GENERAL MOTORS CADILLAC DEVILLE 2000 RIPOFF MY 2000 CADILLAC DEVILLE IS A LEMON IT NOW NEEDS A NEW ENGINE 35,000 AND WORN OUT BRUCE Mississippi

I don't want to make you angry, but just why did your friend want to sell a vehicle with such obvious low mileage? Did he have trouble with the car and dumped it quickly? It looks like the engine should have more like 135,000 miles on it by this time.

Given the dates of the original postings I must assume that the 2000 Cadillac DeVille was almost six (6) model years old at the time of engine failure, regardless of how many miles it was driven. I must admit that 35 thousand accumulated miles over a period of five plus years is well below the national average. A Cadillac North Star engine really does cost in the neighborhood of 7 to 8 thousand US dollars to replace. A turn key new engine installation for fewer than 4 thousand US dollars is a bargain. The bottom line is, it did need to be replaced and the cost you bore was half price. That is good. The bad is an engine failure at 35 thousand miles. I would be more concerned with the failure than the bill.

Consequently to the previous posts; the car was purchased second hand, had ALL scheduled maintenance was performed at a General Motors approved maintenance facility such as the dealership. Assuming both owners had ALL scheduled maintenance performed accordingly, there is no logical reason for such a catastrophic failure.

There is NO known problem, hidden, secret, nor unpublicized documentation concerning the Cadillac North Star engine for any model year. Technical service bulletins are only generated by the division AFTER a series of customer complaints or issues have occurred, and when it is deemed important (by the division) to address those issues, for the dealership network. The technical service bulletins are just communication, not admissions of guilt or anything MORE than a broadcast message to help the technicians better understand a particular consumer related problem. Often times there are recommended supplemental kits, parts, or procedural documentation to remedy a specific problem. Other times messages are broadcast merely to make note of a particular problem.

The coolant protection technical service bulletin previously mentioned was just that, a message. Believe it or not, the engineers at the Cadillac Motor Division really do know what they are doing and what to recommend for optimum engine protection. Many hundreds of thousands of dollars, and laboratory hours are devoted to just that aspect of engineering. The post concerning the new 5 year coolant suggests a mistake, which is not only untrue but also unjustified conjecture. The product Dexcool along with any required supplement is more than adequate protection.

As much as my heart goes out to you that had a catastrophic engine failure at 35 thousand miles, I can not for a moment, expect that it may have been avoided. Since the engine now belongs to the Cadillac Motor Division, I would request a disposition report. You are at the very least entitled to that. I expect that the engine will be analyzed by an engineering team.

Former GM Division manager

The car finally cost me $3,610.00 to get out
of the shop..

I feel this is very unfair to the customer to produce a car that will not run more than 35,000
miles..

I need my money back, ill never do business with
this company again..and ive told and will still
tell everyone i see, to stay away from cadillac..

Ill be happy to get my money back, like i should
thanks...unhappy customer

I recently had an engine go out on a Silverado Chevy truck at only 37,000 miles. I agree with you--an engine going out with so few miles was not a good quality engine from the start. Whether the vehicle is IN or OUT of warranty should not matter when an engine dies with so few miles.

Here is some info that may be of help.
There was a service bulliten on the 2000 cars from GM. (cadillac)

It reads in part, Summary: "Vehicles equiped with composite radiator end tank may exhibit an engine running hot, overheating and/or loss of coolant." Your ripoff sounded like you "cooked" your engine, the problem in part was the Dex-cool antifreez.

If you would like to look this up go to www.safercar.gov --click on "on going investigations" go to "service bulletins" and click on "search".

Identify your vehicle, when you get to component choose "ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING: ENGINE: GASOLINE'
The TSB #0006602001, dtd 1 Jan 2000
NTHSA #609699
I wish you luck with GM. They know they had a problem with this year/car, that is the reason they were willing to go "half" on the fix.

An informed consumer is a wise consumer.

I MOST DEFINATELY A COMMENT..MY CADILLAC DEVILLE, 2000 IS a lemon..it has 35,000 miles on it and has been maintained at the dealer since it was new..i bought the car from a friend of mine and did not buy the extended warranty, thinking CADILLAC made a decent car and no more than i go, id not need the warranty..HOW WRONG I WAS..something does not make sense about this car, i thought cadillac had a reputation of being the best car on the road..and thats why i bought it...HOW WRONG COULD I HAVE BEEN, A LEMON AT 35,000 miles.

GM has agreed to pay 1/2 of the expense of the new motor leaving me $4,310.00 to pay myself..

i asked for the old engine , as i can sell parts off it as well as they can but no it belongs to cadillac now..i dont think cadillac ever paid one payment on this car and why does this motor now belong to them..i want the motor for 2 reasons, i wanted to set it in my yard first and have people stop and look at this LEMON, and after a few years i could sell the parts as well..

ill never buy another LEMON as long as i live..this is my 2nd cadillac and my last..if any of you are looking a thies cars to purchase.

DONT DO IT..THEY ARE LEMONS..AND THE COMPANY WILL NOT STAND BEHIND THIER PRODUCT..

By reading your complaint the vehicle was a 2000 Cadillac DeVille, with 35K miles on it.

Some things you did not indicate, did you buy the vehicle new?? Normally you have a 3yr/36K warranty on (new)vehicles not sure about this one. This is only valid if you have had the vehicle serviced as per your owners manual. When did you last have the cooling system checked? It also appears the car is out of warranty due to its age. One reason they are offering to go half on the repairs is there is what could be refered to as a "hidden warranty".
These are in the form of Recalls or TechService Bulletins, you can check to see if your vehicle comes under any of these by going to www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov - Also ask your dealer.

I do know that GM has been having problems with their cooling systems due to the type of antifreez they installed at factory and recommend that you use. They say you can leave it in your car for a much longer period of time than what is safe. This info may or may not help but it will at least give you a place to start. Hope you are able to get more help from GM than the half off that was offered the first time arround.

An informed consumer is a wise connsumer.

i have had my car in for repairs since 2/21..they are telling me i need a new engine...can you believe 35,000 miles and i have to pay for a new engine..they told me today , it would take another 10 days for the engine to arrive..now hasnt general motors heard of federal express, overnight delivery..why does it take this long when i need my car..

also i asked for the old engine, as i really wanted to put it in my front yard and have people take a look at it, and show them what they are getting into when they buy a general motors car...i think if i ever do get this car out of the shop i will get a large sign and label it lemon..

i need someone's attention..altho general motors has agreed to pay for half the cost of the new engine..something dosent make sense, they are putting out a car that will not give service after 35,000 miles..im still very upset over this matter, i was told an area rep was going to look at the car, now today, no one else is going to look at it...

i cant imagine what happened unless when the agreement was made that the company would cover half of the expense, that was good enought for them, but not me..i had no warranty on my car as i bought it from a friend of mine..the car had been taken care of and i really took care of it..so you see general motors is a bad word in my mouth..thanks for letting me vent..