Cadillac CTS/CTS-V

sonjaab

Last fall when I was CTS shopping, Because of limited
 supply I could only have a CTS overnite.
And they wouldn't do GM employee deal on one either!
 They gave me a new Deville for the whole
week tho. So I got a Deville anyway........
Good thing....I will be ready for a CTS V-8 soon.
Can't wait for that 350 mouse motor under foot !
I love to blow the doors off those Benz, Lexus, Bmws
off the stoplights and high end with the Northstar.
So I KNOW that 350 is gonna ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!
.............geo----Who has had many SS396s-440s-454
hot rods in his youth !....Still have my 72 GTO from
high school 29 years ago !

ctsjerry

Hi Necros- I'll check again, but I don't think it will fit. As a matter of fact my Salesman even mentioned it before I bought it. He suggested putting it in the trunk. "CadCTS" and I both went out and bought special bags to hold all our stuff that we'd normally have in our glove box. Works fine, but I just wish it was a bit taller.

ctsjerry

I'm very proud that I bought my Cadillac CTS. It's a bold American design, that now the Japanese seem to be copying.

Good news: Engine assembled in Great Britain. Bad news: Transmission assembled in FRANCE. My Dealer refuses to remove it. But it does seem to go really fast in REVERSE. HA!

necros

Nope, it fits, trust me. I have mine in there all the time. I'll take a digital pic of it if you'd like.

cjs2002

PLEASE don't tell me that the CTS is goin up in price... I can aprox get into the base modle right now... which is what I want to do... but I won't be able to if the hike up the prices in 04, any idea if the base price witll stay the same... I really love this car.... and would really love to own one... but I woun't have the funds ready till mid or late August... I hope someone will have some good news....thanx

ctsjerry

Hi Necros- I just ran outside during my lunch break, and noticed a special shelf up high and hard to see. The Owner's Manual just fits! Thanks for the info! I take back my criticism of that area of the car. But, I do wish the glovebox was be a bit bigger, but with the air bag above it, I realize that's tough to do.

ctsjerry

Hi CTS2002- With the current promotional things going on, it's tough to say if the price and financing deals will be there in August. A lot has to do with the economy overall and auto sales. I know ALL the auto manufacturers have been hurting and that's why we see the prices & low interest deals we are seeing. Can you believe Mitsubishi's no payments till 2004 and till then THEY pay you $50 a month! You gotta know they are desperate to make a sale. I think as a minimum, the price may go up $500 or so for the base model. Sure hope you can get it! Speaking from my experience, once this car is in your blood, you're hooked!

typeaman

I'm taking in my cts tomorrow to have the steering bolt looked at that was recalled. At the same time I am going to ask them to look at two problems...
1. My analog clock looses about 1 minute a month from the digital time. It now reads 7 minutes off.
2. When I am at a stop with my brake pedal pressed, I have so much static on the AM radio that I can't even hear the talking. The static stops when I take my foot of the brake. It only can be heard at stations below 1000 on the dial. Sometimes I can also hear static from the turn signal.
Anyone else have these problems?
Other than these small issues, I LOVE THIS CAR!

b4z

You better believe it.
GM has raised the price of the Impala $2000 in 2 years.
They even raised the price of the Aurora $300 recently.
Since the MSRP has no bearing on what people actually pay they will continue to raise prices because rebates will take up the slack.
There are many people who feel that GM should price their cars closer to the true transaction prices but they wouldn't be able to make a killing during the good times.

mannytranny

Read post # 2467

wwhite2

I really cant tell if my analog clock is 1 minute,2 minute or 30 seconds fast= slow .... whatever off . It's not a big deal to me I'm to busy enjoying the car. Now I just need to get that bolt tightened and the rear plate lens leak fixed.

ctsjerry

Thanks MannyTranny for posting that reference to an earlier post. I have my dealer check it next time I'm in the neighborhood. My clock is only off by about 2 minutes, but it's annoying not to be right-on. I'm glad the 2004 models will have an analog temperature gauge in it's place. Wish there was a retro fit available, but imagine what that would cost!

