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Comments
NB Merrill
1. Unbelievable power from 300 hp Northstar.
2. Smooth ride, great cornering, outstanding brakes.
3. Striking good looks (sterling/gray).
4. Impressed by rear parking assist, it works well.
5. Loved the bucket seats and console shifter, but not crazy about detents.
Two things disappointed me:
1. The sun visor had no extension (although the two visors were nice). A car this sexy (and expensive) should have low etch gizmos like sun visor extensions imho.
2. The dealer had slapped those tacky faux convertible treatments on a number of cars.
I also test drove a Park Avenue Ultra. I liked its power and comfort but it was no dts(It was a demo with 2k miles. The dealer was willing to part with it for 34K). In fairness it did not have the Gran Touring Option, although it was loaded with almost every other option. It also did not have a console mounted shifter. It did not look nearly as good as the dts either. It was plain and outdated looking, but I liked the fact that it has the same size trunk as the DTS.
The caddy dealer wants just under 47k for the dts with the lux pak, moonroof and chrome wheels.
Many posts in the Park Avenue forum leave me concerned about suspension vibration problems mentioned by owners of older Park Avenues.
Has any Deville owner had similar problems? Or is/was this a problem limited to the Park Avenue?
Please forgive my long post.
Thank you for any info you can share with me.
Hydra2
what sort of experience others have had. Is
this too much or is it just the nature of the beast?
I have to agree with recent post about test driving a new DTS. I've had my DTS for two years now and I still am impressed with the car and look forward to every driving experience (It is our "road car" for trips.) It is AWSOME on the highway - performance, comfort, handling. appearance. (I often receive comments and "thumbs up" from admirers at stop lights and parking lots.)
The DTS performed flawlessly, the exhausts dropped down and the rear facia took the hit. The aluminum bumper structure was undamaged. It really amazes me that our car took so little damage. The Buick's bumper cracked, and our front facia is slightly damaged. Thanks to OnSTAR about four police vehicles, a fire-truck, and an ambulance were at the scene in less than two-minutes. Today, I must really say thank-you to GM, for keeping us safe, for getting help on the scene, and keeping our car he least damaged as possible in what could have been a farily serious accident. THANK YOU!! And now the DTS will be taking a long vacation in the Cadillac body-shop...I don't even want to know how much exhaust replacement, lower-body parts replacement, plus two bumper facia replacements cost! But the main thing is I am fine, as is my mom, thanks to a fantastic car.
Thanks.
The same may be said of heavily chromed custom grills, wide oval white walls and maybe the fake spare tire on the rear bumper. Many would also be put off by over dressed mag wheels that seem to detract from the personality of a beautiful car like the Deville. The car is elegant, so less (mods) is more.
Unfortunately, custom shops and dealers are only to happy to oblige those who find these mods appealing and have the $$$$ to pay for them.
I do like the flashy wheels, Rolls Royce grill, and gold package as well but I rather have my Deville in plain, thanks.
J "CaddyLac"
Buyers living where it snows a lot don't mind fwd and many also want beauty, power, comfort, handling and a big trunk (BMW not withstanding).
If Cadillac offered the above options on the Base DeVille, yet kept the price close to 40K and restricted nav and night vision to DHS and DTS models for 45-55K would more younger buyers snap them up as screaming values or would it turn off the base models more traditional buyers?
i'm concerned. the big one for me, is the lack of
the bucket seats...for me (6'4" 190 lbs) it's more for comfort and more adjustment with a bucket seat...i must say in all fairness i have not sat in any current generation deville but i would think that the bucket would have at least the lumbar adjustment that the bench wouldn't have. also, there's people out there that don't want the sportier ride or price of the dhs and the dts...i suspect that's something that will
probably change in the near future...jackg
You should test drive the Deville. You may be surprised and impressed by both its comfort and handling (even the base model)considering its size.
No Deville is a sports car, although the DTS is sporty with a capital "S".
