2013/2014 Cadillac CTS - Plz Educate me

[z1ggy]

Unfortunately my g/f's Grandfather passed away recently, and he left behind his barely driven CTS. The family is trying to get rid of it to liquid his assets, but they offered to let me buy it off them first. I currently drive a 2011 Mazda3 with ~100k on it, and I have to do a big service to the car soon as I'm a little behind on maintenance, so I am considering buying the CTS off them rather then dump over $1k into my aging Mazda.

The main things I am trying to find out are if the CTS is A) reliable and B) easy to work on. I've gotten very lucky in my ~15 years of driving in that all my cars have been easy to work on, such as doing oil changes, brake changes, hoses, batteries, etc. However, I've heard newer cars, especially lux brands make it extremely tough to do even basic things like change your own oil, or change a wheel. This is very important that I'm still able to do these things as I sort of enjoy it, but also it saves me a lot of money long term. Secondly, with more of a lux car, I need to make sure it's reliable. I can't go spending a bunch of money on this car, to have to turn around and spend hundreds or thousands in the short term for fixes.

Luckily, the car looks to be in extremely good shape, I think it's either a 2013 or 2014, and has about 30k on it. I drive around 20-22k miles a year, so I do need something that will put up with that.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

A 2011 anything with 100k miles isn't old anymore. Do the maintenance and call us at 200k.

It'll probably be as reliable as your Mazda has probably been, but luxury cars usually cost more to fix. (Then again, domestics usually cost less to fix... but I'd guess the luxury branding pushes more the other way.)

 

[z1ggy]

A 2011 anything with 100k miles isn't old anymore. Do the maintenance and call us at 200k.

It'll probably be as reliable as your Mazda has probably been, but luxury cars usually cost more to fix. (Then again, domestics usually cost less to fix... but I'd guess the luxury branding pushes more the other way.)

Are cars lasting that long now a days? I guess I'm not sure when to stop putting money into a car and call it a day. 50% of the value? 20%? If 200k is realistic, that buys me another 4 years or so.

Spend $10k to buy the Caddilac, and at my rate of current driving, that's about 8 years.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Are cars lasting that long now a days? I guess I'm not sure when to stop putting money into a car and call it a day. 50% of the value? 20%? If 200k is realistic, that buys me another 4 years or so.

They will last that long and longer with good maintenance and repair. (In places like Minnesota, with the snow and salt, engines and transmissions have the nasty habit of outlasting the cars they're attached to.)

If you're looking to save money by skimping on maintenance, the car will not last that long. The value of the car itself isn't really a factor, since the alternative to doing maintenance is replacing the car - if you have to buy a new car more often, did you really save any money by skimping on maintenance and repairs?

It's almost always cheaper to keep fixing a car than get a new one, at least until the engine or transmission goes, or frame/body damage renders the car unsafe to drive.

 

[z1ggy]

They will last that long and longer with good maintenance and repair. (In places like Minnesota, with the snow and salt, engines and transmissions have the nasty habit of outlasting the cars they're attached to.)

If you're looking to save money by skimping on maintenance, the car will not last that long. The value of the car itself isn't really a factor, since the alternative to doing maintenance is replacing the car - if you have to buy a new car more often, did you really save any money by skimping on maintenance and repairs?

Right, well as of right now, I need to replace all 4 rotors and all 4 sets of pads, the spark plugs, and hopefully all the gaskets have been holding up okay, but I'm guessing one or some of them are going to be leaking a bit by this point.

Oil needs to be done but I can handle that myself. I did my brakes on this car last time and I swore I'd never do it again... biggest PITA ever on this car. My subaru and hyundai's have all been a breeze.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Right, well as of right now, I need to replace all 4 rotors and all 4 sets of pads, the spark plugs, and hopefully all the gaskets have been holding up okay, but I'm guessing one or some of them are going to be leaking a bit by this point.

Oil needs to be done but I can handle that myself. I did my brakes on this car last time and I swore I'd never do it again... biggest PITA ever on this car. My subaru and hyundai's have all been a breeze.

If you can do oil, you can do spark plugs. $30 tops for the plugs. I-4 engines are usually pretty easy. (I assume that's what in there.)

