RE: Shed of the Week: Cadillac Seville STS
Discussion
This is what SOTW should be - amazing choice - well done
I'm not against ex-rally Barried Saxos per-se - but Shedding is all about "once fancy" cars being bought for nothing and run into the ground and what better than this?
I even like how they look - tho the driving experience is - erm - well - well...
I'm not against ex-rally Barried Saxos per-se - but Shedding is all about "once fancy" cars being bought for nothing and run into the ground and what better than this?
I even like how they look - tho the driving experience is - erm - well - well...
140,000 units were sold during seven years of production
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Seville#Fif...
the Northstar V8 later was supercharged: 469 hp / 439 lb-ft
https://jalopnik.com/the-2006-cadillac-sts-v-is-a-...
(comments are more fun than the blog post)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Seville#Fif...
the Northstar V8 later was supercharged: 469 hp / 439 lb-ft
https://jalopnik.com/the-2006-cadillac-sts-v-is-a-...
(comments are more fun than the blog post)
wormus said:
BeirutTaxi said:
Why would you have one of these over a 540i?
Because you can tell your friends you drive a Cadillac I never seem to find these apparently-existing grand-and-a-half 540s!
EDIT: And judging from the list of potential issues later in the thread, which I should have read first... perhaps I don't really want to?!
Edited by RSTurboPaul on Sunday 8th July 20:50
unsprung said:
140,000 units were sold during seven years of production
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Seville#Fif...
ISTR that they sold a grand total of 9 in one particular sales year over here?!https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cadillac_Seville#Fif...
ChemicalChaos said:
Tell me, is an elderly 540i really that much better? The M62 V8s were riddled with issues - nikasil liners on early ones, VANOS failuresand broken timing chain guides on all of them. Not to mention the plastic water pumps that either leak of have the vanes erode away, leading to hot running and head gasket failure. The radiators are only just adequate if in good condition. Usually they are silted up, which again gives hot running, and also leads to gearbox issues as the autobox is cooled by the bottom rows of the rad. The gearbox heat exchanger also sits up. Drive enthusiastically on a hot day and it will soon lock up the torque convertor as the oil overheats. This is assuming the 5hp24 gearbox has made it past 100k miles without needing a rebuild, which they are famous for - either throwing error messages or physically going bang.
Let's not get started on the interior either shall we? Yes, the Cadillac is plasticky but so is an E39 (and an E60!). The wood is just as fake, and the optional "metal" sports trim that usurps it is simply some nasty painted plastic.
Let's not get started on the interior either shall we? Yes, the Cadillac is plasticky but so is an E39 (and an E60!). The wood is just as fake, and the optional "metal" sports trim that usurps it is simply some nasty painted plastic.
Have you ever owned a 540i or just read about every horror story on the 'net?
Yes, early cars did have nikasil lined bores but that'll never be a problem now as we don't have high sulphur fuel anymore, the vanos units certainly get noisy but rarely actually fail, broken timing chain guides aren't unheard of, but, usually only at very high mileages and will give warning in the form of odd noises from the timing chain before failing completely. Regarding the water pump, I doubt there are may 540i's about now that are still running on their original plastic impeller water pumps, the bearings would normally wear out before the plastic impeller failed! Silting up of the cooling system is more down to poor maintenance rather than a fault of the car, it'll be down to lack of anti freeze and/or coolant changes every few years. The M62 will hot anyway, apparently BMW designed it that way to improve fuel consumption. Again, gearbox failures are typically down to lack of maintenance, ZF and BMW will tell you it's sealed for life, which is b
ks, change the oil every 80k and they'll last forever. And you do know that the wood trim in an e39 is actually a metal backing with a lacquered wood veneer? And the aluminium trim is a plastic backing covered with actual aluminium?
RSTurboPaul said:
Are we talking about new or now?
I never seem to find these apparently-existing grand-and-a-half 540s!
EDIT: And judging from the list of potential issues later in the thread, which I should have read first... perhaps I don't really want to?!
I never seem to find these apparently-existing grand-and-a-half 540s!
EDIT: And judging from the list of potential issues later in the thread, which I should have read first... perhaps I don't really want to?!
Edited by RSTurboPaul on Sunday 8th July 20:50
They are out there, I saw a nice 540i SE Individual go on ebay about a fortnight ago for £1170, oh, and whilst an e39 is never going to be completely trouble free (the newest ones are fourteen years old now), they're not as unreliable as some internet horror stories would have you believe.
njw1 said:
Have you ever owned a 540i or just read about every horror story on the 'net?
