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My son is always on the prowl for cars. Now he is trying to find one for his sister. He loves big cruisers. He convinced the other sister to get a 1992 Lincoln Towne Car and it has proved to be an execellent choice. Now he found a 1998 Caddilac DeVille (78K miles $4,500) and is trying to convince sister 2 to buy it.
Anyone have any knowlege of or experience with this car? It has a Northstar engine which are supposed to be pretty good engines from what I know and cna find. Some reports of head gasket problems, but more reports of 100K plus miles with no problems. LIke the towne car the gas mileage appears to be surprisingly good.
My son is always on the prowl for cars. Now he is trying to find one for his sister. He loves big cruisers. He convinced the other sister to get a 1992 Lincoln Towne Car and it has proved to be an execellent choice. Now he found a 1998 Caddilac DeVille (78K miles $4,500) and is trying to convince sister 2 to buy it.
Anyone have any knowlege of or experience with this car? It has a Northstar engine which are supposed to be pretty good engines from what I know and cna find. Some reports of head gasket problems, but more reports of 100K plus miles with no problems. LIke the towne car the gas mileage appears to be surprisingly good.
Will these handle decently in the snow?
Thanks
When I was growing up, dad always bought a new Deville for my mother every three years. We had a 1998 and it was just a wonderful vehicle.
The head gasket problem on the earlier Northstar's can be problematic and expensive but like many things, I believe the number of those with problems is likely exaggerated. The Northstar DOES burn oil fairly quickly though. Even new, I'd say half of all the Cadillac's the parents have owned with a Northstar have gone through maybe a quart of oil every thousand miles or so. Definitely not a huge deal but something to be aware of.
Gas mileage for most Deville's, from my experience, ranges from 17-19 in the city and 25-28 on the highway. Those big V8's really don't get as bad of gas mileage as many would suspect and it's quite nice having the power when necessary.
I also want to say that 1998 is the first year for Stabilitrak on the Deville's although I'm not positive.
Overall, I really don't think you can go wrong with a nicely used Caddy for the right price. Yes there are issues like all other 15 year old automobiles but the comfort and luxury of these older vehicles can't be beat even by modern standards.
The Northstar head gasket problem is solvable and there is a Canadian company that offers exchange engines with the proper "time-serts" installed in the block. This is not unique to the Northstar, several aluminum block engines have this issue - head bolts tearing out the threads that were cut directly into the aluminum block.
I wouldn't pay $45 for a car that's seen 15 winters there in rust country, but, you know me, I am hardcore on rust.
Final thought - the people who have had head gasket issues, talk about it, post about it, blog about it. The people who are not having issues, typically don't say anything.
Speedy is right that older Caddys (and Lincolns) tend to have been well-cared-for, and not abused. Well, most of them, anyway.
Speedy is right that older Caddys (and Lincolns) tend to have been well-cared-for, and not abused. Well, most of them, anyway.
If the OP wants to see some VERY well cared for, low mileage, and almost new older Cadillac's and Lincoln's, just come to Phoenix in the winter months.
I actually talked to a guy a while back who was the original owner of a 1996 or 1998 Cadillac Deville and it had a whopping 65000 miles on it. Absolutely beautiful vehicle, the owner was retired and hardly drove at all unless it was to the grocery store or to a restaurant; his kids took him everywhere else. I actually offered to buy the car from him but he politely refused saying no new cars can meet the comfort of his current Deville.
I wouldn't hesitate to buy any older Cadillac/Lincoln/Buick if you can find something with a decent mileage (i.e. not 120K+). If you can find one with a first or second owner, that car would probably be a gem!
I wouldn't pay $45 for a car that's seen 15 winters there in rust country, but, you know me, I am hardcore on rust.
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You have not been here in a while have you?
I have not seen a rusty car in years. We have and/or had several 15+ year old Michigan cars (some pushing 20) and there is no visible rust on any body panels. They have the normal surface rust on the exhaust system and undercarriage, but no rot. The exception is the 1997 Caravan. The front strut towers are rusted out. I suspect most of them are since they make expensive replacement struts specifically for this problem. The caravan has some bits of rust rot here and there, but nothing serious except the strut towers. However given the quality (lack of) on the rest of the caravan, I am not surprised to find cheap steel
I have heard that Cadillacs tend to have lots of fancy electronics that was never shared with any other divisions of GM, whereas Lincoln only had stuff from the Ford parts bin. Any truth to this? If so, it might be something to look out for when getting a 10+ year old car.
Not a car I would recommend. They were at the pinnacle of GM throwing computer chips at everything. A headlight switch is over 100 bucks because of it. Electrical issues abound with these cars like the air control ride and the wheel speed sensor are all on chips and failures are common. The A/C system also uses a brushless type blower motor that commonly fails. This is a car that will nickle and dime you to death. There's a lot better choices out there. I'd keep looking.
A teacher couple I keep in touch with had a 1999 Deville they traded in two years back that only had 39,000 miles on it...it came up with a steering stabilizer light and it needed a $500 sensor that only the Caddy techs could diagnose and replace. When he told me about it, my eyes lit up (he knew what I was thinking right there) and he told me he traded it on a 2010 GMC Canyon right then and there at the Caddy dealer. With a Prius in the fold, the truck fit their needs better anyway. As in cheaper to deal with, for starters.
I'm not a huge Northstar fan, but it's junk like that even with gently used Caddys will bite you in the toosh. That's why I'd vouch for a Grand Marquis if you want affordable luxury as long as you keep the uppity options away. I'm eyeballing a 2002 F150 King Ranch SuperCrew, but I'm still wary of stuff like that EATC that costs a healthy portion of a ton to replace if you can't rebuild one of those units...makes me wonder if I should just diversify the stable with a bunch of mid 90s fuel-injected stuff instead. An $11k King Ranch or dig up a 5.0L/AWD Exploder, a Ranger SuperCab with a four-cylinder and maybe a Mustang vert...might have to rethink this strategy. But, I digress. Sorry.
I have heard that Cadillacs tend to have lots of fancy electronics that was never shared with any other divisions of GM, whereas Lincoln only had stuff from the Ford parts bin. Any truth to this? If so, it might be something to look out for when getting a 10+ year old car.
I believe Caddy got the new techie stuff that eventually made its way down the ladder. As for Ford, that's why Mercury is gone and Lincoln is destined to fight Buicks now. That badge engineering is great when you can find a cheap picker-upper.
I have not seen a rusty car in years. We have and/or had several 15+ year old Michigan cars (some pushing 20) and there is no visible rust on any body panels. They have the normal surface rust on the exhaust system and undercarriage, but no rot. The exception is the 1997 Caravan. The front strut towers are rusted out. I suspect most of them are since they make expensive replacement struts specifically for this problem. The caravan has some bits of rust rot here and there, but nothing serious except the strut towers. However given the quality (lack of) on the rest of the caravan, I am not surprised to find cheap steel
Rust does happen here in SE MI, though. My '07 Saturn has rust on the trunklid already. My '02 Chevy pickup has rust forming on the rocker panels both under the doors and on the bed. I've seen trucks like mine in mid-Michigan (Flint, Saginaw, et al) already missing cab corners and entire rocker panels. I'm not big on washing cars, though. Cars here aren't generally as rusty as they were back in the day- I almost bought a Subaru wagon whose rocker panel was blowing in the wind, exposing the rear washer reservoir.
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