Cadillac CTS

[USER1999]

My Merc is in to get the non-existent damage fixed from last weeks shunt. Someone bumped the back of my car, and to be honest, the damage is pretty much invisible. For various reasons, this is now having whopping amounts of cash flung at it at a local body shop, while at a cost to the third party I now have a Cadillac CTS 3.6, costing £106 per day. My car is 10 years old, and the damage was consistent with a ten year old car.

The Caddy is rubbish. It drives terribly, it is incredibly well equipped, but impossible to operate, it is thirsty (18 mpg), fast but doesn't encourage fast driving as it doesn't handle, can't open the fuel cap, has a £40 tank (which doesn't go far at 18mpg), has brakes that are on or off, has no hand brake to speak of, given my drive goes up to the moon, a small boot, a horrid dash, it is silver (yuck), pimp alloys, a binger if you take the seat belt off, or open the door with the ignition on, tyre pressure monitors which come on all the time, I could go on all night.

My point is, this is costing someone (us next year when the insurance premiums go up) for me to get nonexistent crash damaged fixed, and while this is happening, to drive around in a pimp mobile.

What is the point?

 

[billyg]

Are you happy with the overall reliability of your Merc over the years Mog?

Reason I ask is that i'm thinking of getting a second hand 'CC'( approaching 40 +balding +fat = time to get a hairdressers car ) and the SLK seems to be the pick of the crop.

Ive heard(and read)that theyve been through a bit of 'Friday afternoon' build quality for a few years.

Do you get your servicing done at a Merc. dealer?

What's the typical cost of an A and B service?

apologies for so many questions

bill

 

[medwayjon]

Bill, Mercs are ultra-reliable, bomb-proof cars.

As for the cc type car the SLK is top of the crop by a country mile.

Wouldnt go to mercs for servicing however, an example is my old c-class, my place charge £89.95 including o/e spec parts, labour and vat for an inspection service (the big one) whereas the local merc dealer for the same job was coming out at £387 inclusive, thats over 4 times the price for the same job.

The other problem with main dealer servicing is that often it is the apprentices as opposed to skilled technicians who carry out routine maintenance with the skilled hands left to the more complex work.

Whatever you dcide on bill give me a PM if you want any valuations or indeed if you want to know where there are any going for a song from "trade only" sources.

BTW you are spot on on build quality, when the 2001 new model C-Class came out it was a shocker tbh but the SLK is pretty good as it was concieved earlier when build quality was still ace.

 

[USER1999]

My E class estate has been ultra reliable so far (touch wood). I have done over 100k in it, (it has done 160k, but not with me), and I have had it 5 years.

It has a leak in the aircon that needs fixing, and the electrically heated drivers seat has failed, but other than that, everything works.

I can't off hand think of any major expenditure in the last 5 years, apart from a stainless exhaust, when the original one failed.

The one problem is rust. Most Mercs are fine, but as Jon knows, a lot of E class Mercs have rusty front wings. It is a design fault, and a real pain in the bum.

My car never goes near a main dealer. They are thieves. 750 for a major service, 480 for a minor. No way. (Watford is clearly more expensive than Kent).

I go to an independant Merc specialist, where the mechanics are all ex Merc people (they still wear the Merc overalls they nicked when they left). They charge about 150 for a minor and about 280 for a major service.

I would recommend a Mercedes to anyone, and avoid BMW like the plague. My wife has had 7 BMs in a row, non of which were cheap to run, and the most recent is a money pit.

 

[dangermouse]

My wife has an SLK 350 and it is fantastic, to be honest.

Am not a big fan of the steering (quite heavy compared to my car and others I've had previously), but build quality is fantastic and it goes like stink.

Despite the hairdresser stigma, I enjoy giving it a good blast every now and then and would rather drive hers than mine if being completely frank!

 

[medwayjon]

That rust problem is a bitch on the e-class, you see sime that are literallu crumbling.

Im not a BMW fan at all, unless it was an M3 or an 850 (weapon or what) I wouldnt touch it.

Basically they are overpriced rubbish, a mondeo drives better than a 3-series at 1/2 the price and the 5 series is a non-entity compared to the e-class. And there is of course the image problem with beemers.

Oh and as chris says, they are costly machines to run, maintain and inevitably repair.

