1997 Cadillac Catera review from North America
"Worth it if you have the money to maintain it"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
When I first bought it the next day the AC went out, but the dealer fixed.
The tail lights were not working, it was fixed by itself one night that the brake shift switch broke down. To by pass the switch it was 80 dollars to tow it to a shop, 35 dollars to bypass it.
Check engine light on. It was an O2 sensor. 220 dollars to fix it.
Rattling in the Catalic converter.
Passenger front door if try to open in the moment you are switching to Parking it breaks, I fix it my self, nothing hard. Back passenger door the same thing, fix it too.
Stereo sound quality sux, when I bought the car the speaker were not good, replaced them, sound at max is loud, but not enough, it needs more bass and I'm not a bass guy.
A hose broke between the cooling fan and the engine, the hose needs to be ordered from Cadillac because it's special. Dimension in Diameter is 3/8 of an inch, and about 1 inch in leght, the cost was 21.75.
The fogs light are not working now.
The gauges of oil pressure and the battery at times turn off. I just found out it's a problem in the ignition switch. At time the fuel gauge goes out, just tap on the glass and it goes back to work.
Check engine light on again and lost of power, same problem as before, I think it's going to be the O2 sensor again.
Now beside all this problems please note, I'm 23, I'm always flooring it. In 10 months I have put 18000 miles and always running and pushing it. Since I'm always on the go I really don't maintain it I have to admit that.
General comments?
Besides all the problems great engine and transmission.
Engine is strong and I love to put it in sport mode, it flight... and don't worry if the road is wet, Traction control will keep you safe. Unless you turn it off then you'll be riding on soaps.
The inside is really nice. I love the power windows... hold it down for 2 seconds and they all go up automatic, no holding down until it completly closes or open, just press and let them go up or down, you keep doing your thing.
Trunk is nice, you can fix like 2 dudes in there.
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| A high priced piece of trash!!! |
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| 1997 - Catera 3.0L 24-valve DOHC An outstanding low-cost high-performance car with a not-so-good reputation |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 1997 |
| Year of manufacture | 1997 |
| First year of ownership | 2004 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2004 |
| Engine and transmission | Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 10 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 62000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 79000 miles |
| Previous car | Dodge Neon |
| Date of Entry | 13th October, 2004 |