Great Ride, killer BOSE audio, perfect steering, very high grade interior materials.

Goodyear RSA's only good for 25k max. On the other hand, they are a big reason for the great ride.

I love this car. Bought it new in 2001, with a $9k buildout rebate. With an MSRP of $36.5K, my loaded Luxury Catera was somewhat aging by 2001, and probably at the lower end of its class (BMW 3, Audi A4, etc). But, at a purchase price of $27k, I bought a nice, solid, rear driver for the price of a loaded Camry/Accord. I've heard the horror stories, but I have had no major problems with my '01 at 71k miles. If the Benz E class that I plan to replace this car with in a few years is as nice, then I'll be OK.

Smooth drive, look good, one of the best best sound radio,

Parts too expansive.

I just my bought Catera a month ago from Oak brook toyota in Westmont Illinois. The car had only 27000 miles. after read all bad view about catera,i was kind scare, but So far so good idon't have any problem with it, untill now i only changed oil and air filter, and previous owner did all recall from cadillac, hopefully I'm the lucky owner that don't have to go through like many other catera ownner. To me this is the best car i ever onwed.

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Build/assembly quality, luxury features, handling, and value.

Rough ride, limited interior storage, high ownership costs.

I purchased my Catera in summer of 2002 with 19,000 miles. Today, with almost 75,000 miles, my Cadillac is still an excellent daily driver as well as a terrific over-the-road vehicle. The Catera's strenghts really lie in its assembly quality. This car replaced a Mercedes 190E and is every bit as solid as that vehicle. The body panels fit with a decidedly un-GM like accuracy, the exterior paint is beautifully lustrous, and the materials used in the interior are very upscale in appearance and texture. My car is silver with a gray and black interior. After 5 years, the exterior finish is still glossy and the leather interior still looks like new despite daily wear and tear. I also appreciate that there are no squeaks or rattles and that the car still feels "tight". Traveling frequently in western Kansas winds, the Catera's "heft" and firmly-planted suspension prevent the car from being blown around on the interstate. The heated leather seats with muli-adjustable power controls make this a truly comfy car in which to spend extended periods of time at the wheel. One caveat to this is that the car can have a very "stiff" ride; it does not absorb road irregularities like larger Cadillacs. Though the Catera is an "entry-level" Cadillac, it does share the same repair and maintenance costs of upper-end models. Insurance costs also seem to be higher than one might expect. Overall, the Catera has been a great vehicle purchase and would recommend it a great luxury car buy.

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Nice handling

Costly repairs, finding parts like finding needle in haystack

I bought this car in March of '05. It had 95,000 on it and now has 101,000. Things I have had to replace are, stop light switch, radiator, spark plugs and wires and the battery. I bought the service manuals so I could save a little money. I've spent close to $1k on it. The leveling light comes on with 2 or more people in the car. An older couple had a wheel chair holder mounted on the back end by Uhaul. I have since taken that off. But I don't know why the light still comes on. I am afraid to take it to the dealer. If you buy American, buy Lincoln. I used to sell them.

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Look good. End of story.

Anything electrical. The surprise recalls & the 40 bulletins put out by Cadillac regarding the car dating from 01/2000 to 04/2005.

Run for the Hills if you own this car!!!! I've had this car going on 2 years & 3 months. I've driven the car maybe 18 months. The rest of the time, the car was spent at the dealer or in the garage non-operable. Cadillac should be totally ashamed for making this junk! It is unreliable & expensive to maintain. Where do I begin: 2004- replaced brake switch, repaired short in electrical sys. 2005- "02" sensor went while on highway & car shut down in the middle of 55 mph traffic! Mass air flow sensor, fuel pump, fuel filter, tension pulley, timing belt, water pump. At time of purchase, I was unaware this car was under two recalls. Nor was I informed such. DO NOT PURCHASE THIS CAR UNLESS YOU HAVE NO OTHER USE FOR YOUR MONEY!!! Don't even think about being re-imbursed, because if a cadillac dealer does not make the repairs at their astronomical rates, cadillac will not accept your receipts. SOS - please help. If you are no longer a proud catera owner, please e-mail with how you saved your bank account by getting rid of this car.

