I am wanting to buy a 2009 cadillac CTS with 160K miles. Its only 6k and its a 3.6L Direct Injection Engine. Is it worth it? The owner took great care of it before he died.
If the money is fair it might be OK. Here is a quick guide to buying an older car.
Did you know the deceased owner? How do you know he took good care of the car? I’m not saying you are wrong, just suggestion that you be skeptical of comments like that from a seller you don’t know. If you like it after a test drive, pay about $125 for a pre-purchase inspection from a mechanic you trust. If there isn’t much wrong, consider negotiating a good price on it.
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Unless the timing chain has already been replaced, I would pass. Almost every 3.6L GM motor of this era has timing chain issues. The price sounds on the high side as well.
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What kind of use will you make of the car? Will you be taking road trips? Do you need to depend on this car for your daily commute to work? Do you have another vehicle?
My brother has had good luck with used Cadillacs. However, he does a lot of the repair and all the maintenance himself.
For transportation, I think a more popular, newer car is a better bet.
Troublesome reliability, I’d pass.
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In this area that CTS is only worth 4500.00 in excellent condition . Plus any repair out of the ordinary is going to be expensive . Maybe in the OP’s area that might be a fair price.
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Another vote for “keep looking”. There is a reason used luxury cars depreciate so rapidly–they cost a lot to keep running as they age. A used Toyota Corolla or Camry would be a much better bet.
Suggest to research what sort of problems folks have posted about that make/model here at Car Talk forums. Try typing Cadillac CTS into the forum search feature, above right. My sense is that you’d be better off w/something like a Toyota Avalon.
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+1 for Avalon!
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GM could not build a proper timing chain despite years of experience in the 3.6L. Move on…