Pads and rotors are usually pretty simple too. Are the rears those combo drum/rotor things? Maybe do the fronts and have the rears done.

Do you have a good indie mechanic to do the work or are you paying Stealership rates? Indies will often let you BYO parts, too.

 

[z1ggy]

If you can do oil, you can do spark plugs. $30 tops for the plugs. I-4 engines are usually pretty easy. (I assume that's what in there.)

Pads and rotors are usually pretty simple too. Are the rears those combo drum/rotor things? Maybe do the fronts and have the rears done.

Do you have a good indie mechanic to do the work or are you paying Stealership rates? Indies will often let you BYO parts, too.

I did my bike's spark plugs no problem, unsure on the set up of this engine. Usually I'd have a friend help but I've recently moved and have no friends (as sad as it sounds).

It's not a combo per se, but the piston cylinder is hollow and the pad "locks" into it via these 3 metal prongs. Worst design I've ever seen, you need like 5 hands to do the job because of the really tight tolerance inside the caliper, too. Took me, my dad and his buddy over 3 hours to do all the pads last time, and we've done tons of cars together before. I did my old Genesis Couple on my own in under 2 hours, and also replaced all the rotors and pads on my old Impreza no problem.

I haven't found one yet, but yeah I'd certainly want to buy my own material and have them use that and just pay labor. There's a few local people around I'm hoping would do this.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I did my bike's spark plugs no problem, unsure on the set up of this engine.

Usually it's a matter of unscrewing the four coils, popping them off (carefully), and then using a ratchet extension and socket to remove/replace the spark plugs. Not terribly complex.

Youtube is great for this, since it's usually pretty easy to find somebody with your exact car/engine, and watching the video will give you a good idea of the tools/procedures you'll need.

Personally, I'd recommend a magnetic socket for spark plugs. ~$5 at an auto parts store, prolly.

**snip**

The pad-held-into-the-piston-with-prongs thing I thought was fairly common? I'm not a pro mechanic or anything, but the cars I've swapped pads on used them. Unless I'm thinking of something other than what you're describing, but... a little brute force goes a long way, maybe? They didn't give me any problems. And the brakes didn't fail and I didn't die, so I assume I did it well enough.

Getting the old rusty rotor to pop off was the hard part. But I own a sledgehammer, so it wasn't THAT hard.

FWIW, if you really WANT the CTS, don't let me stop you.

 

[z1ggy]

Usually it's a matter of unscrewing the four coils, popping them off (carefully), and then using a ratchet extension and socket to remove/replace the spark plugs. Not terribly complex.

Youtube is great for this, since it's usually pretty easy to find somebody with your exact car/engine, and watching the video will give you a good idea of the tools/procedures you'll need.

Personally, I'd recommend a magnetic socket for spark plugs. ~$5 at an auto parts store, prolly.



The pad-held-into-the-piston-with-prongs thing I thought was fairly common? I'm not a pro mechanic or anything, but the cars I've swapped pads on used them. Unless I'm thinking of something other than what you're describing, but... a little brute force goes a long way, maybe? They didn't give me any problems. And the brakes didn't fail and I didn't die, so I assume I did it well enough.

Getting the old rusty rotor to pop off was the hard part. But I own a sledgehammer, so it wasn't THAT hard.

FWIW, if you really WANT the CTS, don't let me stop you.

Oh yeah youtube FTW, that's how I figured out how to pop my car doors off to install my audio system, and also how to get the radio out, etc.

I've never seen that design before, which is odd you have. My Gene had brembo's so totally different ball game, but it was super easy. Whoever engineered that caliper and pad system is a hero, literally took me longer to get the car safely propped up and the wheel off than getting the pads in and out.

If I remember.. My Impreza had tiny little pistons. Don't remember if hollow or not, but there were not prongs on the back side of the pad that fit anywhere. Just put pad in... press piston back inside (after cleaning) and put new pad in. This car (and I hear most Ford's) have these 3 prongs that fit inside a hollow piston, AND a key (so you somehow don't put them pad in upside down) that has little to no play. So while you are trying to squeeze these little metal prongs with a set of pliers, you also need a tiny hammer to help jar the pad into the caliper because there's absolutely no play. What often happened was we got the prongs in, but then because of the tight fit into place, the pad sat at an angle. Idk, maybe we just suck, but it was a nightmare.

