Rainman: Welp after +6 mos finally got "a" dream car

[Holladay]

tl:dnr (too long: do not read)





My dad worked for GM thus grew up around a love of cars, as most people do. My first car was a '68 T-Bird with a 436. Imagine in '68 a car with power everything: antenna raised and lowered, power trunk, doors, sequential rear blinkers, rotating headlights et al. Heck the steering wheel popped up to the 2:oo position so fat people could get in easier. Alas, no CD/Bluteeth.

Fast forward: '85 Fiero (college and army), a bunch of mundane cars (marriage and kids will do that, the wife always had the nice one), 1996 Chevy SS Impala (corvette with a back seat and a trunk, was a blast).

The Impala was my first dream car, fast (with mods = 158 mph) yet could tote kids and golf clubs around. The wife hated it. She is German and use to small cars, this was a boat. When it died, back to mundane cars.

So I HAD to give my mundane 2009 Dodge Avenger to my daughter for college. It's a nice reliable car for her. Darn it, now I HAVE to get a car for me

Specs: 4 door (too old for 2 door, grabbing a heavy briefcase from the passenger seat risking back injuries, and get 2 sets of golf clubs), manual trans, fast, hopefully in black, and not new. A budget of ~$20K (cars are a lousy investment, unless you have money to blow and $50-60K isn't that much to you. For perspective, I bought my house for 45k).

I gave those specs to my car mechanic. He said 2 choices: Ponitac G8 or Cadillac CTS-V. This started my search.

I found a 2009 G8 heavily modifiedautomaticfor 21k. The mechanic asked do I want a fire breathing dragon that would do 190 mph? Then asked if he could take out a life insurance policy on my 16 yr old son. (The son, 2 mos after he got his license, got a speeding ticket of 97 mph in a '96 Honda Accord with 296k miles on it)

Then I found this, and the mechanic "blessed" the choice:

2004 Cadillac CTS-V

Clean Title, 2 owners, Under 95,800 miles, 6-speed manual, LS6 V8 engine rated at 400HP/400TQ , Black exterior, Tan leather interior with Suede inserts, Sunroof, Bose Stereo with 6 CD Player with aux cable, Navigation and DVD Player, Power windows and locks

Notes from Seller:

I purchased this car on Oct 21, 2011 with 47,452 miles on it. The first owner put these miles on in around 7 years, which is under 7,000 miles a year. I bought it to use as a daily driver, and it currently has almost 96,000 miles. which is 48,548 miles that I’ve put on it, or under 13,000 miles a year. I am driving the Corvette now, but the miles will go up a little bit I’m sure. They will be under 96,000 by the time it is sold though.

So this is a two owner car, the first owner’s keys were registered to a “Brad” and an “Angelina”, so take from that what you will. I also found 500 free entrances passes to the Pink Pony in Memphis under the passenger seat (not included).

I get about 16 city / 23 highway MPG. It will get 24 MPG on cruise control at 70 MPH. The car has no engine mods, and a few convenience mods. Engine oil has always been Mobil 1 and gas has always been premium. Most CTS-V’s produced were black and a large majority have black leather. I wanted tan leather (black is hot in the South), so I searched a little longer before I found the one I liked. As a stock car, this car is very fast and more than capable of getting you up to interstate speeds. It is comfortable to drive, and your passengers will appreciate the comfort that is the standard for Cadillacs. Being a V, this comes with the DVD/Navigation system with 6 disc CD changer that is stock on all 2004-2007 CTS-V’s. There is also dual climate control, heated seats in the front, and a power sunroof. The car has been in the Southeast it’s entire life (Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama and Florida). It was not garaged while I’ve owned it, with the exception of since I’ve moved to Florida. In Florida, it has been garaged, so it has not been touched for lengths of time by salt air.

Engine Mods: None

Convenience Mods: Aux cable wired into XM input (play your phone or iPod music), LED lights in interior, LED reverse lights, Hardwired Whistler radar detector (included), Phone holder from proclipusa.com, Black stickers put over the V logos around the car, since the color on the original logos was fading (from 8th Day Creations), Tinted windows

Issues: Living in an apartment, my car was backed into 2 times within 6 months with no notes left. I bought a dashcam, and have had no more issues. I never fixed the front bumper (where it was hit all 3 times), because I thought it might happen again. Therefore, the top front chrome grill has a small scratch at the bottom and the bumper itself has some scratches/cracks/missing paint from these hit and runs.

Some minor paint issues on the rear bumper on the driver’s side from the 1st owner.

Minor cracking in front seats (normal for the age).

Paint missing on passenger mirror.

Only has one set of keys.

Paint is chipped on radio buttons, every single CTS-V has this problem. If it bothers you, most people use nail polish to refinish the buttons. It was chipped when I bought it with under 50k miles.

Rear driver’s side window is non-functional. It was rolled down in 2012 and did not roll back up. I dissected the door and set the window in the up position and removed the wiring harness so you can’t roll it down now. It simply needs a new motor, and I didn’t think it was worth my money to fix a window I never roll down.

Rear passenger window tint has a few small tears, would be less than $30 to fix if it bothers you.

Needs new tires within 5,000 miles or so.

Some clear coat missing by driver side headlight.

End of sellers' notes:

In closing (I know tl:dr) As far as an investment, a daily driver and thinking fun: it is a $13k car with 96k miles, 400 HP, 6 spd man, 4 drs, black, 11 yr old vehicle. Wife still doesn't like it (daughter college @ $1.6k/month expense coming up in Aug). Only 10,000 were made, fairly sought after vehicle (for racing?). It is a 2 owner fast rare car. I keep it for 5 yrs and sell for $5k, it comes down to $133/month

TC (too cool)

I glad it comes with a radar detector and the son WILL not be driving it

I will print this off and show it to the wife. This was a good catharsis exercise for me. Every man should have a fun, yet practical ride.

I am glad I didn't buy Rainmans' Apricot roadster

My son and I are flying to FL to pick it up and road trip it back next week. We'll take 4 days driving home hitting the sights along the way. (that might be a mistake: ref above)

Lastly, I try and have something to "look forward too" events. Healthy. If you can get everything anytime, there is not as much appreciation. Ref Stones song. I am blessed, in the next month: new car, 2 x canoeing/kayaking trips to southern MO.

Whew