ctsjerry

I went in to get my CTS checked three days after I got the recall notice. My Dealer said my car was 1/4 turn off from spec, which was typical of some cars they had checked. None were worse than that, and most were OK as is. On that third day, they said they were checking between 20 and 30 cars a day. My car was built September 20th, 2002. What was your experience?

blueice24

Hello - I am new to the board. I purchased a new blue CTS last December. I love my car. Unfortunately, I am having severe problems with the Bose radio. I was wondering if anyone else was having a problem with their Bose system. Ever since I purchased the car, the radio has been acting strangely. Sometimes, when I start the car, the radio will come on- however it will not have any volume. So, I have to drive in complete silence. Then after a few hours when I start the car again - it is fine. This has baffled the dealer and they have had the car now on three different occasions. So, now I am waiting on a whole new system. Other than that, I love the car and have had no other real problems. It seems to be a real head turner around here. The only thing I wish is that it had a V-8 under the hood - then it would be perfect.

ctsjerry

Hi blueice24- Congrats on your purchase of a new Blue CTS! We really love ours too. We have a Sable Black one, with the 6 CD Bose System. Ours works flawlessly. I haven't seen any posts describing the problem you describe. Sounds like some weird electronic fluke, that will drive anyone crazy trying to track it down. The best solution is what you're doing: get a new in-dash replacement from the Dealer. Afterall, that's what our "Bumper To Bumper Warranty" is all about. Good luck!

bingoman

The radio problem you describe was a common problem on early CTS's. I have the nav system and had the same problem with my radio. The amplifier needs to be replaced. Mine was replaced last August and has worked fine ever since.

thebug

Blueice24, congrats on your purchase. I purchased my CTS in Nov 02, and had the same problem for the first couple of days. Although we did a three hour class on programming, somehow we didn't complete the process. I finally took the time to fully programed the "HOME PRESETS" and it hasn't happened since.

I'm not really sure which selection corrected it, but my best guess is the H/A or home/away selection. The AVC or automatic volume control may also play a part in this. I turned it off.

Nonetheless, the driver's manual has a fairly good explanation of the fucntion of each selection. I also entered a working radio station for all slots provided. The truth is, I made so many changes a once that it's hard to tell which one or group made the correction, but it works fine now.

thebug...

mcgreenx

Had a similar problem. The dealer first thought it was the antenna connection, in the roof near the rear window, he said. I didn't think so, but had to go along with that "repair." When the problem immediately recurred, the entire radio was R&Rd. Worked to my advantage since the original radio was replaced with the newer style that has the digital clock and the Mute Audio with the steering wheel button (mine had neither).

I would insist on a replacement. They will never repair it.

wwhite2

A technical bulletin for possible leaks and repairs for CTS has been posted under Maintenance and Repair all discussions "technical service bulletins "

berrycherry

A few months ago using carsdirect.com the price was $100 over invoice. Last week it was $300 over invoice.

Today it is $900 over invoice.

What has happened, do they thing a test drive will let them make more money.

So TEST them and DO NOT buy. Wait untill the end of year where the price is at dealer invoice and not over $100.

They make 3% as dealer holdback which is over $1000 and that is enough profit.

Comment please, lets make them change this policy

berry

b4z

My dealer sells them for $45 over invoice but i think they add an additional $179 advertising fee over and above the advertising cost that is already in the invoice from the factory.

b4z

I just took a trip down CTS memory lane.
I went to page 1 of this thread which takes you back to July 2002 where Pat had just started this new "CTS" thread to replace the one she had to shut down due to way off topic posts.
Whe are talking about CTS posts comparing it to anything from a Taurus to a Sierra Cosworth.

I think pat shut it down about 3 times last Summer.
We were very bad Townhall Members.

I then went to the original CTS thread that started exactly 2 years ago with a "aintitcool" post from the Matrix movie.

