looking at an 89 caddy, 4.5L, pretty high miles, 315,000 kms but only $1500 CAD, (5 cents US )lol. Just wondering if you's knew anything to look out for with this car.... Drove it around a bit, I've never driven a V8 front wheel drive, seems alright, sure has a lot more balls then my old Dynasty that I had to sell when I bought the Buick (it had 300,000 plus and was running strong, i just needed a big GM!!!). Just looking for something cheaper, (but nice) to drive back and forth to work. The Electra is getting to be too much... almost $400 a month! I could do alot with that money! The caddy is supposed to get around 25-30 mpg, double the Electra, so i should get my money out of it in gas savings, even if it only lasts 6 months (I hope it would last longer, I'm sure the Electra wouldn't mind not having to drive back and forth to work this winter) Any opinions?
brakes are the only problem. Grandpa is a Caddy man but the last few have eaten up brakes n rotors like candy. Though his last one a 95-96 felt like it had indy car brakes. I never felt brakes grab so firm with little pressure. It had the 4.9 I think and man it would jump up n move. I swear I almost had the front tires off the ground. other problem he had was the aluminum rim would not seal. he tried forever and had them sealed by everyone but it like to spin he rim in the tire n leave him with a flat. Its sad to say but when he went to trade it in on a new Caddy 2 years ago. They would not give him anything for it. So he now owns a Lincoln towncar.
Realistically, you're not going to much over 22-25mpg. I've got an '87 with the dreaded 4.1l and an '88 with the 4.5l. The 4.1's(when they're running) get 2-3 more mpg. Keep in mind, the 4.1-4.9l engines were an aluminum block with iron heads. One of the more neglected systems is the cooling system!! Far too many people forget to have the coolant changed every 3 years or so. As a result, you get alot of corrosion in the system. Head gaskets are pretty notorious for blowing on higher mileage engines. **Use only coolant designed for bi-metal systems. Also, I believe Cadillac had 'pellets' they put in the coolant for the alum. components.....or so I've been told. Might want to keep a spare alternator/belt in the trunk!!:Brow: Ask me how I know.ou: Both of mine have gone south on more than one occasion.