Good looks Roomy interior Very quick when in the sport mode

None

I have to say that I realy like this car, great ride, very sporty with a lot of power. I have only come across 1 problem in the short time I have had the car and that is a small head gasket leak. It drips into the fuel sensor causing the check engine light to come on. I wondering if any one else has the same problem and if you might know if Cadillac knew of this problem. The car only has 35,000 miles and it is starnge to have a bad head gasket with no know signs of an overheating problem. Hopefully this isn't the start to other problems.

nice ride when its running correctly. nice comfortable interior. nice bose sound system.

everything

We've had this car for 6 months. Right from the start the sun roof seems to open on its own! just whenever. and now, for the past week the 'fuel cap' light is coming on and the car dies, wherever. doesnt matter if your in the middle of the highway or heading for a stop light. sometimes you have enough time to pull it off the road sometimes not. we've replaced the fuel cap, did nothing. has been hooked up to a computer and says theres nothing wrong with it. we are completely unsatisfied with this car. and wernt totally thinking when we purchased it. its a piece of crap. completely unreliable. and you'd think owning a cadillac you wouldnt have to worry about these things. we should have kept our honda.

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handling , sound system, looks great, the best buy hands down would be 2000 or 2001...

"The Check EngineLight", still a problem on the newer models.. ,lights on the center dash have to replace by shop...

I agree with most reviews.. but i also agree the year to buy the Catera was either 2000 or 2001.. what horrible stories Cadillac should be shot.. My 2000 Catera hasn't had that many problems.. especially with the engine.. i have seen minor problems, brakes, MAF sensor, Battery, the climate control modules decided one day it wasn't going to illuminate.. cadillac wanted $500 to replace it.. luckily i'm a aircraft mechanic... and i know the BS..took the module out had a radio repair shop replace all the bulbs inside the unit and i installed the unit back into my car for less the $100.. if anyone needs any maintenance tips on how to fix a certain item please email me.. ezelljr@hotmail.com i will gladly share with anyone what i know about the car so far.. i think it's a crying shame that the dealer is just out to take people..especially the folks who bought the older cadillacs...

It’s looks, it runs with my friends BMW’s, VW’s. the Boise sound systems is top notch, very little road noise, it fits a big person (I’m 6’-2” 205lbs) and not everyone has one so it stands out in a crowd.

PART, PARTS, PARTS it just takes the fun out of driving fun. All the parts that should not need to be replaced are the ones I am replacing on Saturday mornings. I am the only guy that buys head lamp 3 and 4 at a time. It feels like I own an old MGB with all the electrical problems

Well I have mixed feelings on the Car Let me tell you a short story. I was getting rid of my big gas hog Tahoe I leased a VW Passat one problem after another brakes engine Trans fuel pump …. All in the first 2 years I ran from that car. I wanted back to an American car manufacture. I found my used Catera test drove it for 2 days fell in love with it the interior was clean and it was fun to drive looked great and sounded fast and this car has every option including the remote sun visor for the back window so I bought it. After a while you notice not enough storage space it likes gas some of the fit is not up to a Cadillac but that’s ok. I put tires on brakes change hoses all not a problem wit a car with 45K miles, I count that as just wear and tear on the car, but what burns me up is that I am replacing headlights every 3 to 4 months, I had to replace the battery, the trunk seal leaked (the car was never in an accident), and needed to be replaced the o2 sender unit, the brake light switch, thing that you should not be replacing in a car with less then 55K miles.

When it has new tires and is actually running - it does drive nice Bose Stereo

Everything!

Within 1 month of owning car had to get new tires. Then at 3 months 70,000 miles had the tension pulley system and basically whole engine go. Fixed at $4000.00! Then there was a recall for that but Cadillac would not reimburse us because we were smart and did not have a cadillac service station fix our car. Instead we went to just a normal service station and we have not had a major problem with our car until recently. Now at 134,000 miles - Spark plug wires and spark plugs! Not too Cheap either. Nothing is Cheap about this Pile Of S***!!! (I cannot believe the car is still in one piece!) My husband and I have really thought about blowing the car up or have it go over a bridge! But anyways I of course owe way to much to trade it off or sell it. The only way to sell it is find someone dumb enough to actually buy it. Guess I will need to find someone like me! We have had no sympathy from the Cadillac Dealers here and supposedly they havent heard of any of the problems that we have had! Yeah Right! I have even brought them copies of some of these reviews from other customers and they still feel no sympathy! I have had over 4 inches of water in my car, I am surprised I even have floor boards left as many times as my car has flooded on the front and back passenger side. And my check engine light is on more than I have ever seen it off! I would love for the government to have this complete car considered a lemon and I will never, ever, by a flipping Cadillac AGAIN!!!!