Are first gen CTS's good cars? I want a cheap, semiprofessional car that wont rape me with repair bills

My mother had an 02 CTS and said it was a better overall car than her 99 Jaguar

Yeah but don't expect to feel like you're in a luxury car when driving. The interior sucks but they're quiet and pretty reliable.

I have a V and it is sex. LS6+T56. 400HP Corvette Z06 sourced 5.7L with a 6 speed. Comfy leather/suede. Good stock speakers. Torquey as fuck, geared low, high compression. Amazing highway cruiser.

Cadillac aesthetics were never awesome, in fact they have almost always been dry and boxy to me. It's the interior comfort and smooth riding that make up for it.

My gf has owned a 2010 srx (I know its it the car were talking about) but anyways. Nothing but problems so far. Sun roof rain drain broke and let flooding passenger floor, cabin air filter needs replacing at every oil change, throttle body and transmission lines somehow fucked up, 1600$ brake job for front brakes only etc etc. I liked the vehicle at first but now I'll never own a cadillac

As for repairs...you for sure will get raped because Cadillac likes to think they are premium brand and can charge premium prices, plus horrible engineering they thought was clever makes parts that shouldn't be expensive, expensive

What the fuck you're just ignorant and getting raped in the ass by a service writer.

>My mother had an 02 CTS and said it was a better overall car than her 99 Jaguar
>better than a Jaguar

That's a low bar, user.

My dad has an 05 cts-v only major repair has been a radiator. There were some engineering failures like the motor mounts needing to be replaced.The engineering failures were mostly due to the v model, and would probably not affect a normal cts.
It's a good car, but I have only had american cars that didn't fail me.

First model year for CTS was 2003.

But the rest of your story checks out
>non-existant car
>better than 99 Jag

> I want a cheap, semiprofessional car that wont rape me with repair bills.

Lexus fits the bill pretty nicely and is definitely worth the look if the CTS doesn't pan out for you.

Look here for answers to your questions:
cadillacforums.com/forums/cadillac-cts-first-generation-forum-2003/

Have an '07; love it.

He's looking at used cars you guys, stuff wears out on all cars. Older Cadillacs and Lexus are not unreliable vehicles, but things still wear out. Shocks go, oxygen sensors go, etc.

Remember that parts for ANY luxury marque are typically more expensive than their non-luxurty counterpart. You might get to use some Toyota and GM parts, but half the time you're forced to use proprietary Cadillac and Lexus parts.

THAT being said, the Cadillac is still going to be cheaper to replace stuff on when it does break, domestics always are. Go with the CTS OP, it's not an oldman car.

>any model
>cadillac catera

I mean, I doubt you can even find them anymore, but holy fuck talk about brand-whoring. Every brand makes or has made shit cars.

Lexus LS is what you're looking for, though CTS is decent as well.

Overall, I'd prefer the Lexus; it's bigger, more plush ride, and I prefer Lexus dealers to GM dealers, and lexus owners tend to be less likely to be nig-nogs and hicks, in comparison to GM owners.

>$1600 brake job

So you're freely admitting to getting taken for a ride on your mechanic's fuck-stick because you're unable to turn a wrench, on an auto enthusiast's board?

Bold move Cotton; let's see how it plays out for him.

Agreed, but most Lexuses share wear parts with their Toyota counterparts for the engine and suspension, and so long as we're stereotyping, the owners of Lexus sedans (ESPECIALLY LS sedans) tend to take care of their vehicles very well; typically if you're smart enough to have money at the age where you want to buy a new Lexus LS, you're smart enough to 1) maintain the car properly, and 2) keep good service history of the car.

Let alone the fact that people in retirement age don't have to go to work every day, and as a result are able to drive the car less, putting less wear & tear on it.

>thinks people have money because they're smart
>thinks there aren't tons of rich dumbasses who fell into their wealth through inheritance, marriage, asskissing, etc.
>thinks rich idiots take care of their shit

Dude, "rich" people are probably the worst offenders when it comes to vehicle neglect. That's just a fact.

>not knowing based Scotty Shilmer advice when you see it

youtube.com/watch?v=u_8VueuEtH8

>poorfag hick detected

>"rich people are *probably* the worst offenders when it comes to vehicle neglect [citation needed]
>fact

That word; you keep using it, but I don't think you know what it means.

Meanwhile, I'll just be over here with the most reliable brand on the market:
jdpower.com/cars/awards/Vehicle-Dependability-Study-(VDS)-by-Category/843ENG

>implying shilmer's advice here applies to the Lexus LS

The LS is one of the most popular and long-running models in the lexus lineup. Shilmer's entire point here is that *low volume* luxury cars have expensive parts, and this might have applied to the LS, if the LS were a low-volume luxury car. It isn't, and in addition, the LS hasn't changed much internally over the past 20+ years, simply getting refreshes cosmetically and one engine refresh over its 25 year history. At the end of the day, it's not a complicated vehicle, and it's very reliable. Plus, nignogs don't really care about it/for it, so it's less likely to have been thrashed on/smoked in/nigger-rigged/used as a drug mule.

>cites JD Power
>cites a "dependability" rating
>cites a rating for 2016 vehicles

Not trying to argue with you here, but you're a child if you honestly believe anything JD Power publishes.

