1998 Cadillac Catera from North America - Comments

The temperature indicator went on at 40000 miles. I took it to the dealer who fixed it only to have it go on again at 48000 miles. It went out again at 55000 miles. Now the car was out of warranty and the dealer charged me $400 to fix it. It went on again right away. Because the temperature guage had never overheated, only the light, I let it go. At 80000 miles I had oil in the cooling system, a blown gasket.

This in addition to going through three sets of tires in 80000 miles.

I also experienced the same problems with headlight alignment that others have mentioned.

The car looks good and is comfortable, but after experiencing poor product quality and dealer incompetence you can be sure I'll never own another Cadillac.

You say you'll never own another Cadillac, and then under "Would you buy another car from this manufacturer?" you put "YES". Make up your mind.

Lets be fair. Its not a true cadillac. More an opel than anything. Rebadged and more luxurious inside maybe, but not a pure cadillac.

I am getting ready to purchase a 97 Catera. These comments are scaring me to death. I have called the local Cadillac dealer and they told me that the car has one open recall that needs to be fixed. My question is did you guys get all recalls fixed on your Cateras? Or have you called the Cadillac dealer to see if there are still outstanding recalls on your cars? They run the VIN # and can tell you right away.

Get the service history for the Catera you're considering and read it thoroughly. These cars can be nightmares in terms of electrical and cooling system issues. If you can be sure that all the recalls have been performed and the majority of issues have been fixed, then it's your call. Also, realize that the resale value of this car has tanked (for a number of reasons), so try to deal on it if you are still thinking of buying it.

I would recommend looking around for other cars--maybe a later model Catera (like a 2000 or 2001). They were VASTLY improved in quality.

I would be VERY careful about buying a Catera then.

But if you have to have one, I would go about it this way. Get the VIN number from the car you are looking at. Then get the dealer to run the recall check. Then INSIST that the seller get all the stuff done BEFORE you purchase, especially if they have taken their car to a Cadillac dealership.

If the seller refuses either walk away from the deal (it could be the tip of the iceberg as far as problems) or ask for substantial money off since you are buying a car with KNOWN faults.

I have had the car for about 8 months. I like it after I realized that most of the problems I'm haveing, with the exception with general maint., is with the sencors, I think I have been fixing things that were'nt broken. Yes this is'nt a true Cadillac, It's hard to get the parts and most mech. don't know how to deal with it. she dose run hot. Even still I like it.

So I have 98 Catera and I'm experiencing the coolant problems now. I have the oil in coolant and I think I'm building too much pressure, cause I just had a heater control valve blow, and I fixed it then the coolant cap blew, and I fixed it. Now the water pump blew. I was just wondering if anybody else has had these problems, and if you have what did you do to fix it? And could anybody please tell me what the main recalls are on these things?