Yes, early cars did have nikasil lined bores but that'll never be a problem now as we don't have high sulphur fuel anymore, the vanos units certainly get noisy but rarely actually fail, broken timing chain guides aren't unheard of, but, usually only at very high mileages and will give warning in the form of odd noises from the timing chain before failing completely. Regarding the water pump, I doubt there are may 540i's about now that are still running on their original plastic impeller water pumps, the bearings would normally wear out before the plastic impeller failed! Silting up of the cooling system is more down to poor maintenance rather than a fault of the car, it'll be down to lack of anti freeze and/or coolant changes every few years. The M62 will hot anyway, apparently BMW designed it that way to improve fuel consumption. Again, gearbox failures are typically down to lack of maintenance, ZF and BMW will tell you it's sealed for life, which is b
ks, change the oil every 80k and they'll last forever. And you do know that the wood trim in an e39 is actually a metal backing with a lacquered wood veneer? And the aluminium trim is a plastic backing covered with actual aluminium?
As for the "have you owned one" comment, I could say the same about most people slating the Cadillac on here
I have owned my STS since 2002 (second owner) but I wouldn't touch this one. Who puts a trunk lid spoiler onto a luxury car that will do 165 mph (GPS certified on German holiday) with perfect stability. Also 0 to 60 time is limited only by fwd grip. Get the STS rolling and floor it at 3000 rpm it will feel more like 0 to 60 capability in well under 6 sec. Only Cadillac could put more than 300 bhp through the front wheels in 2000 without torque steer (did they learn that from Lotus on the fwd Elan?). These are terrific cars if looked after properly. All I have had to do is replace the AC evaporator, one new battery and annoyingly replace corroded brake pipes due to GM allowing a procurement minion overruling the engineers. We also surprised a few people (including the driver) on how rapid it was up Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb.
ChemicalChaos said:
Tell me, is an elderly 540i really that much better? The M62 V8s were riddled with issues - nikasil liners on early ones, VANOS failures and broken timing chain guides on all of them. Not to mention the plastic water pumps that either leak of have the vanes erode away, leading to hot running and head gasket failure. The radiators are only just adequate if in good condition. Usually they are silted up, which again gives hot running, and also leads to gearbox issues as the autobox is cooled by the bottom rows of the rad. The gearbox heat exchanger also sits up. Drive enthusiastically on a hot day and it will soon lock up the torque convertor as the oil overheats. This is assuming the 5hp24 gearbox has made it past 100k miles without needing a rebuild, which they are famous for - either throwing error messages or physically going bang.
Let's not get started on the interior either shall we? Yes, the Cadillac is plasticky but so is an E39 (and an E60!). The wood is just as fake, and the optional "metal" sports trim that usurps it is simply some nasty painted plastic.
AFAIK M62s were all Alusil, M60 was Nikasil, but even if that were true, Nikasil ceased to be an issue a LONG time ago. VANOS failures? Early M62s had no VANOS, and the later ones that do have VANOS are pretty much bombproof. Water pumps are an easy fix. Gearboxes - yes, they can go pop (had to do my 535i's box at about 130k), but my 220k 540i Touring is mechanically all-original except for the water pump and runs fine, no issues at all. E39 plastics are FAR nicer than the Cadillac's and better-assembled. The wood is real, I believe, but poly-lacquered so it looks fake... tempted to strip mine at some point.Let's not get started on the interior either shall we? Yes, the Cadillac is plasticky but so is an E39 (and an E60!). The wood is just as fake, and the optional "metal" sports trim that usurps it is simply some nasty painted plastic.
Oh, and I drive nothing but E39s, and will continue doing so for the foreseeable future. Albeit I now have three, so there's always a spare even when the wife is out - but they have proved largely very reliable, with the rare mechanical failures (535i gearbox, 520i engine) generally occurring slowly over weeks or months rather than leaving me at the roadside.
Edited by RoverP6B on Sunday 15th July 16:18
Did a tour of the Cadillac factory in the mid seventies and when the main tour was completed we were taken into an area where several cars / chassis were in various states of repair with engineers giving them close inspection.
Our guide said that this was a new model in development and was almost ready for the production line. Months later I was reading a copy of CAR magazine and there was an article about the car we had seen in Detroit, the Cadillac Seville.
Our guide said that this was a new model in development and was almost ready for the production line. Months later I was reading a copy of CAR magazine and there was an article about the car we had seen in Detroit, the Cadillac Seville.
nonsequitur said:
Did a tour of the Cadillac factory in the mid seventies and when the main tour was completed we were taken into an area where several cars / chassis were in various states of repair with engineers giving them close inspection.
Our guide said that this was a new model in development and was almost ready for the production line. Months later I was reading a copy of CAR magazine and there was an article about the car we had seen in Detroit, the Cadillac Seville.
I’m fairly sure I’m right in saying that was both the smallest and most expensive production Cadillac of its day. Fairly advanced too with Bendix fuel injection for example.Our guide said that this was a new model in development and was almost ready for the production line. Months later I was reading a copy of CAR magazine and there was an article about the car we had seen in Detroit, the Cadillac Seville.
It was intended to be a little sportier than a traditional Cadillac Series 60 or De Ville or what have you
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