The idle speed control motor went bad making the car stall after being started. It took 2-3 tries then it would stay running. This only occoured at normal engine operating temperature. Cold starting was fine.
Both front door windows fell down into the door.
A/C quit working.
Head gasket blew and destroyed the engine at only 91,000 miles.$3500.
Air compressor for the air shocks quit working.
The water pump kept going bad after the engine was replaced. Went through 4 of them.
The blower motor got stuck on and drained the battery.
The paint peeled off the hood.
Transmission started making strange grinding noises.
Got rid of it after that.
This car doesent have the build quality of the previous rear wheel drive models that preceeded it. While they all had engine seal problems, at least the big older models body and interior would hold up. This car is just bad in all areas including the paint. The previous owner kept maintenence records in the manual so I thought I was getting a good one. But that proved not to be true.
This is a difficult and costly car to maintain so they don't make good project cars.
The performance of the engine is excellent. It can get up to speed quickly.
The interior is nice and roomy, but the dashboard is awkwardly designed. The climate control is located next to the steering colum so you have to reach around or through the steering wheel to get to it. The driver information centers are at the bottom of the dash by your knees so you have to look all the way down to see whats going on. Good thing nothing too important comes on at the information centers.
It's a quiet car and the ride is good. But not as good as the rear wheel drive models.
It handles great for a four door luxury sedan.
This is not a bad looking or bad driving car.It's just a poorly made car that will breakdown and fall apart on you. This is unusual for cadillacs as I've had them in the past and they were all durable high quality cars. The only advantage this car has over the big cadillacs is it handles better and is faster.
I know back then cadillac was trying to compete with european imports and they seem to have gotten it right with this car. They made a good handling good performing four door car with horrible quality and a short life expectancy. Sounds like a typical european car. Just look at the same era Mercedes, BMW, or Jaguar.They're just as lousy.
If you're looking for a caddy,steer clear of these models from the model years 1985-1988.They're the worst ones made.
You complain about a car made in 1988 that you owned in 2004. Seems like any car that is THAT old should have problems. I owned a cadillac from 1988 for 6 years and sold it last month, never hand any major problems our of the norm. This reveiw is silly, and just points out mechanical problems that can come with ANY older car.
The car was bought in 2000 with less than 100,000mi and was very well maintained by the previous owner. There was documented maintenance that came with the car from the dealer that did all the maintenance on it.What's out of the norm is the fact that despite the use of the GM seal tablets,"radiator pellets",the engine still blew a head gasket and had to be replaced at only 91,000mi.My other cadillac was a 1987 Brougham and at 91,000mi it looked and ran almost like new and the engine lasted over 200,000mi.
I think the original reviewer here is right: Cadillacs in the 1985-1988 model years were pretty bad. I have family members and a friend who have all owned 1985-86 Cadillac deVilles and they all had major engine problems, transmission problems, or both, and I know of at least one more that also had major engine problems. I clearly remember looking for a car back in the early '90's and over and over again I'd see these advertised with rebuilt engines. Whenever you see a relatively recent model car (which these were at the time) frequently advertised with rebuilt engines, you know there has to be an issue. I'm referring to the 4.1 liter V8 engine. The 4.5 was better, but the rest of the car still wasn't anywhere near Cadillac standards. They didn't really start making decent deVilles again until around 1990 or so.
I too fully concur with the original reviewer. If you research back into Cadillac history, the 1980s wasn't a good decade for Cadillac quality. In the early 80s you saw the 8-6-4 engine in nearly every model, which put brand new Caddy owners in misery sometimes from the same day they drove off the lot. Poor quality continued for Cadillac all the way through the 80s.
I have had a 1988 Cadillac sedan deville for the past few years and I'm very pleased with the service of the vehicle and it's performance with the 4.5L engine. I did however had to do a transmission because I found out later that the previous owner's friend got it stuck in the mud trying to pull a boat, but that can happen with any vehicle. I get excellent mileage using cruise control. The car is very comfortable with leather interior. My mileage is approaching 100,000 miles and the vehicle it still in mint condition considering it's twenty years old. I also have a 2002 Deville and it's hard to compare the high technology to old but it doesn't matter which one that I drive. Thanks
There is nothin' lackin' when your Cadillac'n!!!
I had a 1986 Deville 2 door. A very beautiful car, however looked a bit small for a Cadillac. The engine needed an oil pump and a water pump with less than 45K miles, out of warranty. Performance was poor, acceleration was a joke. About the same performance as my 84 Camaro with a 6 cylinder.
At 70K, engine was not getting oil and was ruined. Really a poor car.
I own two 1988 Cadillac Devilles, and I believe they are great cars. If you're having problems with yours, then you should treat it right. If you treat your car good... your car will treat you good.
Not all cars will be perfect. Especially one that's twenty years old. The 1988 Deville was pure luxury back in the day, and still is now. The car is stylish and unique, and I have never heard any negatives of my cars.
I bought my '88 Coupe De Ville 1n '92 with 57K. Today (7/2/09) it has 230K. Head gaskets replaced at 172K, oil & filter, etc. every 3K religiously, and normal wear maintainence / replacement (none major) and she's still like new. I wish the 4.5 @ 155 HP had the giddy up of the Northstar, or even the 4.9, but you can't have everything.
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