1.) JD Power is a for-profit organization
2.) They charge insane sums of money to automakers just to see the results of their vehicles
3.) They charge insane sums of money just for automakers to MENTION the awards they were "given" in their advertisements
4.) JD Power offers a "secondary service" that "allows" automakers to change their vehicles so they score higher on the same/subsequent "tests"
5.) JD Power charges insane sums of money for the aforementioned service

TL;DR JD Powerpuff is as bought and sold as Consumer's Digest or any of the other horseshit awards out there.

You want real, impartial, honest advice on vehicle design and reliability? Go talk to a PRIVATE mechanic who works in a city. They'll have serviced every make and model under the sun, and they'll be able to tell you who cuts corners and who doesn't.

Do this, and you'll notice an amazing coincidence amongst their answers: they all like Toyota and Honda. And it's not because Toyota and Honda went to every single little hick repair shop from coast to coast and bribed them.

>tells me I'm an idiot for trusting JD Powers' assessment of Lexus vehicles
>tells me that "Toyota and Honda" are the best

it's like I'm living in some sort of multiverse where everyone is mentally handicapped but me. Are you legitimately retarded, or do you not realize that Toyota and Lexus are LITERALLY they same automobile company, and that the LS is sold under the Toyota badge everywhere but the United States? Are you seriously this stupid?

Maybe you should check the link you posted dimwit, it doesn't show Lexus as a glowing example of anything. 3 of the 19 vehicles in that list are Lexus.

And no one is debating that Toyota and Lexus are one in the same, why are you even on about that? The post reads "Toyota and Honda".

And for the record, you're an idiot if you take anything JD Power publishes with more than a grain of salt. They also claim BUICK is the most "overall reliable" make on the market. That's just a blatant lie if what you're saying about Toyota and Lexus is true. A Buick is just a rebadged Chevy, their powertrains would be every bit as shitty and unreliable as a typical GM product.

Please stop being so butthurt. I bet you weren't at all aware of how crooked and jewish JD Power is, and now that you are you're scrambling to maintain some sort of argument.

You're no match for my intellectual intelligence, I'm afraid.

>one in the same

Stop the ride Mr. Bones
I want to get off

It never ends, faggot :^)

>lexus
>not reliable

good meme

I used JD Power because it lists Lexus as the most reliable vehicle brand across the luxury segment. This thread is about reliable luxury vehicles, so I figured it's relevant.

Also, I don't have an innate distrust of the capitalist concept of a for-profit company, so I don't mind using for-profit research firms as one of many factors influencing my opinions. I simply listed it because it was 1) the easiest to find, 2) includes reliability data runs longitudinally over several years and is a cross-section of those vehicles, not just a single-year study, and 3) is easy for you dullards to read because it has lots of pictures and not a lot of words.

>one in the same
indeed.

>butthurt
nah, your retarded ramblings actually reinforced my position that the lexus LS is a good vehicle to purchase, although you obviously didn't realize it, mr. "buy a toyota or honda, but don't buy a Lexus, and certainly don't trust JD Power because they happen to be an industry-recognized for-profit independent review company"

Just so we're understanding your viewpoint fully, what incentive does JD Power have to rate Toyota/Lexus so highly? I mean, there must be a reason, because otherwise your "independent analysis" would disagree with their overall perspective on Toyota having the most reliable single vehicle in multiple sectors of the vehicle market?

>Buick
well yeah they're reliable, because they're all based on the same platform and all use the same GM v6 block that's been largely unchanged since fuel injection was normalized. Note, JD Power isn't calling them "sexy" or "the best cars on the road", they're calling them "reliable", which they fucking are. They're boring as shit to drive, and they're garbage-tier styling, but they're reliable, which is why you still see so many shitbox regals and la crosses on the road.

also,
>implying Lexus is going to be considered in the non-luxury segments of the market

You obviously don't understand how segmenting of the car market works for the purposes of reviews and comparison tests.

I think what you meant to say is that "Lexus offers the most reliable vehicle on the market for 3 out of the 4 listed luxury car segments."

Must be good at tight spot parking.

Having owned an 05 CTS and 98 LS I can say the LS is a better choice. Repairs on both cars were minimal, but the Lexus feels much more substantial. I think Cadillac really dropped the ball with the 1st gen CTS. It just feels like a very cheap car. The interior is pretty lackluster, the ride quality is not what you expect of a Cadillac and while subjective, I don't find they have much curb appeal. It's not a car that's aged well.

I owned a 99 STS prior to the CTS and the 6 year older STS felt better in every category. The interior was much more refined, there was no comparison in ride quality and as far as looks are concerned, the CTS looked more contemporary at the time, but it's aged like milk when I compare it to the STS today.

An STS isn't a bad choice either. You have to beware of headgaskets, but aside from that they're extremely reliable. I luckily never had any HG issues with mine, but it's something to be aware of.

>the CTS looked more contemporary at the time, but it's aged like milk when I compare it to the STS today

This.

I still see well to do white folks driving their STS's but every time I see a CTS it's a welfare momma of 6 or mexican teenager. The STS and even more so the Eldorado seem to be loved by Cadillac guys the same way the e39 is to BMW guys. they're not the newest girls on the block but they've held up pretty well over the years.