. Even the hybrid GS had 341bhp.
those vehicles are 10+ years younger than the Cadillac series written about hereGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff