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2008 Cadillac CTS

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Comments

  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Engine update Friday Feb 1st. Basically I still don't know anything.They have the engine torn apart and can see where the dye/water is getting in one of the cylinders. Problem is they don't know how it is getting there. No visible cracks in the head, block, or head gasket. They have the head at the machine shop now checking it out, but the service manager told me he doubts they will find anything. The dye should have shown a crack if there was one. His best guess is that the block casting is porus letting the water in that way. He is working with Cadillac technical services, trying to get authorization for a new engine, what I wanted in the first place. It's been in the shop for 8 days this time and he admitted Caddy probably wouldn't make a decision till Monday at the earliest. That means with shipping time for hopefuly the new engine, and disassembly, reassembly and installation, I am looking at it being in the shop for another week to week and a half. That probably puts me up to about 26 days or so in the shop since the first of the year. Oh, I forgot!! Caddy :lemon: offered me a free oil change. At least this time the rental isn't a Cobalt, the Grand Prix while no Caddy is certainly much better than a Cobalt. With rental car fees, all the problems the first time in the shop, and now the engine, I can take solace that GM hasn't made a penny on this vehicle. Too bad they just don't get me a new one, or money back, and take this lemon to Detroit to study how NOT to build a car. :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
  • 150mphclub150mphclub Member Posts: 316
    "The first time, Lexus gave him a new car. The second time, they gave him his money back and he went and bought an Acura TL. That's the legendary Lexus customer service and it's why Lexus has a loyal customer base."

    Apparently not too loyal, since he went out and bought an Acura.
  • tntmythtntmyth Member Posts: 70
    Lexus did not want to sell him another car after declaring two lemons. It was like, take your refund and go away!
  • rvothrvoth Member Posts: 147
    Alot of these castings that have defects that are not visible with the human eye. There is a series of NDT non destructive tests that can be done on these parts to find fatal cracks and imperfections. Different types of tests are Ultrasonic, Magnetic Particle and Liquid Penetrant which gm favors to find the cracks/leaks after a problem crops up. GM uses a liquid penetrant with a flourescent light to excite the particles which shows where exactly the leak is.

    If GM were to do these tests on the engines before assembly, the price of your car would GO UP in price because these procedures are very time and money consuming. Usually these type of tests are done on race car engines and Aircraft parts ,sheet metal and engine turbine components . Parts like this if they fail will have disastrous results.

    So some types of defects are OK and some reject able defects will get by GM . They can't and won't do these NDT's tests as they are too costly and time consuming so we as consumers get a mass produced product.
  • kplacerkplacer Member Posts: 97
    Seems there is a bit of a pattern with this customer.
  • cdnpinheadcdnpinhead Member Posts: 5,498
    Thanks for the education.

    What is your source for stating that GM does nothing beyond visual inspection of their castings?

    I've only been working aerospace castings for 27 years, so there's always more to learn.
    '08 Acura TSX, '17 Subaru Forester
  • rvothrvoth Member Posts: 147
    You do know the different types of NDT testing then. You must preform some type of testing on the cast that are used in aerospace industry. Dye Penetrant on non ferrous material like magnesium, aluminum and titanium and magnetic particle test on ferrous (iron) like crankshafts and iron heads. Ultrasonic test are used on thick castings or in areas where Magnetic or Liquid tests can not be performed. Much more portable to use and accurate to find the flaws inside of the material than liquid Penetrant.

    GM probable uses other tests than visual inspections to find internal casting defects. They probably don't use any of these NDT test as they are very time consuming. Just think how many vehicles GM uses this 3.6 liter engine in.... Cadallic SRX,CTS, DTS, Malibu , Acadia ,Saturn Vue maybe one or two other vehicles.That's a very high demand for this engine so an educated guess is ther will be a few defects arising from such a high production.
  • jkr2106jkr2106 Member Posts: 248
    ...so an educated guess is ther will be a few defects arising from such a high production.

    Agreed. a few, not a third! Plus, that post said defective...not "few defects"--two completely different ideas. I can easily see how gm would permit the sale of cars with defects if they didn't manifest in like 12 years or something, but I doubt they'd sell something that would have a 30-something percentage of failure in the first "couple" years of ownership. That was just misinformation, plain and simple.
  • fueledupfueledup Member Posts: 64
    first and formost i want to thank rcantwell for taking the time to inform the public of his screwed up caddy. i don't understand all the negative post . it's amazing to me how soo many people want to crank on rcantwell. the guy got a bad product . he never said all caddy's are bad, just this one and he was originally treated like crap. if more people would voice the truth about these corporate products perhaps the products would improve. he's paid over 40k he's got the right to boo or cheer. it's nice to know not everyone is a corporate schill.
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    I feel for him, it is all in his attitude. I don't feel like I have to listen to his 4 letter words in his posts. That was totally uncalled for. Af far as his car if it was mine I too would be raising a ruckus.
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Perhaps you don't remember starting the whole thing by calling my original post a ____ in the wind? My reaction might have been a bit overboard, but remember I was and still am stressing about what is going to happen with my CTS. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
  • jharoldjharold Member Posts: 11
    Picked up my CTS Saturday, February 2nd.... I had ordered it on December 28th.
    Have the DI engine, performance collection, luxury level one, sunroof, spare tire, high polished wheels and wood trim packages. I had the dealer install the side molding and tint the windows. A great looking car inside and out.

    Photobucket
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Great looking car, I hope you have much better luck with it than I have mine.
  • tntmythtntmyth Member Posts: 70
    Hey if anybody has a 2008 CTS that has actually been trouble-free, please let us know about it here and how long you have had your car. We have had alot of negative input here. I am curious if all the new CTS cars are having issues.
  • cptsullycptsully Member Posts: 18
    I have had my 2008 CTS since OCT 07. It is fully loaded, minus AWD, with 8500 miles on it. I have had no problems whatsoever with it, and love driving it! :)
  • cdnpinheadcdnpinhead Member Posts: 5,498
    There's a guy from Vegas (thebug, I think) who has one of the new ones after driving one of the originals for several years. He's happy as can be, last I heard.

    You've got to realize that people come to these boards, mostly, before the acquisition to get information and after only if they're having trouble. The vast majority get the car they want & we never hear another word because they're out enjoying it & not hanging around on these boards.

    They (unlike people like me, it appears) actually have a life.
    '08 Acura TSX, '17 Subaru Forester
  • letsgometsletsgomets Member Posts: 6
    In September I took delivery of an AWD, DI, all the toys. It has approx 5.5k miles and no problems, rattles, squeaks, etc. - which is much more than I can say about my last 3 Audis....
  • wacojohnnywacojohnny Member Posts: 8
    I have my CTS fully loaded AWD,DI,all the options and not a hint of anything wrong,it,s got about 2800 miles on it and running perfect.I love the car,I picked it up on Nov 13th.If you are thinking of getting one don,t worry its a great car.Driving over the streets of NYC,and no rattles sqeaks its amazing.
  • j4mstj4mst Member Posts: 1
    Ordered my CTS Oct 19th 08 car was delivered Jan 04 08 3.6 SFI, PDQ, Auto
    White Diamond W/ spare tire. I have been watching this forum since before my
    purchase. I would like to respond to some of the postings by saying after 50 +
    years of auto purchasing it is not uncommon to have some minor or major
    problems with a first year production. However after looking at the competition
    I do not find any other vehicle that can compare to the CTS '08 the ergonomics
    are far superior to its closet competitor,performance is on par with the best. It
    remains Cadillac all the way. It most certinaly is not a European Sports car it is
    however one of the most adept at finding the middle of the performance road to
    Sport and Luxury. I have 1200 miles no problems other than a heated seat function
    problem that is being taken care of by the dealer who is replacing my fuel used to
    come in for service. :):):):):) The only other thing I can say is WOW Great
    car!!!!
  • sevenfeet0sevenfeet0 Member Posts: 486
    I've been lurking watching the events of this unfold. I think all of us here really hope that your dealership and Cadillac get to some resolution everyone can agree to. One thing for sure is that issues like this aren't limited to Cadillac or GM. My mother had been driving Lexus ES cars for some time now and she had purchased the 2007 model last year. That car was an absolutely nightmare of gremlins...mostly resulting in the car refusing to start in her own garage. After being towed to the Lexus dealership five times and have no luck with the service solutions, the dealership made arrangements to get her into another vehicle. By this time the 2008s had shown up, and that's what she moved into. No problems with the current car.