The thread was called "Cadillac CTS 2003" but somehow it is archived as "Cadillac CTS vs. the rest of 'em."
Which is probably more appropriate considering the content in that thread.
LOL.

pat

Right, I renamed it after I closed it with the hope that "vs. the rest of 'em" would stay there.

:-D

cu95

mcgreenx, I took a test drive today in a CTS and played with the "mute" button on the right side of the steering wheel and when I pressed it it announced "Onstar" and killed the radio volume. Is this the mute you now have or is this the old hands free phone access? How do the two variants behave? Sorry to harp on a rather trivial detail(I too would rather end up with just the mute; the Onstar phone would be used rarely, if ever), thanks.

32caddy

I can get a white diamond, lux sport, xenon, sunroof, bose digital, 17 inch mirror polish wheels, and stick.Car looks and drives well. What is a good price????In the mid west area. Thanks

richw5

Congrats on your new CTS!

Sorry to hear about your problem. Our CTS has been almost perfect, just a problem with a cable around the gas filler tube.

Your state is certainly one of the most beautiful for driving a car like the CTS.

Good luck on your Bose repair and happy driving.

Rich

sonjaab

Have only seen a ONE used CTS advertised in
Syracuse NY.....The price was close to new !
Stop over to the Smart Shopper Thread and post
on the "real world trade values thread". Bill,
Terry and the guys go to auctions every week. If
there has been a used CTS running the block they
can tell ya for how much ! There was a couple on
e-bay for around 10k or so.....But I would be
wary of them....Maybe they are/were rebuilt wrecks
or lemon buy backs or such.................geo

logic1

I do not have a CTS, but had a similar problem with my Bose DVD home entertainment system.

For some reason, the unit stopped working correctly. Bose sent me a DVD with a software upgrade. When I downloaded the upgrade, the whole unit froze. I could not get it to work at all.

Bose sent me a new unit that has worked perfectly for months now. Sounds as though Bose had a programming glitch.

berrycherry

Just found out that carsdirect.com price depends on the area you are in.

Detroit is $900 over invoice.

Los Angeles area is $400 over invoice.I have been told that they will go lower to cut out the commission they pay carsdirect.

Does anybody know what they pay carsdirect?

berry

ctsjerry

Hi cu95- As I understand it, on the NAV equipped CTSs, the steering wheel mute button will do as you state. I believe on the standard CTS and Bose equipped CTS it will only mute the sound. I'll check mine tonight and let you know. Just to let you know, Onstar is extremely cool! You'll get 100-120 minutes of free phone calls, if you ask your Dealer at purchase time (gift card), OR when you call Onstar to set-up your car's system. Also they have deals for $39 for 100 minutes during a year. I love using my Onstar phone for short messages to my wife, friends or relatives. If you keep the messages short, you can get alot of use out of it. And the Onstar adviser will help you with all sorts of questions you might have.

b4z

http://www.autonews.com/files/prod.pdf

cu95

ctsjerry, thanks, I'm interested to hear how yours works. The car I was test driving was a base model with base radio. Furthermore, I believe it was a "newer" production because the sticker showed the current MSRP.

wwhite2

THe problem with the onstar phone service is you can't punch in an access code to check messages off an answering machine due to the voice recognition only dialing

cjs2002

Well I decided that I would suck it up and go/call/use the internet to get price quotes on the CTS, (base). I was pleased when someone from the dealorship called and "sounded" interested and was willing to help with information... granted I've yet to go there and see 1st imprsion from this person... cause I'm 20 and most every dealorship no matter the manufacture won't give me the time of day... so we'll see how it goes... as to the price increase he told me I could get into the base CTS rouphly 30,294 or something close to that, but he also said that it didn't include any biccering over price I may wish to do... I informed him my father handled the squabling over prices part... so thats where I go tommorrow, test drive and biccer... hope it goes well....

mcgreenx

On my original radio, the small right steering wheel button would activate the hands-off cell phone and mute the radio. I don't recall what the radio displayed when that was done. The button had an icon representing a "talking face." I don't know what the new button shows, but since it no longer activates the phone, I assume it is something else, like a speaker with a line through it. As I think I said, I much prefer the "Audio Mute" to the phone activation.

