Picked up a new ride

[2QuickZ's]

Now I just need to sell a 2015 200S. ?  If anyone knows someone who is interested, let me know!

I picked up a 2018 Cadillac CTS Luxury 2.0T a couple of days ago.  Here are my initial impressions:

• The suspension is not as stiff as I have heard other people say.  It absorbs the bumps pretty well with no real harsh impacts but it does squirm around quite a bit on the heavily potholed Michigan roads
• The 2.0T is a bit unrefined but has plenty of power for the application
• The stop/start occasionally causes the car to shudder on the stop and almost always causes a shudder on the start.  It is pretty quite though.  Kind of the opposite of the stop/start on our Pacifica.  On the Pacifica it is smooth but loud.
• The 2018 version of CUE is vastly improved over the version I drove a few years ago.  It oddly enough is still slow on the Radio station changes using the steering wheel buttons, though.

I've only had it for a couple of days and I still haven't explored all the features yet.  I'll post more comments as I get more familiar with the car.  If you guys have any questions, let me know!

 

 

Edited August 3, 2018 by 2QuickZ's
Always at least one grammer error to fix :(

[Drew Dowdell]

Very sweet car! Significant upgrade over the 200.  Make sure to add it to the Members Garage

[G. David Felt]

Awesome ride, way too go and a very nice upgrade over the 200. All the best.

[ccap41]

[ocnblu]

That is a goodlooking vehicle sir!

[regfootball]

AWESOME, CTS is a great car, coincidence, i took a v6 CTS out recently as I had the 2.0 out before.  I think they are similarly as fast.  The 4 works good in the CTS.  Kudos.  Nice wheels.

Edited August 9, 2018 by regfootball

[2QuickZ's]

I'll throw out a quick update on the CTS.  It has around 9k miles on it now.  It is a very enjoyable car to drive.  Plenty quick even with the 2.0 and handles great.  I do still get a little sad that I didn't buy a used V Sport instead but overall I can't complain.  It is exactly what I expected it to be.

I have had two minor problems with it so far:  1) sometimes on start up the radio is muted for unknown reasons.  The only way to get it unmuted is to go to the Radio screen and it unmutes without doing anything else.  A software update did not fix the issue and it still does it intermittently.  2) We got a "Service vehicle soon" light for maybe 5 days.  Did the OnStar diagnostic and there was no issue found.  Called the dealer to set up an appointment and they said it was an issue with an OnStar update they pushed to the vehicle and was not an actual problem.  It self corrected after those 4-5 days, possibly after a background software update.  Other than that, no issues.

Lastly, the stock Pirelli run flat tires are pretty poor in the snow.  Way worse than the Firestone Firehawks that came on both our Charger RT RWD and 300S RWD.  They do okay on packed down stuff but I almost got stuck in an unplowed parking lot with 5" or so of virgin snow.  I'm currently looking for a good set of used winter tires and wheels.

[A Horse With No Name]

Good to know you are having good luck.

[oldshurst442]

There are a few colours on cars that I actually loathe.

Gray.  I hate gray cars. Its such a drab, boring, sad colour on a car.  Especially if its a gray, rainy (or snowy) day outside,  nothing makes me sadder and want to commit suicide than driving a gray car on a gray day.    

Charcoal. What sorcery colour is that?  it aint gray, it aint black. Just buy black for phoque's sake!!!   (PS...I bought a charcoal more black than gray Acura TL SH-AWD brand new in 2012)  The only thing I hate about the car is the colour. 

And silver. This whole silver bullet, silver train...silver this and silver that is overdone in my opinion...

Silver is such a secondary afterthought as compared to GOLD. GOLD is the gold standard.  Silver just tries too hard to be relevant.  It thinks it could be just as shiny as gold, but gets really dirty really quick.  It thinks it could fool people thinking its valuable or something. MEH.  Silver is just...soooooooo not gold.   

But...looking at your car, it is such a stunning car and a stunning colour for it!    I like!!!   

Nice choice. ?   