    Usually manufacturers have policies about how to handle the most serious issues that try to balance customer satisfaction with cost effectiveness. After all, drop shipping a 3.6L DI engine for your car isn't exactly a walk in the park. What helps in the process is not just being persistant (and not a jerk at the same time), but also having a dealership willing to go to bat for you. There are two Caddy dealerships in my town. The one I go to treats me like gold, regardless of why I'm there. They all my name (and all their regular customers names), from the receptionist to the owner, who always makes it a point to stop what he's doing and say hi to me. They remember what's going on in my life and ask about my family. They never try to spend their time selling me a car....they know when I'm ready, I'll come to them. And their service managers are all the same people for the last fifteen+ years I've been there. If there is an issue with my car, I know they will tell me the truth and not just try to do what's profitable. I have no doubt that they would go to bat for me with GM if something like what you're going through happened to me.

    Bottom line is that if you feel your dealership isn't serving you well, let them know and look for others. If it's GM, make sure the dealership is pulling every string they can. The last thing they want is the loss of a customer, much less to a competitor. When that happens, odds are the customer is gone for good.
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Still no news. Mine is actually the 3.6VVT engine, so you would think it would be more reliable. Talked to the service manager this afternoon. Still no word from the Cadillac rep on what is going to happen. Evidently with GM the area rep has the say so on major things. Service manager says they are going to have to replace the engine, they know what is wrong with it ( water in 2 cylinders,) but can't see a way that it is getting there. Head gasket was not blown, head isn't cracked, the only thing they can come up with is that block has a porous casting, letting the water in. Says he hopes to know someting tomorrow, but that is what he said about today also. If he gets the ok to replace the engine he thinks he can have one here early next week, and the car back to us maybe by the end of the week. If that time frame holds, that means the car would have been in the shop 31 days since the first of the year. Getting me closer to the 45 day lemon law all the time. I do feel like the service manager is trying to do what is right. It all depends on the Cadillac rep, and he is the one who refused to replace the motor earlier. Service manager says that is their only choice now, but I will feel a lot better when the decision has been made. Actually I would feel a lot better if they would just give me another car, but that ain't going to happen. :lemon:
  • johnstingrayjohnstingray Member Posts: 4
    Wow, that seems like a pretty quick delivery time. I ordered my CTS November 24 I was told 6-8 weeks. I call my dealer weekly and am being told they don't have a build date yet. I ordered mine Black Raven in color with the base engine, RWD, auto, Luxury Collection, both wood packages and no sunroof. Every CTS I've ever seen has a sunroof and I was also told by another owner there may be an availability problem with the wood package for the steering wheel and gearshift. Maybe those items are causing the delay. With our winter in the east central US so far I think I should have gotten AWD too.
  • mthmth Member Posts: 18
    We have a 2008 CTS AWD Thunder Gray with Ebony interior.

    First, the dealer ordered touch up paint and the paint color on the touch up lists: Code 30 WA-417P Kelava Gray Met.

    The color looks like the correct color but I can find no cross reference to Cadillac's name of Thunder Gray. Can anyone verify this is the correct color. I believe the option code is 30U but I can't find the paint code on the car.

    Second, so far (760 miles) we absolutely love this car. We did have a strange hiccup with the transmission, but my wife is not really sure what the sequence of events was and it hasn't happened again. It is taking getting used to having a car with no body side moldings (it looks beautiful, but those lazy people who don't put away shopping carts and think doors are for dinging are giving me nightmares!)

