I found the test drive car was quiet on the highway, steering felt pretty Euro (a GOOD thing) and really liked the 3 zone climate control. (didn't fire up the stereo)

I have to address the 'stalling' glitch a lot of you are bringing up....I test drove a 98 last week and am seriously considering buying it, even after these reviews, as it's not a '97.... The stalling is also a G M thing, I own a little Pontiac Firefly (metro/sprint/swift...whatever...) and it went through the same thing while strill on warranty, and a dealer in Hinton Alberta found the problem, if not the reason. If it stalls on you, just try releasing the air cleaner lid and it should start like a charm. NO idea why, but it worked on the firechicken, and for the past three years it has done it a total of ZERO times. One of life's little mysteries. If this works for you, I'd like to know. Good luck, and I'll write a review of MY 98 Catera if I buy it. Thanks.

Firm ride and good handling (at least this one) Good interior room.

Poor design in several areas of the car, which are all costly repairs

We purchased this car with only 12,000 miles on it thinking we got a great deal. Well, so far, we've replaced the window regulator at a cost of $500, the timing went due to an inherent design flaw (which up until this week, Cadillac refused to acknowledge), causing $2,500 in valve and head repairs, the sunroof controls work when they feel like it and the cupholder breaks on a regular basis. My first and last Cadillac!

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Thanks god I bought a 1998, after reading the reviews that is the only model year that seems not to have the mnimal amount of problems! Drives amazing, comfortable, awesome on the highway!

The dealership Service! (Thats alright got my own guy that does it now), Electrical on the car

What can I say! I like the car a lot! i have put up with some small annoyances like replacing my tires under a year of owning the car but other then that nothing really! incidentally the tire problem is simple: They put the wrong tire on the car! thos efreakin tires are expensive and are too soft for the car hence why tires are worn prematurely! i changed them to Goodyear and am doing great! Another thing people mentioned was the front passeneger floor getting wet! Well its caused by leaves and stuff getting stuck up there under a gaskat underneath the bottom of the windshield whcih causes the water to back up into the passenger compartment and not drain properly, simple fix: Take you shop vac when cleaning your car and suck out debris every couple of months... Another thing GM sent a lettter about a possible timing belt failure, so if you saved you receipts you could be eleible for the reembursement, email me if you want a refernce number to look into it.... This is a MAJOR problem that everyone seems to complain about causing $$$$ to fix. So let me know.... Also the Electrical on theis car is very finnicking minor annoyances really...The dealerships seem to hose people on car repairs but the have you by the throat while your car is under warrantee! Go elsewhere and boom they void your warrantee.... An awesome car to own after you don't have to deal with the dealership anymore in my case its Myers Motors

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Nice interior, added optional CD juke box from US Spec (7 changer) and worked right away by pressing AUX button on dash. Good pickup, smooth tranny, great paint job, and excellent styling.

Premature timing belt wear problems at 60K mles or less so better take advantage of Cadillac acknowledgement and have it replaced with other components mentioned.

Needed a 4th car in family and dispite some minor problems car is not bad value. Problems like premature tire wear can be overcome by installing 225/55/16 tires that are 2 inches taller than normal 225/60/16 but better ride, stearing and control. Any pull problems are attributed to worn ball joints for about $250. Cadillac has released a ltter I received 6/11/02 dated June 2002 stating any timing belt, water pump, tension pulley and related engine failure will be reimbursed by Cadillac dealers up to 7 years or 100,000 miles which ever come first. Claims must be submitted NLT 6/30/04. I can fax copy of letter to anyone if you provide Fax #.

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99 Deville

Bose radio, handling and performance. Cadillac warranty. Car warms up very quickly on cold winter days.

I wish it had a more powerful engine.

I bought a '99 Catera with 24,500 miles on it and I must say that I am pleased with the performance. It has been in the shop for an oxygen sensor and the driver seat for the heating element which were covered under warranty. Other than that the car drives and handles well. I had to replace the tires on the car, but that is because Cadillac issues the Catera with Eagle RSA's which is a soft rubber (hence tires will wear very quickly). Also, I purchased a Carfax report to make sure that I was not purchasing a lemon.

The ride, room, comfort, & stereo.

The electrical system.