 

[vig]

Are you happy with the overall reliability of your Merc over the years Mog?

Reason I ask is that i'm thinking of getting a second hand 'CC'( approaching 40 +balding +fat = time to get a hairdressers car ) and the SLK seems to be the pick of the crop.

Ive heard(and read)that theyve been through a bit of 'Friday afternoon' build quality for a few years.

Do you get your servicing done at a Merc. dealer?

What's the typical cost of an A and B service?

apologies for so many questions

bill

SLK's are nice motors, I almost got one in Feb but....... "THE CLUBS DON'T FIT IN THE BOOT"

Hairdressers car? who gives a sh!t, if i can get a locker sorted out, i'm having one. Come to think of it i'm 40+, balding and fat! ??????? mid life crisis anyone.

The services at main dealers, as quoted are not cheap but I don't know any others locally.


MWJ book mine in for a B service (CLK CDi) at that price and i'll bring it down, and take you for a round while they do it

Billy, if you fancy one, get it!!!! the 350 is so much fun

 

[billyg]

Thanks for all the replies.

I'm scooting around in a 206cc at the moment which is how I got thinking about the idea.

I love bikes but bikes don't love me. I've got carpel tunnel in the clutch hand and had to sell my last bike - a big booming BMW 1150 GS as by the time I got anywhere worth going (i.e. outside the M25) my hand had given up the ghost. CC's offer a fair compromise between a bike and a car but.....two words Heat Scarf.

Until the recent spate of rain ive been enjoying the lid-free blasts with the windows up and heater at full tilt. Never thought I would be up for a sporty(ish) car but the concept is growing on me rapidly. I been out on the M2 in the tippin' rain too (lid up)and it's not a problem.

I'm surprised you can't get a set of clubs in the boot with the lid stowed as I can do this in the 206 (perhaps as I don't own a driver). That could put a serious spanner in the works


Mog - I'm paying about that for servicing on my 'Cruiser!

MWJ- thanks for the advice. Believe me when I say that when the time comes you'll be top of my contact list...and yes the beemers do suffer with an image problem. Can't quite put my finger on it but there's just something about them that gives me a bit of the hebe geebies.

Words of wisdom about Merc. servicing too. A friend of mine has had no end of trouble with an electric window problem on his A class. Ended up taking off the door trim and fixing it himself.

DM- Ive got a similar engine in my 'cruiser which weighs in at around 2.5 tonnes. In a cc that must be blistering bordering on insane! the steering is probably down to the wide tyres at low speeds- I know the 206cc is heavier to steer than the 'cruiser until you get going.

Vig - quite simply - my sentiments exactly (although see above about the clubs problem). The SL is the natural answer but if I had that kind of money to drop on a car I would have done it by now (just as well I don't then eh?)


Cadillac CTS- promises so much and looks the doogies but yank build quality is (and probably always will be) poor for the the money.

bill

 

[Basher]

Hellfire!!!

There's some people with some serious amounts of wonga frequenting this forum aint there?

 

[Sneds]

Since we're talking cars. I'm bored with my one and want to get a nice hatchback, I've been looking at the alfa romeo 147 as they seem fairly rapid and quite cheap. A few of my pals say they have a reputation of being unreliable anybody had an experience with them?

 

[vig]

One of my ex colleagues has one and it's cost him an arm and a leg.

Very stylish looking car though but parts are expensive. I'm sure MWJ will give you more of a professional view.

 

[medwayjon]

Sneds, If you at a pictorial dictionary, next to the words unreliable and liability you will find a picture of an alfa.

They are so unreliable infact that waranty companies place an underwriting loading of 100% on any alfa policy.

Avoid like herpes.

 

[Sneds]

Lol, that's a shame. It's a nice looking car and as I don't know much about motors my criteria involves how fast it goes and how pretty it is.

I also like the Mazda Mx-5 and Rav4s, but my mate told me that he would never speak to me again if I bought those 'girls cars' lol.

Thanks for the advice though, I will steer clear.

 

[USER1999]

Alfas got banned as company cars at Mrs Mog's firm, as they all spent so much time at the dealers getting fixed.

Lancias are worse, but they don't import them any more. The old adage with Lancias is you only ever see one with the bonnet up.