    After three new Volvos over the past ten years, it is nice so far to have a rattle free car that is absolutely gorgeous and comfortable INSIDE and OUT!!!!
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Sounds like something is wrong. Maybe your dealer doesn't have an allocation for a CTS and that is what is keeping it from being picked up. I ordered my :lemon: in mid September and it was delivered Oct 30th. I know the wood wheel and gearshift were orginally constrained, but I thought they got that taken care of. I would go back and talk to whoever takes care of special orders at the dealrship. They can find out why it hasn't been picked up for a build yet. Also, if it hasn't been picked up for building yet, they can probably add the AWD to the car. I know we changed the option package on ours just before it was scheduled for build. Anyway something is definetly wrong either with the factory or your dealer. 2 and a half months and no build date yet is nnot right.
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Update 1-5-08,service manager just called, Cadillac finally approved a new engine. Should have it installed and the Cadillac back to us by the end of next week, maybe a little sooner depending on where the engine had to come from. A little happier about the situation now, it only took Caddy two weeks to decide to do what they should have done oirginally.
  • jharoldjharold Member Posts: 11
    You must have a dealer problem.... I originally ordered a CTS November 28th and it was set to be delivered December 28th. The dealer screwed up the order so I got my deposit back and went to another dealer the next day December 29th and ordered another CTS. I took deleviery of that car on Saturday February 2nd. You may need to check with another dealer
  • briantucsonbriantucson Member Posts: 23
    I ordered my CTS and picked it up on 28 Dec.

    Last Friday I went to start the vehicle and it didn't turn over (no crank).

    I used Onstar which forwarded me to Cadillac Roadside Assistance (CRA). CRA asked me for a phone number, to which I said "I've got Onstar". They said "We don't have access to that, do you have a cell phone?" It seems that GM doesn't quite have the whole thing planned out perfectly yet.

    Anyway, after I finished with CRA, I gave the CTS yet another try, and this time it fired up. I drove home with the groceries, and as I walked in the door, the home phone rang. It was CRA telling me about the tow vehicle that was en route. I explained that after unloading the perishables I intended on dropping off the car, but thanks.

    The dealer gave me an '08 CTS loaner, which was nice. It was pretty basic in terms of equipment, as expected. I hadn't driven the base suspension in awhile, and there is a marked difference between it and the FE3. Surprising, even. Pretty Soft. Also, since it was a rental, I didn't feel the need to spare the RPM. The base engine (non DI) really does have pretty decent push.

    I picked up my car today. It was all tied to an insufficiently grounded cable.

    Here's the good news: There was a service bulletin on it. This alone speaks volumes about Quality.

    It wasn't where the Dealer Tech's said "Well, we looked at it and it turns out that the assembler must've been drunk".

    It was evidence of statiscal based, process-controlled manufactured environment. Their manufacturing engineers knew (unfortunately, after the fact) that a subset of their vehicles didn't pass mustard due to a process in their manufacturing flow. But they've updated their manufacturing process to address shortfalls.

    I've accepted that purchaseing a vehicle very early in the manufacturing flow means you're more suspect to some problems. But after 6 weeks, and 1K miles, this was it. Some would not accept this, but I loved the car and had to have one.

    Hats off to GM. Even with the slight inconvenience, it's been worth it, and I love the ride.
  • jharoldjharold Member Posts: 11
    Consumer Reports gives the CTS a good rating... Considering they have always been anti-US cars... They rate the TL and G35 better... they just couldn't get pass their bias against American cars.

    From their on line article.
    *******************************************************************


    Upscale sports sedans: American dream--
    Cadillac gives its German rivals a wake-up call

    BMW 328i
    Cadillac CTS
    Mercedes-Benz C300
    Saab 9-3

    BMW and Mercedes-Benz have long been considered by many to set the standard in the sport-sedan category. But this month a newly redesigned Cadillac outscored cars from both of the German automakers in our 2008 upscale sport sedan review, earning high marks for agility, powertrain, and refinement.

