Occasionally I like to make casual conversation with the guy filling up next to me at the gas station. So on my way to Columbia this past weekend I stopped in Orangeburg and pulled into a station next to a new CTS. It had the sport package and some other upgrades so it probably cost him quite a bit and he was an older guy who probably paid sticker for it.

At any rate, I asked him how he liked the CTS and if he'd had any problems with it. His reply shocked me. It's a late 2005 model and he said that in the 6 months that he's owned it, the car has failed to start for him FIVE (count it - 5) TIMES ... FIVE times all due to the same problem - a junky computer and he said the dealership hasn't been very helpful or particularly concerned about it - they just replace the computer and send him on his way. I wonder if this problem is confined to a few bad vehicles or if Cadillac has a serious problem on their hands. I know Consumer Reports hasn't found the CTS or SRX to be particularly reliable but this guy's experience seemed a nightmare to me.

Oh, as he was finishing up he noted that he'd probably never consider purchasing another Cadillac and that it was a mistake having considered them in the first place.



If most Cadillac customers have this kind of experience then I'm less positive about the GM turnaround. Cadillac must be better than this.

M.

 

unfortunately as staggering GM losses tell us...


Cadillac ISN'T better that that.


and with Rick Wagoner and Lutz huffing and puffing at journalists hinting at Toyota domination...they've got to get real and get on the game...cuz it's going to happen if they keep up that elitist ideal.

 

My mother-in-law has a CTS and it's been flawless.

 

Ah.. the beauty of anecdotes. Some of us have problems and are vocal, others have none and aren't and overall it doesn't matter what the "average" is if you are on one end of the scale or the other.

[/SixSigmaHatOff]

I'd love to know what warranty claims are really like on these vehicles. What does it cost to make a customer happy? Does the dealer care about the customer being happy or does he like the x% profit of replacing the "computer" knowing full well that won't solve the problem.
[/ramble]

 

I haven't heard or read too much of CTS glaring quality issues as much as I haven't heard its tops in quality. I guess its about average. I find the CTS-V, VERY interesting. I do find the interior so poor I cannot figure how engineers didn't even glance at the competiton to see how superior it is. Its only slightly better than a G35.