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May as well face the fact... (Not like it's a bad thing)

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Post by WGoins88 4/20/2011, 13:09

....that I wouldn't be able to get rid of my Catera if I tried.

Over the past 4 months, I've tried eBay....craigslist, newspapers, Auto Trader, local car classifieds, everything. No one wants the car, so I am 100% officially keeping it unless something goes sour. I figure I'll just finish it and drive it until it breaks, fix it and go... and repeat that however many times I need to. Plus it's not like I was asking much... I put $575 in parts into it and only wanted $700 for it, so I was going to take quite the loss. I only wanted to sell it because I couldn't afford to finish it, but now I should, and the fact that I need a car.

In fact, doing research, it seems no one wants our cars...the same ones have been on craigslist for 6 months, and many of the ones on eBay have been on there numerous times. Apparently we are the last generation to buy them. But like that's a bad thing.....RWD, independent rear suspension, good sounding engine, nice handling, great looks, and don't forget limited production, only made 5 years.... that just makes them more valuable down the road.

Guess our poor cars just got too much bad publicity for the supposed "poor reliability". Good thing is our cars didn't make the "Top 10 most unreliable cars" list. Crazy thing is I can name many cars that have a worse reliability record than the Catera, and they still sell well (*cough* 2.7L Intrepid and Stratus *cough*)

I'm just glad I like the car so damn much. Very Happy

WGoins88

Number of posts : 33
Age : 35
Location : Amherst, Ohio
Points : 53
Registration date : 2010-11-21

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Post by yomincarr 4/25/2011, 21:19

well if it makes you feel any better i used to have a 98 outback and that thing was a piece of junk...bought it cuz i thought subarus were sposed to be reliable, ended up paying 5000 for it then another 7000 or so, an engine and a half later...needless to say ill never buy anything other than american again...
picked my baby up at an auction in philly for 800$...only put 500 in it to get some little things fixed and so far *knock on wood* its been more than great to me. havent really had any serious maintainence issues, but after i learned that it was German i read all the horror stories...so far so good tho...
anyway i think its a great car! rides like a caddy, yet its still small and sporty. Yea our cars dont get a lot of attention but i agree with you and think we have a really unique car...
I also think it has a lot of potential...i know there arent a lot of after market parts for our cars but there are lowering springs and various other suspension parts from the GTO. Plus there are some exterior trim accessories and changes you can make from the opels/holdens/vauxhalls on the same platform overseas, that can dress your car up...
Personally my car has 140k on it (purchased with 113k) and i plan on driving it till the wheels fall off...after college ill probably do a lot of the work thats on this site to it and eventually i think it would be fun to throw an LS at it and make it a CTS-V...but for the time being i think its a great car and i urge you to definately keep it as long as it runs...besides a dealer wont give you much for it anyway.

ps-i cant vouch for the 2.7 but my family has had Chrysler vans/suvs since I was born and every one of them took very good care of us...i would buy another Chrysler any day.
yomincarr
yomincarr

Number of posts : 188
Age : 39
Location : North Carolina
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Registration date : 2010-02-07

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Post by WGoins88 4/26/2011, 21:31

Well, it looks like she's going anyways. I'm gonna finish what it needs to run, and I am listing it for sale.

I just bought a 1990 Volvo 740 GLE today, and couldn't be more happier.

WGoins88

Number of posts : 33
Age : 35
Location : Amherst, Ohio
Points : 53
Registration date : 2010-11-21

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Post by yomincarr 4/27/2011, 09:06

ok good luck with it...cant say anything about volvos dont know anything about them or anyone that has one lol
yomincarr
yomincarr

Number of posts : 188
Age : 39
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Post by WGoins88 5/1/2011, 20:49

Well, got the rest of the parts on it and got it running tonight.

It has a blown head gasket. Evil or Very Mad Mad affraid

So in other words, hours of labor and $6-700 invested are completely down the drain. What a waste of time. I will never buy a non running car again.

So... anyone want it for $800? I need to recoup my losses and pay my father back.

WGoins88

Number of posts : 33
Age : 35
Location : Amherst, Ohio
Points : 53
Registration date : 2010-11-21

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Post by jjportia 8/16/2014, 08:17

Personally I think the biggest problem to start with was the fact that most American car mechanics can't get their head around working on German cars. That has been my experience over the years, and I've worked in the car business for most of my life. The Catera isn't any more difficult to work on than any other European car. I've heard tales of the brakes being a nightmare! No different than any other German car I've had, and easier to replace than some of my '70's Cadillacs I had when I was young. Maintaining ANY car is the key to long life and good service. Unfortunately we Americans as a whole think that changing the oil and putting gas in the tank is all the servicing a car needs! The Catera's downfall was that Cadillac was a company that produced soft squishy luxury cars for so long that that's all we thought they should be doing. The Catera was a true German sedan that was far from the norm for Cadillac. When I first got behind the wheel of one it felt German and NOT Cadillac at all. There have been other Cadillacs through the years that were flops so to speak and now are collectable, time will tell for the Catera. Hopefully people will see it for what it was and is, and it too will be a collectors car.
By the way, the Volvo 700 and 900 series are very safe and reliable vehicles. I owned a 740 Turbo and scrapped it at over 380,000 miles because the underside rotted to the point where repairs were going to cost over $3000. I also had a 940 Turbo that I drove to more than 300,000 miles as well. Both cars gave great service, but as with any other European car maintaining them can be more than what most American car drivers have come to expect. Take care of it and it will take care of you!
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Post by Admin 8/19/2014, 19:50

I tell you what, mine is a 2001 Sport and after sitting in my friends garage for 1 year, not realizing that the garage had frequently flooded I finally took it home and guess what, rust had gotten the best of it, brakes were locked up, rust had started to appear on the bottom of the doors, and the exhaust is now leaking...

With 269k on the odometer who will want to give me anything for it so at this point I am going to buy some new rotors and pads for it, and some new struts and it will turn into my winter beater, i dont care for it type of car... until something blows up on it then its going straight to the junk yard after I remove all the valuable pieces on it so dont feel bad.

These cars have a rare market and not many of us are willing to jump on them knowing how well we know them.

I wish i could find one with 30-50k on the odometer and I would buy it in a hearbeat, as for me it was a great car and never gave me issues.

Hope all goes well.
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