    The 2008 Cadillac CTS beat out the BMW 328i and the redesigned Mercedes-Benz C300 in our upscale sport-sedan group. It also outscored the freshened Saab 9-3 (all available to subscribers).

    While the CTS vaults past most competitors, the Infiniti G35 and Acura TL still outscore it and lead the 2008 upscale sport sedan class in our Ratings
  • ctshadafloodctshadaflood Member Posts: 21
    With all due respect. replaceing an engine should never be an option on this new of a car. Do what i was famous for. Tie lemons on a string and run it across the top and sides of your car. park it legally in front of the dealer. Let the dealer get involved in pushing for a new car for you. Every prospective buyer will want to hear your story before they walk in the show room and look at the CTS. Trust me this works. the car is hot right now.
    My Fuel pump went on my car with 200 miles on it.
    I held a big sign that said...The real question is"when you turn your car on. DOES IT START????
    They gave me oil changes and wheel alignments for the life of my lease.
    Give them Hell
  • ctshadafloodctshadaflood Member Posts: 21
    The look of them on the grill is awesome. However they are really not bright enough. can they be replaced with bright bulps within specs?
  • ctshadafloodctshadaflood Member Posts: 21
    The look of them on the grill is awesome. However they are really not bright enough. can they be replaced with bright bulbs within specs?
  • johnstingrayjohnstingray Member Posts: 4
    Well guess what? My salesman called me today and said the car was "in the system." He couldn't give me a build date and said it would be another six weeks! :mad: I don't want to burn bridges with this dealer just yet but it sounds like it never got put in right or something and they're covering themselves. They have two CTS's in stock but I don't care for the options and or colors, One of them they've had since around the 1st of November at least so they're not as scarce as they want you to believe. Most people seem to be getting theirs in 4-5 weeks. I'll be going to the Chicago Auto Show in a few days and will talk to a Cadillac rep to see what's going on. If I could find one with the right color and options at a nearby dealership I would buy it the same day.
  • woolman2woolman2 Member Posts: 1
    I'm not sure it's a dealer issue. I think it has a lot to do with the option that you ordered on the car. I got mine loaded up with every option. I think this is why mine has taken so long to get entered into the system. I ordered mine on the 12 of Dec and didn't see it in the system until Jan 24th. I stopped at the dealer on the 18th to check the status of my order and at that point they informed me that the car that was ordered prior to mine just received a build date of the 21st. The nice thing about it is once you have a build date it about a week out. The lucky person that had the build date of the 21st, picked there new car on Sat the 26th. Now I'm only a few hrs from the plant, so I'm sure that cut's time off the overall cycle time.

