1997 Cadillac Catera Reviews - Page 2 of 5

Oil cooler at 75k.

Auxiliary water pump at 73k.

Control arm bushings are worn out.

Not a bad car at all. It's german so it has some quirks, but nothing life threatening or severely expensive.

Car handles GREAT, and is OK powerwise for the year it is.

The BOSE 8 speaker stereo is awesome, it totally rocks.

There isn't much in the bad department with the car, as I know how to fix cars.

Pulley fell apart at 140000kms. The engine was crap.

Extended warranty was available, but GM didn't want to fix it... Thanks guys! Met them in court.

Leaky seals around the windshield.

Interior lights work when they want to, but don't most of the time.

Driver's seat had to be replaced.

Headlights burn out all the time.

Brake lights stopped working.

Actually all of the electrical system sucks, things work when they feel inclined to do so.

Rims leak air, no matter how many times they get reseated.

Body is bad for rusting out.

The car feels fairly sporty for a four door sedan.

It's also fairly comfy for a "big three" manufactured car. But it's no BMW or Benz.

The styling of the car is nice for who manufactured it.

This car could have been a lot more than the sum of it parts. It is unfortunate that the sum of the parts amounts to crap. I'm sure it would have been a nice car if you didn't want to push it off the cliff because of all the problems.

The best thing that can happen to this car is to have it totaled off by a semi.

I would tell anyone considering buying a used one to stay away for the reasons above.

If you are still thinking of buying one, then maybe this will steer you clear. Try finding aftermarket parts for it. Need a brakelight switch? Good luck! Go to the stealership and get one.

When we purchased the vehicle we quickly noticed that the air conditioning wasn't working. So we got that fixed, along with the emergency brake cable and the back brakes (VERY EXPENSIVE).

The sun roof doesn't work anymore - turns out it'll be $1100, but they will be able to do it for cheaper.

The Oil light sensor needed to be replaced - turns out the mechanic replaced the wrong sensor, so we ended up getting two for the price of one.

This vehicle is a great, fuel efficient Cadillac. Especially with the price of gas (being 1.50/Litre), you can get at least 500 kms to a tank.

The leather seats and the outstanding Bose sound system have really proved to be the best features in this vehicle.

I really don't care what people think about these vehicles, when driven properly and cared for accordingly these things can really last. There is only 95000 ORIGINAL kilometers on my Cadillac, and let me tell you, they are well driven KM's.

I have only seen about 3-4 Catera's in my city, and all of them have withstood the test of time. There have no rust, or any form of body wear.

I have no reason to get rid of this vehicle, I mean, why should I? The motor has PLENTY of life left in it.

I bought the car with a blown head gasket. That was $1200. Got a major tune-up, that was $200. The availability of the parts are limited because they are "cadillac" parts. I don't think it takes 1-2 weeks for a head gasket to be delivered.

I bought the car from my mothers co-worker back in May. It had slight front end damage and the head gasket was blown. I had it towed to the shop 2 days later. That was May 3. ITS OCTOBER 12!!! THAT WAS 6 MONTHS AGO!!! After they changed the head gasket & did the major tune-up, it was "leaking oil" so they tried to charge me $2700 more dollars for a new engine. A class action lawsuit was filed and that was about a month ago. All they had to do is replace the engine. Ever time the shop say its gonna be ready, they push the date back and say, "I wanna give it back to you just right. I only drove the car once!!! Every time I call up to the shop they say the engine is in, but a hose keep causing them trouble. In the process my rims were stolen & (they were replaced with the chrome ones) they left my window down numerous times while it was outside while the shop was closed. And come to find out they didn't even have licensed workers. When I get the car back, if I get my car back, Imma be scared to drive it because they probably jimmyrigged it! lol.