1990 Cadillac Seville

Summary:

In spite of its quirks, this is a fantastic car

Faults:

The ignition system in the steering column broke. The car has an automatic anti-theft system with resistor chips in the keys, and we frequently had to wait three minutes to start it when it began having difficulties. When the locksmith tore into the column, it turned out one wire was completely broken, and only made contact occasionally. The gear between the ignition switch and the ignition module broke when the ignition module went out, and I couldn't turn the car off without major effort.

The starter was replaced at 110,000 miles.

Currently it's having problems with the brake hydraulics, and the master cylinder will be replaced next week. The brakes still work, they're just mushy and trigger the anti-lock system when they don't need to.

The lumbar supports in the seats don't work, but they didn't when we bought it.

The digital dash display sometimes flickers or goes out, and just needs a wiggle of the dimmer switch to get them back on.

General Comments:

This car has incredible power. It's very easy to get well above the speed limit when merging or passing on the freeway without even noticing the speed. It handles extremely well at all speeds.

It's very comfortable for long trips.

Gas mileage isn't that great, about 18 in town and 23 on the highway, but we just can't give it up for a more economical car. It's too much fun to drive.

This car handles very well in high wind situations. When other cars are being blown all over the road, this one cruises along smoothly. You barely notice any wind gusts.

This car loves curvy, hilly roads. It hasn't found a mountain yet that's steep enough to slow it at all.

I highly recommend this car to anyone.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 1st October, 2004

26th Feb 2005, 08:07

My goodness, where do you live that cars are "blown all over the road?" Or is it that you drive during hurricanes and tornadoes?

20th Sep 2005, 14:36

I bought a 1989 Cadillac Seville earlier this year. unfortunately, I had ti spend about $300.00 because I the ignition switch became inoperable. I have read several reports which lead me to believe that this is /was a major flaw in the car. The security feature has prevented me from entering the starting the car on several occassions. I would have to wait much longer than the three minutes the owners manual suggest. If anyone know how I could disengaged this feature please respond to this email. I am ready to get rid of the car for this fact alone. It a good car when it's running. When it shuts down it's a bummer.

1990 Cadillac Seville STS 4.5 Liter V8

Summary:

Third sportiest car in Cadillac's history (besides the CTS and XLR)

Faults:

Starter went bad at 98,000.

Hood Struts are bad, I got a 2x4 to prop the hood open.

Front bottoms of Leather seats are showing their age.

General Comments:

This car is a cream puff. The exterior is near perfect. The pearl white paint is in absolutely perfect shape. Not even a single ding. I bought it off an older gentlemen, old people always take good care of their cars. (especially Caddys). The interior is also near mint, except for the seats.

For those who don't know, this is the short, stubby, boxy, body style. It's a little smaller than an Accord. Combine this with a honking V-8, and you have a seriously fast machine.

This car is the special edition STS Seville, which Cadillac made very few of for this year. I have yet to see another 1990 STS driving around in Nashville. STS means Seville touring sedan. This car has the tight suspension, bigger wheels, wider speed rated tires, and different gear ratios.

All of this leads to an extremely fun car to drive. The previous owner had replaced the shocks, and the handling is simply amazing. I drove the newer STS and it doesn't handle nearly as well as this one. This comes at the penalty of a stiff ride (for a Caddy), but its worth it.

The interior is quite unusual. It has a full length console, running through the back seat. So it only seats four. Mine was tan inside and had real rosewood on the doors, consel, and dash. There's enough wood to look like a Rolls. It was also amazingly quiet, until you put your foot into it. My biggest complaint was the digital gages. You only have a digital speedometer and gas gage facing you, the rest are in a digital readout down near the shifter.

If you can find one in good condition with low miles (a near impossible task), take it. It's a good deal and an absolute blast to drive.

Alas, I sold my STS this spring. I got the itch for speed and wanted something RWD, so I got a Camaro Z-28.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 21st November, 2003

24th Jan 2004, 10:00

I agree completely, I own a black Seville STS and have bought my second one in white. My new one was 85,000 miles on it, is in perfect condition and still performs as if it were new. The black STS has over 180,000 miles on it and despite some obvious wear and tear can still perform almost as well as the white one. Prices to buy one are very reasonable so if you find one I suggest you buy it before I do.

24th Jun 2004, 18:11

The Solution to the front seats is leather shoe cream that is the color of the upholstery. Our Seville is silver with the dark blue interior and had nasty white/grey looking cracks in the lower seats. Used navy blue shoe cream on them, the cracks are no longer off color and it looks 100% better.

2nd Dec 2005, 13:31

Great comments about the STS - very accurate and informative. I recently purchased one with a little over 140K and I have yet to see another in the Nashville area, too. Despite some cosmetic and operating problems I still LOVE it! It's a really powerful car that runs and looks great.