The most serious knock on the split bench seats is that when you give in to the temptation to do a little spirited driving (Northstar. power is a corrupting influence)you tend to slide around more on the bench seats than the buckets which hold you in place much better.
The DeVille is for those moving up from entry level to full luxery (more gadgets, more comfort, more $). These are normally people who are a bit more mature and successful. Luxery cars roughly start at 40K, but when well equiped with AT and all the goodies they can easily stretch into 50-60k range (that's why the v8 powered DeVille is such a bargain in its class) and on up into the super lux range of 70-125k.
Cadillac is trying to reach the under 40 crowd, but they are probably more concerned about the fact that the traditional buyers of the DeVille, their best selling car, are probably in the mid-to-late 60's. I suspect that the under 40 crowd is a bonus market. The new market or age group they hope to see in Devilles is probably the 45-55 years old.
Of course, they would love to see more buyers who are 27 or even 37 in DeVilles.
Btw the more youthful enthusiasts are turned off by the Deville's nationality, image, size, fwd and (for some)its price. You can get a stripper "3" or "c" series (but with AT,sport and lux options you get to 40-50k in a heartbeat), a g35 or a CTS for about 35k.
Good luck to you.
take a deville for a spin, but don't trust myself to "just say no"...too cheap...jack g
The power, ride and stereo are sweet. Not in love with the color (yet), of course, the wife loves it, but I prefer it over sterling (too dull) and black (too much like a funeral limo), bronze mist, red and white didn't appeal either.
Handles well, but feels bigger than my LHS even though they are the same size except for a few hundred pounds extra heft in the DTS.
Onstar antennae seems to be an invitation to vandals, sigh, wish they had made it less vulnerable. I need to check the manual to see how easy it is to remove. Wheel locks will be my first accessory.
The manual says no special break in required, beyond varying speed and not standing on the brakes early on. Any one have any first hand advice on break in?
Love the car. Looking forward to my first trip.
I want a CTS or a Lesabre. Dealers
around Syracuse NY have a few CTS but
will not do GMO-GMS deal.....
Keep us posted..........geo
My other car is a 1989 Brougham I purchased at age 24! I guess I really threw their demographics for a loop!
wants small nimble cars and the majority probably do, but i am always surprised by how many young
people want a large car and i'm talking deville size. this is one reason why i think the real future of cadillac is the deville and not the cts.
the cts is a great car for a select group of drivers, while the deville is the bread and butter of caddy...i think they sell a 100,00 or so
each year. gm needs to expand the option list on the deville line and offer the buckets in the base, with the console and floor shifter..that would put me much closer to getting a new caddy. the numbers for a dts is just too rich for my blood...jackg
so far so good, my only costs have been $30.00 oil / filter changes which I do every
6 months or 3k miles. All else was warranty (maby 3 visits in 3 years) have extended
wty that takes it to 6 years from purchase, don't think I would want such a complicated
car without protection. Have the tires/alignment serviced at GranTurismo in Chamblee,
as they are equipped to spin balance on the vehicle, this costs $60-$80 a visit, (at 7500k
interval) sts's are fussy about tire balance. Check with Kurt Hunter in sales, he was good
to me, good luck !!!
I am torn between driving my 95 Chrysler LHS with 70k miles or my new DTS with 100 miles.
I am a bit concerned about the need to vary the speed on the DTS during the first 500 or so miles, but much more concerned about a possible need to downshift the tranny climbing and descending the mountains.
Do most of you downshift? Anyone experience tranny problems after serious mountain driving?
Thanks for any advice or comments.
Btw, while I love the caddy, the cab-forward design of the chrysler makes it handle and feel like a much smaller car. The caddy wins in most other areas like quietness, comfort, trunk, power, technology, safety.