    Now for the good new, on Jan 29th I did receive my build date of 2-11-2008. I just can't wait..... Good Luck with yours :shades:
  • gcoleygcoley Member Posts: 3
    I have just ordered a White CTS as well and want to add the door guards. Do you remember how much extra your dealer charged to add the door guards? Thanks for your help.
  • johnstingrayjohnstingray Member Posts: 4
    I called Cadillac a couple of days ago and they said it was scheduled to be built the week of Feb 18. It's nice to get somewhat of a concrete date. I can't wait for mine either! :)
  • mthmth Member Posts: 18
    Anybody?
  • mthmth Member Posts: 18
    Anybody? :confuse:
  • jharoldjharold Member Posts: 11
    They didn't itimize the side molding on the paper work but I think they were between $300-400.
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    My new engine has arrived at the dealership and they should start putting it in tomorrow ( Mon). I hope that this is the beginning of the end of this nightmare, and not the beginning of another chapter. Saw the CTS on Friday afternoon, it was pretty sickening, the car on a lift and the motor, transmission, entire front suspension, exhaust system laying on the floor underneath. I hope the technicians are sharp enough to put it back together right. They seemed pretty confident. Dealership said it will take at least two days to get it back together, they want the mechanic to take his time, then the car will have to be realigned, and the service manager wants to drive it himself for a day, so maybe I will have it back by the end of the week. I just want to let everyone know that I think GM totally left me hanging on this one. They should have at the very least immediately approved a new engine,instead they initially wanted to repair the old one. The dealership finally told them there was no way to repair the old one. With as much noise as they make about satisfaction and customer service a new car would not have been out of the question. Boils down to you can't change a zebra's stripes. It is still the same old GM doing business the same way. They can talk the talk but don't walk the walk. No wonder Toyota is kicking their [non-permissible content removed]. :lemon: :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    Maybe they were a tad slow but it looks to me like GM handled it just as they should. You can't really expect them to put in a complete new engine at I'm guessing, 10K when they need to be sure it really needs a new engine. Since you are so down on them and it is such a popular car maybe you should just cut your losses and sell it now why it is hot. If you didn't pay sticker for it you may be able to get near all your money out of it and then go by your Toyota as I think this car has given you a bad taste in your mouth and you will never be happy with it. :sick:
  • tntmythtntmyth Member Posts: 70
    I disagree. I believe rcantwell only had 2,800 miles on his car. He has been very very understanding in my book. I would have pushed for no less than a new car under the lemon law and sued Cadillac if necessary including for the time I was making payments and for the rental car if they refused to declare it a lemon. I would have a cow , simply be horrified, and on a mission, if I were told that I have to let a bunch of techs tear the engine and transmission out of my brand new car at such low mileage. And all the while, I'm supposed to make payments???..... I don't think so. Simply unacceptable. I think any judge would agree. New cars are not supposed to have to get a heart transplant. And I agree with dmathews3. If I could not get it declared a lemon. I would sell the car on ebay and buy something else new that doesn't need a heart transplant.
  • cdnpinheadcdnpinhead Member Posts: 5,498
    I sincerely hope this works out well for you, and I think it may.

    It comes down to the pride and competence of the mechanics who are replacing the engine, and it sounds like they are on the right track. They work for a Cadillac dealership and probably have seen that the CTS is the flagship for all of GM at the moment. You need to know that, while an engine swap looks like a Mongolian cluster event to the uninitiated, it's business as usual for those who do it for a living.

    In my industry, gas turbine engines are torn down in a few hours & put back together with different instrumentation on a regular basis. Over and over (& over again). It's all about the person doing the hands-on work. We have some excellent mechanics where I work, and I'll bet this dealership does too.

    Try to look at the upside, given that you've had a couple of weeks to absorb all this. This dealership and the service department knows you well by now (for better or worse) and, if you work it right, you could be treated very very well over the next years. If I were you, I'd try to have some quality one-on-one time with the mechanic (or mechanics) after they're finished to thank them for doing what GM should have done in the first place.

    Companies make money (hopefully), but people make (& fix) cars. I wish I had a mechanic I knew well at my dealership.
    '08 Acura TSX, '17 Subaru Forester
  • dmathews3dmathews3 Member Posts: 1,739
    I don't disagree with you or rcantwell, but like it or not he hasn't met the Lemon Law as of yet in any state that I know of. Has to be in the shop for the SAME problem so many days or usually they have 3 tries to fix the SAME problem. If it was my car I would be hopping mad to and the first thing I would want to do is peddle it off as fast as I could while it is a hot product and may get most or even all monies from it. The dealer at the least should step up to the plate and make him a deal he can't refuse.
  • robcorrobcor Member Posts: 2
    I'm hoping to trade my '06 CTS for an '08....to get one equipped the way I want, it looks like I'll have to order it.

    I've got an '06 CTS, 3.6, black on black, luxury package(heated seats, leather, home link, etc), sunroof, standard tires, 22,500 miles, exellent condition with an original sticker of $37,445. The '08 that I will order has a sticker of $40,635.

    So far, I have two dealer quotes....one dealer wants $19,500 to trade and a second dealer wants a trade differece of $20,400. Although I am strictly a novice, both of these quotes seem to be way to much of a trade difference.

