Faults:

Nothing rides like a Cadillac, especially the 88' Deville. Well, okay, the Coupe has to be the ultimate with only 2 doors. But, it has only 2 doors.

My issue is with the driver's seat. The back portion of the seat has been leaning further and further away from the steering wheel. I'm almost lying down to drive this bad boy. The portion I sit on could be firmer, as well. Of course, GM makes their seats a quarter inch different for every car year, so good luck finding a nice, 21st century Cadillac driver seat that would fit an 88' DeVille.

Does anyone in America know of a place that can provide a driver seat for a 88' DeVille (in blue)? Yes, it needs to have all the power attachments. Junk Yards are welcome to let me know if a fairly decent seat (let's aim high and make it a blue seat) comes along.

Holla' at a brother in Alexandria, VA at MDantley@YAHOO.COM.

General Comments:

THis car is very quick, nimble, but brakes for 88' aren't what they are now.

Faults:

Trunk motor.

General Comments:

One of the best cars I have ever had.

I have my own detailing business so I come across a lot of different cars. There is no beating the comfort of a CADI.

I own a 1988 Sedan De Ville; the car still looks brand new. Runs like a top, and the seats are more comfortable than the couch in my front room.

It blows my mind that the car is 20 year old.

Faults:

Nothing so far...

General Comments:

I just bought this from the original owner who is 96 years old. He had to stop driving because of his health. I saw this car at a car wash 2 years ago and gave him my # if he wanted to sell it. It looks like it just came off the factory line. It is in showroom condition and the previous owner took amazing care of it. The car is Firemist Sapphire Blue with matching Velour seats. The interior is spotless with no rips or stains. The trunk looks as though he never used it with the original mat. I have the original bill of sale and he paid $36,000 Canadian for this car. It passed both Ontario Certification and Emissions testing with no need of repairs. I paid $2,000. It has all the luxury features except for a sunroof. It shines like new and has a lot of pick up with the FWD V8. This is my second older Cadillac and my previous was a 1978 Seville Elegante, black and silver, with 52,000 miles that I sold to an undertaker!

Faults:

The idle speed control motor went bad, making the car stall after being started. It took 2-3 tries, then it would stay running. This only occurred at normal engine operating temperature. Cold starting was fine.

Both front door windows fell down into the door.

A/C quit working.

Head gasket blew and destroyed the engine at only 91,000 miles. $3500.

Air compressor for the air shocks quit working.

The water pump kept going bad after the engine was replaced. Went through 4 of them.

The blower motor got stuck on and drained the battery.

The paint peeled off the hood.

Transmission started making strange grinding noises.

Got rid of it after that.

General Comments:

This car doesn't have the build quality of the previous rear wheel drive models that preceded it. While they all had engine seal problems, at least the big older models body and interior would hold up. This car is just bad in all areas, including the paint. The previous owner kept maintenance records in the manual, so I thought I was getting a good one. But that proved not to be true.

This is a difficult and costly car to maintain, so they don't make good project cars.

The performance of the engine is excellent. It can get up to speed quickly.

The interior is nice and roomy, but the dashboard is awkwardly designed. The climate control is located next to the steering column, so you have to reach around or through the steering wheel to get to it. The driver information centers are at the bottom of the dash, by your knees, so you have to look all the way down to see what's going on. Good thing nothing too important comes on at the information centers.

It's a quiet car and the ride is good. But not as good as the rear wheel drive models.

It handles great for a four door luxury sedan.

This is not a bad looking or bad driving car. It's just a poorly made car that will breakdown and fall apart on you. This is unusual for Cadillacs, as I've had them in the past, and they were all durable high quality cars. The only advantage this car has over the big Cadillacs is it handles better and is faster.

I know back then Cadillac was trying to compete with European imports, and they seem to have gotten it right with this car. They made a good handling, good performing, four door car with horrible quality and a short life expectancy. Sounds like a typical European car. Just look at the same era Mercedes, BMW, or Jaguar. They're just as lousy.

If you're looking for a Caddy, steer clear of these models from the model years 1985-1988. They're the worst ones made.