My wife and me had are first child, with the whole experience of changing are lives we decided to trade in our sport car and buy a good reliable family car. Not having enough money to afford a new car we were looking around for something that fit are new needs. We can across this beautiful car that turned out to be the Catera with the reputation we bought it and had NO Problems other then minor trouble,up until a year and nine months after purchasing the car. That’s when traveling to work one day that the car had all of a sudden (out of the blue sky made a loud noise from the engine and all of a sudden the engine STOP). Had a flat bed bring the car to a local shop the mechanic said that the Timing Belt, the Tension Pulley and the Heads need to be replaced $4000 with only 51,000 miles and only having the car for such a short time I couldn’t believe it. They said this is a defected engine and that I should contact the nearest Cadillac dealer, which I did and they told me that they don’t know if they want to get involved. Try calling 1 800 Headquarters. Then I discovered so many other consumers that all have the same problem.

Bose sound systems, looks good

Everything that is electrical

I have had my Catera for about 10 months.It has been in the shop some many times. Just to name some of the many things that we have had problems with, the sun roof would'nt open, doors would'nt lock, radio stop working, I could go on for ever. My husband and I went to try to trade the Catera in just the other day. The saleman had someone look at the car to see what they would give us for the car. Well, they said they could only give me $9,900. I own $17,200. So, my Catera has went down in vaule $10,000 in 10 months. I am going to speak to a lawyer today.I will never buy a Cadillac again! If there is any one esle how would like to try to do something about these lemon car please contact me!

Looks, sound system

EVERYTHING ELSE

I wish I had researched the car before I bought it. I purchased the car certified and only 20,000 miles. From the very beginning the car was constantly in the shop for everything you could imagine (water pump, multiple sensors, etc) but mostly complaints of electrical problems. After a year of complaints the dealership finally said they located the problem in the steering and replaced it. A couple of months later my my car caught on fire due to an electrical problem - only problem was that it was in my garage and thus burned down down my house (and my neighbors, I might add). I would never purchase another Caddy and warn all about electrical problems with the Catera - I understand that electrical problems with them are typical

Great exterior styling and interior has a lot of comfort. More plush than Linclon LS.

Cupholders, storage,electrical problems, steering issues.

Wow, where do I start. Maybe to say that I wish I checked out this site prior to buying my Catera. I bought the car used with only 21,000 miles on it. I thought I was getting myself into a nice vehicle with low miles and I probably wouldn''t have too many problems with it. Well, I am so sorry that I bought this car. I, like many others, have experienced many of the same problems with my Catera. I have owned this car for 4 months and it has been in for repairs 5 times (totaling 17 days). Everything from electrical problems (radio, windows, wipers) to coolant leaks, power steering pump, etc... My biggest concern is the steering issue. The car tends to pull when driving on asphalt pavement and the car is hard to control. The car just goes all over the place and I really have to work at keeping the car in my lane. When I took the car out for a test drive prior to buying the car, I told the salesman that the car was pulling. He told me that it only needed an alignment and it would be fine. Well, here I am with a car that has severe steering problems and my salesman is no longer with the dealership. I am now working with the Used Car Manager and getting into a different car. I hope the dealership has the best intentions of working this out. You can''t tell me that a Cadillac Salesperson is not aware of the problems with the Catera. It''s a shame that this car is so stylish and comfortable, yet handles like a peice of junk.

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Chrysler Sebring, Lincoln LS

Interior, stereo, looks.

Absolutely everything else. Cadillac service sucks as well.

Like so many others on this site, I wished I had read the reviews prior to purchase. I bought this used two years ago with 70,000 miles. I''m amazed how the red flags that went off in my head were masked by the sleek styling of the Catera. Beautiful car. I have admired it over the last 18 months while it has set in my garage. The day I go to pick it up, the battery had died and would not start. No problem, there. They put a new battery while I wait and gave me a $100 bucks for my time. 9 days later, a coolant leak. They took care of that too. Three months later, the timing belt went, so I thought. It turned out to be the bearings in the front of the motor that broke, locked up, whatever. In any event, Cadillac washed their hands with it. They claimed I was negligent by not having the belt changed and serviced with that amount of mileage!!!! I just bought it from them. These people have screwed me horribly. I will never purchase a Cadillac again. I may well never puchase anything GM now either. What I am going to do is park my vehicle across from the cadillac dealership here with a big sign that says my caddy is a lemon. I''ll do this every day until the cadillac people make good on their product. That''s the best that I can do with my 16000 dollar paper weight.

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I''d rate this right up with my 79 AMC Spirit.