1998 Cadillac Catera from North America
Summary:
It should have never been made. Wait, no, never even thought of
Faults:
* Cracked radiator when it was first bought (thankfully the guy we bought it from agreed to pay for a new one).
* Oil leak (the oil light would come on and I would seriously have to pull the car over and put oil in it).
* Bad cell in battery.
* Belt broke as I was getting on the interstate.
* Leveling and Check Engine light constantly on.
* Transmission died, and replaced it just to find out only 8 months later it would screw up again.
* Fan motor relay went out, so I'd park at a store or something, and because the car was a little hot, it wouldn't crank at all until it cooled down about 30 minutes later.
* Radio quit working for the longest time even after I replaced the fuse.
* A/C coolant leaks so during the summer (Florida) the car sucks not to mention it is obnoxiously loud.
* Ceiling glue isn't holding, so I have safety pinned the ceiling fabric so it doesn't fall down on my head.
* Interior lights work when they want to, but most of the time they do not come on.
* The headlight adjusters are broken so they point down causing me to strain. I used to have 20/20 vision, and now I have to squint to look at the board in my classrooms. I can drive anywhere with my brights on and no one flashes me to turn them off.
* Gas gauge is broken so the car says it has a full tank of gas when it clearly doesn't.
* I get less than 10 miles to the gallon. Yes.
* In Park, the car engine will rev itself up.
* Brakes are HORRIBLE -- I've driven heavy duty trucks and they stop quicker and better than my car.
* Recently replaced struts (they were COMPLETELY ruined), but it still sounds like I'm running over an animal when I hit the reflectors on the center line of the road.
* Bought the car without the passenger door hinge, got the door replaced and it didn't take long for it to break off again.
* Rear passenger window doesn't come down.
* When the heat is on, Passenger side blows freezing cold air.
* Remote to unlock doors does not work, but works to pop the trunk.
* Engine vacuum leak causing the car to misfire and skip when idle, which is also the reason it sometimes won't crank unless I pump the gas.
General Comments:
I absolutely DESPISE this car. Thank God my dad and brother are both mechanically inclined or else we would've paid more than what we bought the car for to get it fixed, and I guess it helps that my brother is the manager at NAPA, so he uses his discount on the parts.
I love to travel, but I am so afraid to take this car out of the county, it has let me down so much. There are always places I need to go and I drive so much for my age (19) --- I put 10,000 miles on my car in 3 months.
This car sucks! If cars had souls, this one would definitely rot in hell!
The ONLY thing I like about it is the sport mode button -- it really helps when I'm passing a car or need accelerate faster than usual. Oh, and maybe the Bose sound system. That's another thing though, when I have the radio on the passenger speaker doesn't work, but when I have a CD playing, they're both perfectly fine!?
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 21st December, 2009
16th Mar 2010, 21:45
Have you ever scanned the codes to see why the check engine light is on? Given the number of miles on the car, things are going to break, maintenance is going to need to be done. I'm impressed the car has lasted this long.