Seville STS Daily Driver

[CTX-SLPR]

Any of ya'll ever or currently had a Seville STS ('98-'04) for any extended periods of time as a rental or daily transportation. While I really want to go back to RWD... there just isn't anything practical out there outside of a Crown Vic/Grand Marquis/Town Car and those aren't the most sporting of vehicles though they do haul the mail and do so without a hickup for 100's of 1000s of miles.
I've been admiring the Northstar for a while now and having driven one as a rental, I must say it is very nice and smooth, and has a surprising amount of power for only 4.6L of NA power. With gas prices the way they are I cringe everytime I fill up with $28.00's of premium in my SR everyweek. So that pretty much nixed anything burning better than 87 on a regular basis. In 2000 Cadillac redesigned the Northstar to run better on 87 than it did in '99 on 93, and get better gas mileage to boot. While its not quite miserly by V6 standards EPA 26 mpg out of a V8 isn't bad considering I can only coax about 28.5 mpg out of my supercharged V6 and the Northstar uses a less effecient but more durable 4T80E than my SR's 4T65E, which is back in the trans shop after only 1.5 weeks out of it. Everytime this car disappears into the shop or gets on the schedule I go looking for a replacement on Autotrader. While I know ya'll wish I was driving a TR, I got to take care of the moneymaking car (daily driver) before I can get a toy. So far the seriously looked at list includes the afore mentioned "Panther" Fords, 96 Impy SS, Lincoln MkVIII, 84-87 Regals (Limiteds mostly, for an L36 or LT1 transplant), and a breif look at 94-96 Cadillac Fleetwood, V6 5-speed F-body, and an assortment of foreign wagons and luxury sedans. I've pretty much decided that I want a 4dr with the kind of power I'm used to out of my SR but one that burns 87 octane. I'm also spoiled by Buick luxury and want something decently plush. I'm sorry but most foreign cars are just 5 wheels, 2-3 pedals and a tiny motor so not terribly interested in them.

Any comments or personal reviews would be very appreciated. Any other suggestions to look at would be welcome aswell.

Thanks,

 

[fullahotair]

My dad owns a 99 STS and loves it. We managed to get a Corsa Exhaust system for it from ebay for cheap. You can hear the exhuast lips on the Corsa Website. He had a 98 Eldorado ESC before, but really like the STS better. Great ride, very respectable power (300 hp) and there is a fairly large folllowing on these cars in forums should you need help working on it. There are a lot of caddy mechanics that can help you on the boards. One really nice thing is that you can access the trouble codes on the LED display in the dash. Learn how to do this, so when you test drive a car, you can see if there are any error codes. You can get them pretty cheap relative to their initial sale price and get a lot of luxury for the buck...

my two cents...
Nathyn

 

[BLACK6PACK]

What about the new CTS. Pretty nice cars, v6 and 275 hp.

 

[CTX-SLPR]

Love the new CTS and the STS, however there is 1 major problem with them.... they are new.
I can't really swing much more than a $15k car right now so I'm sticking to what I call First Generation Used cars that have only cycled through 1 owner for 3-4 years. From Autotrader, I can get a 2000 STS for about $13.5k, that sounds about right though I'm probably going to wait till Jan-Feb time frame when I turn 25 and my insurance goes down and used cars are cheaper to get them off the lots due to all the trades for the much hyped new models.

 

[Reaper]

get one.. they are fun well built and good looking!

 

[denn454]

how are you getting 28mpg out of a supercharged v6? i didn't see an "se" in your signature but i'm guessing its a l67 (l32?) i barely squeezed 27 out of my gs on the highway going about 65. i have a home made cold air intake on it which helped out some.

 

[CTX-SLPR]

its an L67 with a replacement K&N panel filter, everything else is stock. When I take road trips I can get 28 average out of it on the open highway doing about 75 cross country. Cruising at 65 in town on the freeway, relying on the little DIC computer, it says I'm getting like 31 on level ground but that doesn't last long due to traffic, hills and such. I also have gotten over 29 average out of it with the AC off but that was a bit of an exercise in tollerance since it got rather hot in the car.

 

[URSPANKED]

FWIW, I would strongly recommend getting an extended warranty if you get a used one. I have a '95 Eldorado and have gotten my money back several times over for repairs. Parts are very expensive. They are great running and driving cars, however. Hope you find a great one.

 

[Night Train]

I had a 98 SLS but replaced it with an 01 Deville. The Deville gets better mileage than my SLS, but is a little down on power due to slightly different gearing, I guess. My overall average in hills, towns and highway is 21-22, but on a highway that is flat like what you have in TX, I would think 26-28 is really possible. Just finished 400 mile trip from MA to CT to NH and overal average is 24 today (last 999 miles) at 70-73 MPH average.

 

[charlloots]

i have a 00 deville dhs 36,000 miles and i love it. i also have a 03 cts with the v6 and independent rear not really crazy about it. im thinking of trading one for a sts 05. most likly be the cts. . the one thing i did have to change on the deville was the crank sensors. other than that no problems at all.

 

[NCTURBOS]

Northstar motors are known for needing:

Crank sensors
Waterpump housing leaks
Case 1/2 re-seals
Front motor mounts

Occasional headgaskets, 741 tranny codes, and a few other odds-n-ends.