1997 Cadillac DeVille 3.6 l sedan deville from North America - Comments

I bought the car at a dealers auction. I know bad idea, but I'm young and have learned my lesson. on the drive home nocticed popping when I gunned it. took it to get the codes read there were 9 codes. cylinder was missing 3 or 4 sensors out of range just terrible and I was stuck couldnt sell it because problems were so noticeable. I was going to keep for another month replace the O2 sensor theres for by the way that sucks. and get a tune up wow that's only 1500 bucks. wanted to do the O2 sensor myself the geniuos at cadillac had a strut bar on top the sensor so a major disassembly was nessicary then 1000 later blown head gasket car overheats and I'm ready to cry. 3000 $ to fix can't imagine what dealer would charge.

I will never buy a cadillac unless its under warranty the entire time own it. and to all the jackass with cadillac try rthinking the aluminium heads on the motor the stupidest idea since the srx. I can't belive the amount of quality you get for the price. my mechanic said there put to gether like jigsaw puzzles 15000$ just to install a new starter.

do yourself a favor and shop some where other than cadillac if you value your money

$1500 to install a new starter?!That is a rip off!

A new starter should not cost more than $130 from Advance.

And a rebuilt one would cost even less.

I suggest you buy the starter yourself and check around to see what your local mechanics would charge you to install it. Should not be much because it is a relative easy job to install a starer... my 15 year old son has done it.

The intake manifold must be removed

to replace the starter on the Northstar.

If you are not mechanically inclined

a Cadillac can cost ya. Once you get the

kinks out they run well.

Removing the intake manifold and replacing a starter is a piece of cake on the Northstar. There is no coolant and the gaskets can be reused. It is about 1.5 hours to do the job and you do not have to lay on your back while rust and grease drops in your eyes.

The shop that wanted $1500 was hosing you... the starter lives much longer mounted under the intake as it is clean, cool, and dry comparts to the traditional location next to a hot exhaust manifold. It is possible that the positive battery terminals are corroded - look for corrosion between the two positive cables.

Who want to buy a luxury car and have to work out the kinks just to get it to run well? I was highly disappointed when I bought my 1997 Seville SLS last year. It ran well for the first 1000 miles or so. After that, it was a visit to the mechanic about once a month. Yes, a local neighborhood mechanic will charge you way less than 1,500 for a starter. But remember, not everyone can work on a Northstar. I still love Cadillacs, but I highly doubt if I will ever own one again.

Hmmm, where to begin, well for starters (no pun intended), buying a caddy at an auction is a crap shoot. Reason is that these cars sell great on the lots, those at auction almost always have issues and the older the model the more issues it is likely to have. Somebody is trying to rip you off with the starter, $145.00 tops. Relatively easy to replace. If you buy a new one, no kinks, used one, almost always something to be fixed.