And I'm 50/50 on the Caddy. I'd love a nicer car that doesn't sound like a small freight train on the inside like the Mazda does, but I also do like making proper monetary life choices. I think if I knew the Mazda wouldn't shit the bed at like 150k and it was minimal work to get it there, the obvious way is spend the $$ on maint. and keep on going. I just worry because some of the electrical is starting to fail, such as my car no longer locks unless from the key fob, and also my driver side window will not close all the way... I have to leave it open like 1/16'' or else it automatically comes right back down again. Probably something wacky because of me.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ooh... electrical problems are my Big Red Flag™.

Although your issues could just be an actuator replacement and maybe something in the door that didn't get put back together right when you did the speakers. (Which I wouldn't say is really electrical, per se.) Or a window motor with a stripped gear.

Housemate had an '03 VW Jetta, and it was just one electrical failure after another. Damn thing went through headlights like popcorn. I was shocked she didn't get rid of it when the battery caught fire.

I have no interest in that crap. Give me a nice simple mechanical problem any day.

 

[z1ggy]

I put the door back together correctly, because everything worked fine. It just now doesn't lock at all via buttons on the car (only fob as I said) and just the driver side window won't stay up and closed. Only way it does is if I hold the "up" button for like 10-15s continuously, then.... somehow it stays.

It's nothing major, just inconvenient but I agree, E failures are kind of a cars downfall. Easy to replace mechanical parts, but you can't really go rewiring your shiz.

Do you or anybody know how "easy" working on Cadillacs are? Can I at least do brakes, oil, battery?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I put the door back together correctly, because everything worked fine. It just now doesn't lock at all via buttons on the car (only fob as I said) and just the driver side window won't stay up and closed. Only way it does is if I hold the "up" button for like 10-15s continuously, then.... somehow it stays.

It's nothing major, just inconvenient but I agree, E failures are kind of a cars downfall. Easy to replace mechanical parts, but you can't really go rewiring your shiz.

Do you or anybody know how "easy" working on Cadillacs are? Can I at least do brakes, oil, battery?

Brakes are, generally speaking, brakes - again, I'd be hitting up Youtube for specifics.

Taking a look at some photos of the engine bay, it looks like the fill for the oil is right on top. The battery appears to be hiding. It could be under an easily removable plastic shroud, or it could be somewhere harder to get to.

Here is an oil and filter change video; you can decide for yourself if things are too tight/hidden, etc.

https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2011_Cadillac_SRX_3.0L_V6/oil/change_oil_and_oil_filter

 

[XavierMace]

Is it the turbo 4 or the V6 model?

 

[pauldun170]

I've had various Mazdas in my driveway since the early 90's. Mazda6 Wagon is our current one.
I vote replace the 100k 2011 Mazda with the low mileage CTS if its only 10K. I double vote if you are driving the 2.0.

The Mazda won't shit the bed anytime soon but it's going to feel like a penalty box more and more. Yours is still young enough to get something back on the used car market as well.
If the CTS will only cost 10K, sell the Mazda3 and you'll be paying chump change for a caddy.

I don't recall anything about them being a pain to work on.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

I've had various Mazdas in my driveway since the early 90's. Mazda6 Wagon is our current one.
I vote replace the 100k 2011 Mazda with the low mileage CTS if its only 10K. I double vote if you are driving the 2.0.

The Mazda won't shit the bed anytime soon but it's going to feel like a penalty box more and more. Yours is still young enough to get something back on the used car market as well.
If the CTS will only cost 10K, sell the Mazda3 and you'll be paying chump change for a caddy.

I don't recall anything about them being a pain to work on.

Yeah, but then he'll be addicted to big luxury cars for the rest of his life. In fifteen years, he'll be driving a 5-series, which is a fate worse than death.

 

[mindless1]

Re the window, try lubing the track with spray silicone.
Re the locks, check the wire bundle going through the driver's door hinge, often a wire in that frays apart.

