Faults:
All problems experiencing with my car is a resulting from not taking proper care form previous owner (s).
1.) Needed to replace the engine due to a complete loss of oil-engine siezed-.
2.) Minor issues I plan to replace (motors to the mirrors, replacing the belt until the harmonic balancer was adjusted-new engine installed-,get the carpet and floor-board checked out, etc.)
3.) I plan to get a new paint job even though the paint is still good and shines well, just to make sure there isn't any rust problems.
General Comments:
With the problems I am addressing at the moment with my '86 Cimarron, I really enjoy this car. I did some research before I got it to get an idea of what I'm getting. Since it is used, the old saying "When you buy used, you buy the previous owners problems!" It's true only because this car was not taken care of and used as a "run it to ground" type of vehicle.
I tell people that I never liked a 3 speed FWD as much I like this one (I am partial to RWD). As was stated, it has good performance, handles great, comfortable, sounds good, among others. Cadillac had a good platform, it's just that they didn't think it through. The Cimarron did receive great reviews for auto mags and whatnot. People just didn't want a small Caddy and I believe it would have done better if it was released later. Cadillac should've had the V6 and manual 4 from the start. My Cimarron is about 3200 lbs so it's considerably heavier that the other J-body types. It also cost about twice as much as well. But when looking at the list of standard features, it makes sense. Personally, I would rather have at least an extra 2 inches in the passenger seats and another 2 to lengthen the trunk. Yet it's still in good shape and still looks good.
To anyone who is buy an older car should take the advice to find how well the vehicle before you and how many miles it has. Like mine, 93,000 for a 20yr. old car isn't a lot. I am more partial to the Big 3's and not much into to Japanese vehicles (though Nissan is an exception). I've known people to own an '88 civic DX, a 99 Solora, and a couple other Japanese vehicles and I'm not much into them. That's my personal view. And I can understand why people don't trust the Big 3 with a lot of recalls and everything, but do some research and you'll find everyone has the same quality. GM has recalls, Ford has recalls, Chrysler has recalls, even Toyota and Honda have recalls. From the cheapest to the most expensive, everyone has recalls and I mean a lot of them. Expect that from Mass-Production! I try to give a benefit-of-the-doubt to a vehicle before I criticize it.
My car red-lines at 5000rpm and goes as high as 7000 and looked at the tachometer while driving on I-40 at 80 mph and saw it was at 3700rpm, it's got range. I was like "wow" and wondered how fast I could go with this 3 speed transmission. The only reason I didn't give my higher marks in Reliability and Running Costs is the fact I am working to fix my car to where it's almost brand new.
18th Aug 2006, 12:17
I think the main issue with the Cimarron was that it looked too much like a Cavalier. Cimarron had its strong following, but if Cadillac would have made it look more like a small luxury car and less like a Chevy with leather, it could have been a better selling car. Think about it, the first Sevilles were Novas. While the two had very similar proportions and even an identical roofline, the Seville looked like a sumptuous, refined, elegant Cadillac, not a fancy Chevy (not that there's anything wrong with Chevrolet) :