    I would appreciate any of your thoughts on what a reasonable trade differnce might be. I would really like to have an '08 but this may not be the right time to get it?
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    If I get the car back this coming Friday, it will have been in the shop for 30 days since the first of the year. Lemon law says 45 days in the first year, so I may get to that point. For your information, the car had 1500 miles on it when the problem first occurred, has 1800 on it now. We will see what happens. The service manager mentioned making a payment on the car for me, and free lifetime oil changes and tire rotations. I will see what I can get them to agree to when the car is back on the road, noticed I didn't say fixed, I don't know if that is possible. :lemon: :lemon: :lemon:
  • beerme1beerme1 Member Posts: 67
    dude, or rc if you prefer, your story is well documented here. Can you just layoff using the lemon icon over and over in every single post?
    Holy chit man. Any reasonable person feels for you and your situation. You are a minority for sure. Cadillac is not pumping out lemons. These new cars are awesome. Sorry about yours. Hopefully when you buy that Toyota that you dream of, yours isn't one that has an oil sludge problem in the engine that happens to more than a few.
    Please take your tax rebate/loan and go go buy that Toyota, support their economy, deal with their customer service and be sure to let us know then that there is no safe car buying option in the world.

    Later
    Willy
  • rcantwellrcantwell Member Posts: 77
    Actually on Friday when I was at the dealership checking on my car there was another 08 CTS in the bay next to mine. It had 196 miles on it. I asked the mechanic working on mine what the trouble with it was. He said all the electronics, dash, radio, etc would just suddenly quit and then come back on. Don't know if they got it fixed or not. So, mine is not the only CTS having troubles. Maybe Cadillac is pumping out lemons. My dealership has sold eight of them ( all they have been able to get) and two out of eight are having problems. :lemon: :lemon:
  • sevenfeet0sevenfeet0 Member Posts: 486
    As many of you may have seen, '08 CTS has been turning up in the premium collections to Avis and Enterprise (in some areas). I'm on a business trip to Boston right now and managed to get a white '08 CTS for a couple of days to test drive one away from doing a limited dealer test drive. This is a brand new vehicle right off the truck...just 5 miles on the odometer and the protective stickers were still on the HVAC readouts. :) And for all of you waiting patiently for your CTS orders, all the cars are Avis are base model vehicles...no DI engines, no sunroofs, no Nav systems (pity), base radios, automatic transmission cars. It does look like the seating package was included since the car has heated seats....very useful for the freezing cold of Boston right now.

    So far, the car has been good out of the gate. All the time I spent in the dealership in this car allowed me to get a good seating position in a short time (not easy when you're my size). The leg room is killer in this car for people who are vertically challenged...like Shaq. The wheel tilts and telescopes nicely although I wouldn't have minded another half inch of travel outward. Instrumentation is a leap above my last CTS and the '05 SRX I currently own. The tri-cluster readouts are all focused toward the same point in space...a nice touch.

    Without the hard drive, the pause button on the radio just functions as a mute switch. And although there is a visiable EQ setting for the radio, you can't get to it with the base model. Otherwise the radio performs as advertised with XM radio standard (and working in my rental).

    Power from the base engine is adequate..much like my original '03 car except the engine seems to make a lot less fuss to do anything versus that old Catera engine. One thing for sure...this car is a lot quieter than the old model, and it seems to be just as solid as that car too, if not more so. No weird squeeks or rattles, even going over the rutted streets of suburban Boston. And speaking of suspension, this car has the base package and wheels so I'm not going to try anything interesting, especially in Boston streets that still have ice patches around. But everything seems to be well damped and controlled. Very reassuring....

    More later...
  • rayainswrayainsw Member Posts: 3,191
    Thanks for posting that, 7'0".
    I am spending a weekend in San Diego next month -
    and may try to rent a new CTS.
    What is Avis charging?
    Did you reserve a 'Premium Collection' car?
    A CTS, specifically?
    Thanks!
    - Ray
    Averse to tiny rent-a-cars...
    2022 X3 M40i
  • 150mphclub150mphclub Member Posts: 316
    Thanks for the post. You always provide good information.
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