Re CTS - Drive it, for a whole day if you can, then decide, though as far as how long your Mazda 3 will last, probably past 200K mi but you have to keep up with the little things so it doesn't turn into a clunker.

Re the brake pad tabs in back, I've often seen 2 or 3 on pads but never needed to use a hammer, just pushed it in. If the piston has a lot of rust impeding that then you might want to sand that off, but make sure it's rust and not just crustiness on a composite piston instead of a metal one.

 

[jlee]

Which model CTS is it? The AWD ones (at least 2008 era) have a nasty habit of stripping the input/output shafts.

2013 is second gen and 2014 is third gen - which is this one?

 

[HarryLui]

CTS will triple that $1000 repair on the Mazda 3 in a hurry.

 

[boomerang]

2013 is second gen and 2014 is third gen - which is this one?

For 2014, it depends on whether it's a two or four door. Four door is third gen. Had one. Hated it.

 

[z1ggy]

Update - Mum double crossed me and sold it to a stealership for $18k. Sort of disappointed because literally last week she said she'd sell it to me for a lower price. She must have been pressured by other family members to liquid and spread the cash....

Oh well, honestly... I would reeeeeally love my next vehicle to be a lightly used Grand Cherokee SRT. If the Mazda can last me another 100k, that gives me about 5 years to save up.

So... in 5 years be ready for a thread titled "Reason for me not to buy this Jeep SRT"

 

[pauldun170]

Update - Mum double crossed me and sold it to a stealership for $18k. Sort of disappointed because literally last week she said she'd sell it to me for a lower price. She must have been pressured by other family members to liquid and spread the cash....

Oh well, honestly... I would reeeeeally love my next vehicle to be a lightly used Grand Cherokee SRT. If the Mazda can last me another 100k, that gives me about 5 years to save up.

So... in 5 years be ready for a thread titled "Reason for me not to buy this Jeep SRT"

To think it could have been you who bought the car for 10K
Then sell it for 18K
Then immediately sell your Mazda for 9K and then buy my old ZX-11 for $900 because I need the space and then something something something
(I checked out market prices for Cherokee SRT and saw you were going to come up short)

 

[sdifox]

why would your girfriend's mom sell the car to you for 10k if she can get 18k from someone else?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Update - Mum double crossed me and sold it to a stealership for $18k. Sort of disappointed because literally last week she said she'd sell it to me for a lower price. She must have been pressured by other family members to liquid and spread the cash....

Oh well, honestly... I would reeeeeally love my next vehicle to be a lightly used Grand Cherokee SRT. If the Mazda can last me another 100k, that gives me about 5 years to save up.

So... in 5 years be ready for a thread titled "Reason for me not to buy this Jeep SRT"

Legally, the executor of an estate may not always be "allowed" to get less than fair market value for some asset. Especially if the money is getting split up. Lawsuits ensue.

I would look at pre-leased Altimas.

 

[z1ggy]

why would your girfriend's mom sell the car to you for 10k if she can get 18k from someone else?

Because she's got ass tons of money and doesn't give af about $8k. They are looking to buy their 3rd house this year...Well they aren't like millionaire baller rich, but they have a crap ton more money than my parents do. Good jobs, big time savers/investors.

Legally, the executor of an estate may not always be "allowed" to get less than fair market value for some asset. Especially if the money is getting split up. Lawsuits ensue.

I would look at pre-leased Altimas.

That and also her brother is a mega stingy mofo. I'm guessing she told him that she was going to sell me the car for cheap and he lost his crap? Who knows.

And as far as the SRT goes, it's still probably a pipe dream even in 5 years. But..... I just heard above that modern cars can make 200k no problem if you take care of it. Who's to say I couldn't buy one with 70 or even 80 on it? B) Dreamer gonna dream. Checks all my boxes for what I need a vehicle to be... Fast, (potential to be) loud, looks mean, can haul kiddies and gear, decent in bad weather, little bit of lux.

 

[NutBucket]

So... in 5 years be ready for a thread titled "Reason for me not to buy this Jeep SRT"

4 words are enough reason not to: Because it's a Jeep.

Alternatively: Because FCA made it.