1970 Cadillac DeVille Coupe 472 c.i.
Summary:
Badass
Faults:
Before I can tell you that, here is some background. I was 19 and I bought this car on eBay. The guy was a jerk, and I was a naive kid. I probably should have walked away.
He was honest about the body being straight and the drivetrain being good.
The cooling system immediately went to hell. I ended up pulling oiut the thermostat just so I could make it home.
I replaced the radiator and bypassed the heater core. To this day the car has no heat. It is currently overheating again. I think it is time for a waterpump. Damn Vegas dust.
The interior is totally shot.
The window motors are tired. They go up and down, but only certain switches work.
One window is off it's track.
Weather stripping is gone.
Rust in the quarters, around the windows and anywhere in the corners where moisture was trapped.
But these are all things you can expect buying a 40 year old car that didn't have the best care.
The one thing I will tell people who want an old caddy to look out for that no one else is mentioning is steering column problems. Mine is a nightmare.
Everything is grounded to everything.
I hit the brakes and the hazard lights come on. I don't pull the fuse because otherwise I have no brake lights, so it's the only way it will appear to have brake lights, so when I hit the brakes, my parking lights come on too...
Get it?
My windsheild wipers come on when I slam the door.
Sometimes the ignition switch gets randy and my starter will stay on.
Broken 3 starters this way.
Alternator went bad. 30 dollars for a new one. =)
General Comments:
Easy to work on.
Avoid it if any of the electricals aren't working.
The only problem with mine was no hazard lights at first. It escalated into needed ing a column rebuild which was done completely wrong and resulted in worse problems.
So basically only buy a car without perfect electrical if you have the cash or knowledge to fix it. Caddy steering columns are COMPLICATED.
I may try to take it on now that I have more experience.
At 2150 dollars, I paid too much. But I was 19. It was a learning experience.
That said, I love this car and how it feels driving down the highway.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 14th May, 2007
15th May 2007, 23:10
Hmm my first car was a 1988 Lincoln Town Car I loved that body style so that's what I was shooting for, that car had 210,000 miles on it when I bought it for $1700 a lot of little things broke in the engine which was annoying, but it was a learning process, I've had two more of these now upgraded to a 2000 Grand Marquis, these cars are unmatched.