Faults:

The right front headlight's adjusters are broken. I feel this shouldn't have broken, and I'm saddened that a replacement headlight assembly is $300. The headlight assembly is not a wear item, hence the price of replacement, but I bought the car like this not knowing of the problem. Though some people would blame it on the manufacturer of the car, I do not, because this item was probably broken within the 53000 miles that the previous owner had owned the car.

The battery was replaced after a 1500 mile trip. I had driven 1500 miles on a planned road trip. After two weeks of my arrival, the engine wouldn't start. I brought the car in, and they recommended a battery replacement. After it was replaced, it started like a charm!

The left rear reverse light was out. I replaced both reverse lights with blue lights.

The windshield wipers needed replacement after one season due to extensive chatter from the blades.

The front brake rotors needed replacement, there was extensive pulling and rumbling coming from the steering wheel and shift stick. Once replaced, the rumbling was barely noticeable, however still there.

The cruise control was out right after I arrived from my 1500 mile trip. The problem was a broken brake switch (which also caused the brake lights not to come on).

My friend had broken my left passenger side door. It was no longer opening from the outside. I took the panel off and found it was a $3 fix, that required a lever inside the door to be replaced (along with a plastic washer type piece).

I had problems with the sunroof. The knob wouldn't open the sunroof to the right location the knob was turned to. This was a simple fix after looking in the owners manual.

General Comments:

This car has a special feature called "sport". There is a button that is press able atop the shift stick. This switch makes the car's throttle more responsive. In accelerating with this feature, the car will switch at red line! If you want to go fast, you press the "S" button. My friend also calls it "get away from cop mode".

The mechanical steering adjustment that the car automatically adjusts is great for highway cruising. It makes the steering wheel less responsive, and keeps the car going straight. However, in emergency maneuvers, it is incredibly responsive. The car handles amazingly well!

The memory preset for seat position is a great feature, it even remembers the location of the rear view mirrors!

The rear sunscreen is a conversational masterpiece! It is the first thing I show to people who haven't seen my car yet, and they simply go "WOW!"

The garage door memory on the rear view mirror is an excellent feature. It keeps potentially dangerous openers from coming off the visor in an accident, and very convenient because you'll never forget it!

The interior of the car is very nice, its not quite what I would expect from sport luxury however. Though a matter of preference, the luxuries of the car was more dominant than the sport.

When driven slowly, the car feels like a tank. However, when the car is in sport mode, it feels like a souped up 4 cylinder compact car on steroids.

I can't get over that I am driving a better car than many other people, at a small price of 11,000 dollars, I get a sport luxury car on the same level of a BMW. Whereas most of my peers are driving around 10,000 dollar 2002 cavaliers, I simply can't understand why they would pay that much for a piece of plastic.

The features of the car definitely outweigh the problems. It's an excellent bargain for a car! (just don't beat it up, because the car will beat up your wallet!) The new base price for one of these babies was $45,000! To get one used now is around $15,000 - $5,000. On fully equipped models you get a sparkling beautiful color with chrome wheels, sunroof, leather! Hom much more could you ask for!!!

Faults:

The blower motor needed replacement at 4,000 miles.

The air conditioning had to be updated this year at 18,000 miles.

General Comments:

My wife and I each have a Catera. We have been very pleased with the value and quality of the cars. They do require fairly strict maintenance, but if you can afford a car in the low luxury bracket you should also be able to afford to maintain it. I have owned a Lexus and a Mercedes, and the service and commitment from the Cadillac dealer far exceeds any other auto name brand that I have dealt with. My advice is, if you can afford to take care of this car, run out and buy one. Use the premium fuel and baby it. It's built by Opel, in Germany. It's also the only mid-sized General Motors sedan with rear wheel drive.