1999 DeVille a good deal?

[Matt 12861]

I have a chance to buy a 1999 Deville for under 3000.00. Looks great, no rust underneath, everything works, regular service, in the family since new, drives and handles well, BUT it just turned over 200,000 miles.  Any comments pro or con?

By the way, has anyone ever went to look at a car forsale that didnt have "someone else coming to look at it later"?

Thanks,
Matt

[Andrew Garnett]

$300.00, the car has 200,000 TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND MILES.

I have a chance to buy a 1999 Deville for under 3000.00. Looks great, no rust underneath, everything works, regular service, in the family since new, drives and handles well, BUT it just turned over 200,000 miles.  Any comments pro or con?

By the way, has anyone ever went to look at a car forsale that didnt have "someone else coming to look at it later"?

Thanks,
Matt

[Rusty Shepherd CLC 6397]

No matter how reliable a car has been, if it has 200,000+ miles on it, youre just asking for trouble and this is much more true in a 99 Cadillac (or Lincoln or Mercedes, or even Lexus) than it was with a 65 Valiant whose most complicated component was its Torque Flite transmission. A 99 Cadillac is loaded with expensive electronic components. Virtually nothing happens in them without being OKd by a computer. As an example, if you drive into your garage and quickly open your door to get out, the interior lights wont come on because the computer-controlled Twilight Sentinel system has not had time to decide its dark. Id assume that most of these electrical/computer components have been replaced at least once and many, if not all of them, are just waiting to go out again.

[Wm Link]

Seems more often than not...you buy a car with mega miles on it for nothing and it turns out to be a better car than the one with low miles. I bought a 93 Seville with 250k on it...and it ran just great...perfect. The guy that owned it bought it back (plus a profit) a week later after I cleaned it up. If it runs great I would only worry about the transmission...as if that goes..so does your deal!

[dale jackson 20895]

 
Thats good deal on 99 deville with 200k miles at 3000. I would buy at price and would  buy more if could .

 Even with 200k miles on my car lot. I could get 2000 down and maybe 8000 on the car note for that car and charge 24.5   interest rate on loan.

 Its good deal buy for 3000 if not wrecked or burned, salvage title on car.  Last monlth mine freind of mine paid 1900 for an wrecked 96 cadillac at salvage pool auction. It needs an right rear quater and rear wheel , back right door, new axle under rear. His 96 has salvage title.

 So buy your car at 3000 and be happy. If an pile junk and do dont want it. Buy It and sell it maybe 5000 or 6000 and turn an profit on 3000.

 Dale

[Geoff Newcombe #4719]

In my opinion that wont be the first $3000 you spend on that car. Ask if the transmission has ever been replaced/overhauled, engine overhauled, front end components replaced, alternator, water pump, etc., etc?  If not, all that is coming soon.  You probably dont even want to know how much trouble it can be and the money that can be spent trying to chase down electronics problems in those things.

[Pedro #20411]

Those Northstar motors will last a long time if they had regular oil changes & coolant changes. My 1996 Deville has 150000 miles & still runs well, with no oil or coolant leaks,(My first Cadillac that didnt leak anything.) Keep in mind though that they have electronic struts that wear out & are approx $1000 each to replace. You can buy aftermarket passive struts for much less that bypass the electronics & work just as well (My struts are still the electronic ones). If the car has been religiously maintained, regular oil & coolant changes the motor could last a while but the electronic toys will need to be serviced at some point & they are dealer only ($$$). Mine has been relatively trouble free except for an AC clutch, fuel pressure regulator & bad oxygen sensor. There is an excellent group called Cadillac Owners.com that have a forum that deal with these cars it has lots of good info & advice. Of course remember the old caution, Caveat Emptor.

[Rob Bruining CLC12428]

I was looking at one of these a few years ago. It had 100K. My mechanic said forget it without even looking at it. Besides a possible transmission, there is the problem of oil leaks from the block (look underneath almost every one on the lots are wet under the engine).The engine is two aluminum halves mated vertically with a gasket between. After about 90-100K the leaks begin because of the repeated expansion and contraction of the aluminum halves. Cadillac made some improvements starting with the 2000 model year. They also had problems with carbon build up in the EGR passages. It is not an easy engine to work on without taking out of the car. The starter motor is in the middle of the engine under the intake!I love the lines of the car, but I remember what my mechanic told me every time I look at one. The bottom line is-there is potential for a lot of repairs, and those repairs on this car are EXPENSIVE!

[Porter]

All of the above comments.

That car with 200K mileage is a mechanics dream, sure to cost you $1,000s in repairs every year to keep it on the road, or to fix whatever breaks in order to make things work right.

Okay, as long as the engine runs and the tranny shifts you can drive it.

That car has surpassed its intended lifespan, you dont rebuild the Northstar engines and the tranny rebuild is big $$$.

$ 1,500 would be more than a fair offer.

An older RWD car is worth rebuilding and worth the investment, a FWD car isnt.

Impressive that the car has that much mileage, most of them dont fair that well, speaks well for the new Cadillacs but 200K is 200k on any car.

Whatever,

Porter

[David #19063]

Hello Matt,

I think it is a bad deal for you...good deal for them.

A friend here just bought a gorgeous 1998 DeVille with 57,000 miles for $5,000.  The only thing it needed was a pair of tires.  The interior and exterior are immaculate.

Any car with 200,000 miles is a possible cadidate for suspension work, trans issues, etc., let alone anything else.  

Seriously, pay no more than $500-$1,000 max.  

Sure, someone else may pay them more...but you will be better off buying something else.

For $3,500 - $7,000, you should be able to buy a nice 96-99 Northstar DeVille with under 100,000 miles.  

No, all cars for sale have someone else coming to look at them...LOL!

David