Glad to hear that the DeVille appeals to a cross section of demographic buyers. I hope this trend doesn't drive up insurance rates for the model
with 10,000 miles for 28,500...that deal sounded good enough to tempt even tight-wad yours truly...jackg
The problem for the manufacturer is that he must give up his profit two ways. First the rebate and then the residual if he leases the car. To keep the lease payment competitive, the manufacturer must specify a bloated residual that will bit him when he gets the car back.
What all this says to the buyer is buy cheap or you'll get screwed.
discounts and absorb the financial hit. the smaller companies don't have a choice, they could
never cover the loss to the bottom line and stay in business. also, as some other posters' have noted, one man's loss is another's gain...the price on used caddys are great for someone who doesn't mind buying 2nd hand. if someone pays list
or close to it and then tries to turn it in for a newer model a couple years later, that's when it
hurts. customers expect to be able to return the car to the dealer they bought it from and get a decent price toward the purchase of a new car. this applies to all dealers not just caddys..the
dealers are in it, to buy low and sell high, and it doesn't matter if it's their product your driving onto the lot or another make. jackg
The basic problem with the Lincoln LS is that it's resale value has lagged it's Germand and Japanese competitors.
how it works in europe or japan, but as we all know the dealerships are independently (sp?) owned and this is the real issue ,i think, most of us have with american cars. i truly believe that the quality of the product is competitive, it's the experience at the dealer that sucks; and it's not all bad, there are reputable dealerships out there. for example, when buying a
luxury marque such as lincoln or caddy or chrysler, a loaner should be included for all service scheduled in advance, this is not asking too much, it should be the rule and it should be done courteiously (sp?). this is something that the manufacturers will have to get involved with, if they are to truly try and run head to head with the mercs,bmws and the like.
as far as value of the product re discounts and resale prices, this is something that to my way of thinking is really dependent on the individual
buyer. now idon't consider myself typical because i am a stock owner when it comes to car
ownership: buy and hold. it's not unusual for me
to hold onto a car for ten years or longer. to me, the fact that a car will notbe worth very much a few years after being purchased new, isn't really important; and to repeat myself, this can work to my advantage when considering a used vehicle: case in point is the 300m. i am amazed at the great prices that you can pick up a second hand 300m with low miles; this is right up my alley. this is something that the individual buyer must assess about their needs before they put their money down. in most cases people lease or buy and get rid of it in a few years and then of course price becomes a major big deal. so i'm not trying to negate the importance of price and discounts, it's very important if you're not going to hold onto it.
one thing that i try and remember when making comparisons to the foreign makers and the big three (well 2 and a half): they are producing product for a country (market) of 240 million
people, from death valley to adak...that's a handful...jack g
The power and handling of the DTS is unbelievable. It just ate up the miles. My wife didn't want to stop driving and is eager for our next trip. We didn't go insane, but we did the trip in nine hours. Wow, what an automobile!
I got lots of compliments on the car. The looks and style of this car is under-rated by critics. The more I look at it the better it looks.
Saw several DeVilles on the hwy. Most were white, silver or red.
Gas milage ranged from 22-24 mpg at 70-80 mph.
DeVilles range from 40-55 maybe 60k loaded, whereas the imports range from 30 - 65k or up to 125k counting the 7 and S and the various performances mods.
The infinite price points of the imports allow them to reach value buyers without having to do as much outright discounting new car prices or needing depreciation to bring the price of used cars down to affordable or value levels. Value leases on the imports abound especially with 4k cap reduction on BMW 7.
Posters should consider some of these more complex issues before swallowing the myth that different depreciation rates make the imports better cars.
One reason that might also explain the low depreciation of the BMW is that there are so many models within a model (essentially the same car with different engine/tranny/options)that image seeking buyers feel that even a cheap BMW can't be easily told from its more expensive stablemates. I read somewhere that BMW is considering a 20k model for the American market to reflect what they are doing overseas.
Cadillacs and Lincolns ironically might have too many differnt models. They also don't cover the wide price points like the imports. This is another reason for their steep discounts and high depreciation rates if they want to reach a critial mass of value buyers in addition to the price is no object luxury buyers.