I don't have the built-in Nav system so I can't comment on how the button works with that setup. (I do have a Garmin StreetFinder III aftermarket GPS, that I LOVE; I bought a year of the second OnStar level, the one that gives directions, etc., and I haven't had occasion to call them since I got the GPS. I have the basic OnStar for three years, but don't plan to renew the second level. Also, I put in a SkyFi XM radio and LOVE it, too. I guess I'm just a fool when it comes to love.)

I found/find the hands-off phone much less convenient (no optional dialing buttons)and much more expensive that my hands-free "portable" cell phone. Come to think of it, I still have about 90 minutes of calling time, good for the next six months; thanks for reminding me, I better use them up. I plan to keep only a few minutes for use if I forget my cell phone. I doubt if many people use it, but since all the equipment is there for the On-Star system, it probably has a small incremental cost for GM to include it.

oldsman01

My Intrigue has Onstar and came with the first year of the basic service free. I upgraded to the second tier package(actually then it was the top package as they only had two) and after the initial year it renews monthly unless you cancel. I continued with that package for a couple of months and then downgraded to the basic package as I really was not using it that much. It was pretty neat when you had friends in the car and you wanted to make a dinner reservation to just push the blue button and have them do it for you. After newness of it wore off, I just didn't use it that much and didn't see the need to pay the extra. As for the personal calling, I've used that a few times, but the per minute rate is pretty high, especially since I get a very large number of minutes to use on my cell phone. I've used the personal calling feature a few times while travelling as it saves me roaming charges, but at highway speeds(70+) sometimes the other person has a hard time hearing me clealy. Maybe in a Cadillac which is probably quieter than my Olds, this isn't a problem. Also, when I would call people from the Onstar phone, they see a different number on their caller ID and think it's my new number then start calling me on it and unless I'm in the car, they get a Verizon "customer not available" message. Lastly, when I've been in both Atlanta and Chicago I have gotten fast busies when trying to use it for calls as the Onstar units use analog(AMPS) technology. Tried a call in Chi-town 3 times once and got fast busies everytime. Attempted it once on my CDMA cell phone and had no problems whatsoever.

BTW, if you have any pics of your XM install I would love to see how it looks.

cjs2002

Well I went to the dealership today and WOW, what a difference, for once I was treated like someone who actually wanted to buy a car, all my question were answerd, and if he didn't know he'd quickly find out for me. when I got there he was helping someone else so he told me to take a CTS out for a while and come back whenever... and he'd help me then... I was surprised by that, normally they come with you. I loved everything in the car, and don't think I would add anything to it, the car has everything I wanted end of storie. although I do want a sun roof, I need some sort of package for that, but he informed me that there dealership had a GM part shop that would install an aftermarket roof if I wanted one... so that could be an option. the car ran great, love the power windows up/down for all 4... (simple minds, simple pleasures) personally I like the inside and don't think it looks cheap, and I love the radio controls, but I did once on my 2 hour excursion hit the wrong button and blast the radio, but I know I'd get used to it. I must admit the glove box is rather small, but I never use it anyways so I really didn't care... as for now I'm hoppin that I can work out a good deal for the base, any ideas as to an aproximate price? thanx

oldsman01

Glad you liked the car and the dealership people treated you like a person. I remember when I was younger, I sometimes got the cold shoulder at some dealers.

mcgreenx

Your OnStar experience is pretty much like mine. I had better check you make sure the second level doesn't automatically renew; thanks for the tip. As for the phone, I live in Chicago and haven't encountered the fast busy you spoke about, but I haven't used the handsfree OnStar phone for about two months, so I will check it out.

