1997 Cadillac Catera from North America - Comments

Wheels permanently out of alignment.

Excessive tire wear (I get a flat about once every 2 months)

Bad ignition switch.

Heater blower never turns off, have to pull the fuse out every time I turn off the car, otherwise bye-bye battery.

Warped Rotors.

Loose trunk hinge.

Struts are almost destroyed.

Oil pressure, battery, and coolant gauges have all failed.

Radiator/coolant line touches the battery! Had to install heat shielding after the heat killed a brand new battery.

The Catera is essentially a run of the mill, no frills car built and meant for German consumers IN Germany, not America! GM did virtually nothing to modify it to US usage, except cramming in as much electronics and trinkets as they could to sell it off as a "luxury car". It's as if someone took a Ford Escort and tried to pretty it up to pawn off as BMW 3 series.

This car has constantly failed me. I have had to pull off the highway literally at least 8 times to change blown out tires due to an unfixable flaw with the wheel alignment. I've had the wheels aligned twice, but they go back to the original German Autobahn settings, which are not compatible in the US.

The struts are nearly at their end due to normal driving in the Midwest, I don't live in the mountains, I don't off-road, there is no excuse for this at all.

I would only recommend this car to a masochist, err.. I mean mechanic who has a lot of time and enjoys problem solving. This car handles terrible in the snow, it is simply NOT SAFE. I would never drive children in this car. I'm getting rid of it, Thank God, for a Dodge Neon. That should say a lot, what other "luxury" car would anyone gleefully sell to buy a Neon?

Dodge Neon? That's what we call out of the frying pan and into the fire.

I have a 97 catara and my inside dash lights stopped working?? does anyone have the same problem? and the oil light comes on after about 20 minutes. how can I fix the dash lights?

I am amazed that US drivers have had so much problems with this car. As for wheel alignments going back to their own german setting on their own... ROFLMFAO... does that mean then that the German cars never need to be aligned or do they mysteriously realign to American settings.

As for them being unsafe and crap... google this... "lotus omega"... these cars were tuned by Lotus and hit nearly 200mph in the UK and Europe and sell for about $50,000.

Oh if only the Germans could stop building crap like BMW's Mercedes and Audis and build something superior and outstanding... like a Dodge Neon and Buick Century.

I recently became the owner of a 1999 with 59K miles on it. It needed a new gasket, tires, brakes, rotors. About 1900$. Then a valve in the back of the engine began spraying coolant on the engine, creating quite a stink and consuming about a gallon every three days. About 750$. Finally, the wipers busted. Replaced the wiper "transmission" and everything. About 650$.

Upset? Nope. I love it. It rides like cotton, takes off like a rocket, and the Bose Stereo keeps me rocking...

You need some money if you want this car… but then, the same goes for my wife and I’m loving/keeping her too.

Parvenu.

I hate my 97 Cadillac Catera. I fell in love with its beauty. I never knew it would have so many problems.

I own a 1997 Catera.

Yes it is very expensive to fix. I needed outer tie rods on the front of my car. $132 for the right, $136 for the left, just in parts.

My head gasket also blew at 71,000 miles; the cost to fix that is absurd.

I paid $5,200 in July of 06. It had 54,000 miles. Now it is only worth $2,500 with a good head gasket.

The car handles excellent on the other hand though. System is great. Very roomy interior. Large trunk. Good power.

This really is a great car if you have the money to fix everything that goes wrong. If you don't have the money, don't buy it. There are a lot of things that go wrong with the car. I only wish I had the money to fix it.

Not good on gas. Only about 14-16 city miles.

Just brought a 1997 catera on feb 20 for 2500 I knew the car needed some work but my engine had sludge in it and had to be taken out and put back together and I needed new head gaskets when everything was done I paid another 2500 in parts and labor a very expensive car to upkeep and doesn't get good gas mileage I will sell or trade the car in about a year.

Our 1997 Catera is fun to drive but a repair nightmare. It has had 2 water pumps, one alternator, one belt tensioner that apparently caused the other two problems.

It has a new transmission, 3 heater proportioning valves (I am about due for another one as they only last about 40k miles) and electrical gremlins out the wazoo; whoops, there goes the radio and heater all dark, hey now back working again. It seems to have to "re-learn" things if you disconnect the battery to work on it. Plugs, wires and coil prices are outta sight.

It also eats tires (goodyear, continental, pirellis) like a fat man at an all you can eat buffet.

Every repair bill is like a thousand dollars and up. I'm at my wits end. I actually hope it gets stolen, but the thieves probably know better. I don't feel comfortable selling it privately or trading it in. It drives great but is a lemon. We probably will not get another Cadillac. I am very disappointed.

I purchased a 97 catera in 99 and discovered that it has a family of gremlins. It's an electrical nightmare, that does what it wants. We repaired the lights, the trunk latch, the front seat motor, brakes and the door that would not let us out or in. service guy used the window, which now leaks. Now the key won't exit ignition without shifting gear back to reverse and then to park. Oh forgot to mention sunroof opens and closes on it's own. Now the coolant, engine, ABS and tc lights are all aglow. This car is in the shop every holiday, even presidents day since we got it. Handling excellent, it looks beautiful,but it's a piece of junk with gremlins and that's the truth.

I'm going to be buying a 1997 Catera for $400. Should I buy it? It needs a starter and ignition. What do you say?