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Old 02-27-2010, 09:46 PM
 
Location: OH->FL->NJ
16,924 posts, read 12,473,274 times
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What are the SPECIFIC weak parts of a 2000 Caddy Sedan de Ville? My parents have a line on one with 40K miles for $3500.

Before the "buy a 30 year old Honda with 400K miles for the same money" crowd kicks in. They would walk before they bought a foreign name plate.

Just looking for the parts that most frequently break on this car.
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Old 02-27-2010, 10:08 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
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The head gasket on the Northstar engine is a trouble spot on the DeVille. As I understand it, the bolts pull out of the block under pressure, causing the head gasket to weaken. Then the head gasket fails, requiring a new gasket, and a replacement of the bolts with a stronger stud kit, which is better than the insert kits sold to try to remedy the problem. It's a relatively expensive fix, since it's very labor intensive, and I think that the engine needs to be removed from the car .

$3500 is a good price for the car, but I'd pay attention to the head gasket. It would cost a couple of thousand to fix it properly, IIRC. I cannot remember what a relative paid for that fix on a STS, but it was not inexpensive.
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Old 02-28-2010, 03:11 AM
 
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The transmissions are also a weak point from what I see on my used car searches. The reason being is the northstar had too much power for the transmission that came with it.
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Old 02-28-2010, 09:21 PM
 
Location: U.S.A.
3,306 posts, read 12,148,273 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc View Post
The head gasket on the Northstar engine is a trouble spot on the DeVille. As I understand it, the bolts pull out of the block under pressure, causing the head gasket to weaken. Then the head gasket fails, requiring a new gasket, and a replacement of the bolts with a stronger stud kit, which is better than the insert kits sold to try to remedy the problem. It's a relatively expensive fix, since it's very labor intensive, and I think that the engine needs to be removed from the car .

$3500 is a good price for the car, but I'd pay attention to the head gasket. It would cost a couple of thousand to fix it properly, IIRC. I cannot remember what a relative paid for that fix on a STS, but it was not inexpensive.
+1 You should definitely factor the gasket into the price. Once modified, those engines last forever. I would say it's worth it in that regard.
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Old 02-28-2010, 09:22 PM
 
Location: U.S.A.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by las vegas drunk View Post
The transmissions are also a weak point from what I see on my used car searches. The reason being is the northstar had too much power for the transmission that came with it.

I have seen more than a few of these cars run pretty hard... those automatics can hold their ground well.
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Old 02-28-2010, 09:35 PM
 
6,367 posts, read 16,793,832 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bmwguydc View Post
The head gasket on the Northstar engine is a trouble spot on the DeVille. As I understand it, the bolts pull out of the block under pressure, causing the head gasket to weaken. Then the head gasket fails, requiring a new gasket, and a replacement of the bolts with a stronger stud kit, which is better than the insert kits sold to try to remedy the problem. It's a relatively expensive fix, since it's very labor intensive,
and I think that the engine needs to be removed from the car
.
It's a 40+ hour job and yes, the engine has to come out.
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Old 02-28-2010, 10:49 PM
 
10,494 posts, read 27,113,448 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Gimme3steps View Post
It's a 40+ hour job and yes, the engine has to come out.
Geez, than that would mean the total cost of doing a head gasket is around $4,000. I hardly think it would even be worth doing since you could get a new engine for that much.
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Old 02-28-2010, 11:06 PM
 
Location: Washington, DC & New York
10,915 posts, read 31,243,414 times
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If they can get it for $3500 and spend another $4k or so on the head gasket replacement and stud conversion, it's still a lot of car for the money. A Park Avenue could easily be more than $7-$8k with that low mileage, and some of the 3.8 6-cylinder engines in the Park Avenue were not immune to head gasket issues, though I don't think they're as prevalent as it can be with a Northstar.
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(As You Like It Act II, Scene VII)

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Old 03-01-2010, 06:30 AM
 
Location: H-town, TX.
3,503 posts, read 7,448,655 times
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That's a car you pass on as it is more like a lotta' hassle for the money.

An engine is $4000ish and given that it is all aluminum, it's not rebuildable...at least the aftermarket thinks as much as they are boat anchors if overheated beyond a certain point.

Heck, a friend of mine traded a 1999 Deville with 39,000 on it for a 2010 GMC Canyon as he found out that even the first electronic gizmo repair on it costs you $500 easy. That was just fora steering stabilizer sensor, so I can hardly imagine how frequently a 2000 with more miles on it would do someone in.

So, to answer the last question, anything is fair game to break on a luxo car that old.
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Old 03-01-2010, 06:36 AM
 
Location: Overland Park, KS
444 posts, read 1,243,227 times
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Great looking car and nice mileage on it. I've been looking at these cars as well..see my "used car 3k-5k" thread. With the issues mentioned, I have second thoughts on these cars..
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