As for the XM installation, I had the Delphi SkyFi receiver, and used what used to be the ashtray insert to attach the cradle to. It really works very well. You can take a look at a few pix here:

http://www.xmfan.com/viewtopic.php?t=3372

I like XM so much, I just bought the boombox for my office. You can use the same tuner in both radios and not have to pay a second monthly fee. But at $10 a month, I think it's well worth it. If you are not familiar with the SkyFi, you can read about it (and other brands) here:

http://www.xmradio.com/skyfi/

BTW, I think I referred to my GPS as the Garmin StreetFinder III. If I did, I should have said StreetPilot III.

oldsman01

Thanks for the pics. I wish Cadillac would offer XM as a stand alone option(as EVERY other GM car does) rather than having to get the navigation system. I have had XM radio since November 2001 and would never want to be without. As for the fast busy signal and cell phones, that is common in large cities when using analog phones. While cellular carriers are required to support analog until 2005, they don't have to do anything to improve it and they are not as the bulk of their customers have digital handsets and digital is where the money is going. On analog, one call ties up an entire channel on the particular cell. With CDMA up to 10 calls can be processed by a single channel and with the more advanced 1X or CDMA 2000 upgraded networks, even more calls can be processed by one channel.

cu95

mcgreenx, thanks for reporting back on the button's functioning. I was at another dealership today (second in three days) for a quick test drive and to talk price. I tried the button and it was definitely activating the Onstar phone. I asked the saleman if that can be set to just mute the radio, he didn't know but was going to ask someone in service and get back to me with an answer. Oh, and the clocks weren't in sync.

Ok, onto my shopping efforts. I've spoken with four dealers and have received quotes for a base with automatic of $30,800, $30,700, $30,117 (after extensive haggling to get them down from $31,795) and finally $29,750 from the dealer today. With MV/doc/misc fees (totaling $279) and taxes ($1785 at 6%) the grand total is $31,814. When you consider the 0% financing, I HAVE to buy it at that price, right? :-) Well, unless my wife talks me out of it (not likely), I'm jumping on that price this week. Oh, the anticipation. One bad thing: the CTS will probably have to sit idle for a few weeks in a relative's garage (our current parking area has a lot of vans/trucks coming and going while an adjacent house is being remodelled; with all the materials and tools they're lugging back and forth it would be just a matter of time until something whacked the CTS.)

32caddy

Well everyone, I went and bought a White Diamond, stick, with everything except the nav today!!! Even got it home safely. Thanks for all the info and inputs. It is gooood to have a Caddy again!!

sonjaab

Congrats and Enjoy !!!!!...............geo

mannytranny

Congrats on your CTS. You will enjoy it!!!!!!!

b4z

Enjoy.

wwhite2

Good luck ! You will love the stick !

dindak

Nice to see someone is buying a stick.

richw5

oldsman01 and mcgreenx - Thanks for the OnStar info. My subscription is about to expire and I'm not sure if I should renew. We've never used our OnStar, since we both have cell phones.

How about everyone else out there? What's your experience with OnStar and should we renew?

Rich

navigator3740

Conceptually, I like it. It's great to unlock your doors if you lock your keys in the car. My Lincolns have keypads on the doors, so that works just as well. I have to laugh at the commercials for Onstar though, especially the one where the gentleman from Onstar comes over the car speaker reporting the bag deployment and asking if everyone in the car is alright----and nobody can respond because they're all dead or unconscious! Can't believe that sells Onstar, but whatever.....

calicadi

Congrats to 32Caddy (if you own a '32 Caddy put some pictures up so we can see!) and preemptive congrats to cu95.

I have the base OnStar package and use the hands-free phone almost every time I drive. I do have a cell phone, but also "old age eyes". Anything inside a four foot range and I need my reading glasses. This makes cell phone dialing a dangerous distraction unless I park and put glasses on which is often not an option. The other reasons I sprung for it were the theft deterrence and emergency contact aspects. Have you ever tried to call 911? Good luck getting through.