 

PS:  I hate brown coloured cars also.  Thank the Lord the 70s is loooooong gone. 

Edited January 28, 2019 by oldshurst442

[G. David Felt]

12 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

There are a few colours on cars that I actually loathe.

Gray.  I hate gray cars. Its such a drab, boring, sad colour on a car.  Especially if its a gray, rainy (or snowy) day outside,  nothing makes me sadder and want to commit suicide than driving a gray car on a gray day.    

Charcoal. What sorcery colour is that?  it aint gray, it aint black. Just buy black for phoque's sake!!!   (PS...I bought a charcoal more black than gray Acura TL SH-AWD brand new in 2012)  The only thing I hate about the car is the colour. 

And silver. This whole silver bullet, silver train...silver this and silver that is overdone in my opinion...

Silver is such a secondary afterthought as compared to GOLD. GOLD is the gold standard.  Silver just tries too hard to be relevant.  It thinks it could be just as shiny as gold, but gets really dirty really quick.  It thinks it could fool people thinking its valuable or something. MEH.  Silver is just...soooooooo not gold.   

But...looking at your car, it is such a stunning car and a stunning colour for it!    I like!!!   

Nice choice. ?   

 

PS:  I hate brown coloured cars also.  Thank the Lord the 70s is loooooong gone. 

 Thanks for making me laugh.

There are some lovely metallic browns out there that I do like, but just plain regular brown is blah.

The whole grey / charcoal thing is spot on IMHO. Worse yet is when the owners of these same colored auto's drive as predawn or late dusk and have no lights on so the auto just blends into the low light level scenery and they wonder why they got hit.

Had a coworker who has a grey 4runner and got hit early in the morning and was all pissed that the other person did not see him. I asked him if he had his lights on and the answer was no. I said you got what you got because while you think you can see fine, many others out there cannot see you and you should have had your headlights on. Driving with no lights in early morning or late night with the low light condition is not good especially for seniors.

All he did was complain about the other person, not willing to take any responsibility for his own lack of action.

[Robert Hall]

8 minutes ago, dfelt said:

 Thanks for making me laugh.

There are some lovely metallic browns out there that I do like, but just plain regular brown is blah.

 

I like dark metallic gray exteriors..it's gray interiors I loathe...'despair' gray is what I call it, esp. cheap econobox plastics.   But a dark gray exterior w/ red leather interior is great, IMO. I love metallic browns also.  White and silver are colors I tend to avoid, though silver does look good on luxury sedans, it's overused.  But not as overused as black and white are on SUVs..so tired of white SUVs w/ black wheels--way overdone in recent years. 

Edited January 28, 2019 by Robert Hall

[G. David Felt]

29 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I like dark metallic gray exteriors..it's gray interiors I loathe...'despair' gray is what I call it, esp. cheap econobox plastics.   But a dark gray exterior w/ red leather interior is great, IMO. I love metallic browns also.  White and silver are colors I tend to avoid, though silver does look good on luxury sedans, it's overused.  But not as overused as black and white are on SUVs..so tired of white SUVs w/ black wheels--way overdone in recent years. 

Yet in the Asian Rim, White colored auto's is one of the top 3 colors next to Metallic Silver and Black. White is considered pure where as the other two are more associated with wealth.

[Robert Hall]

1 hour ago, dfelt said:

Yet in the Asian Rim, White colored auto's is one of the top 3 colors next to Metallic Silver and Black. White is considered pure where as the other two are more associated with wealth.

I know white is very popular in parts of the US on luxury vehicles..I saw it lot in AZ and So Cal.   It's just so damn bland...

[Drew Dowdell]

In AZ and So Cal, I'd want reflective metallic silver. 

Edit: Something like this....

[Robert Hall]

3 minutes ago, Drew Dowdell said:

In AZ and So Cal, I'd want reflective metallic silver. 

Edit: Something like this...

 

Hehheh..of course, in Scottsdale black was the dominant color for luxury cars and SUVs, with white a close second.  I'll never forget sitting at the car wash w/ my Jeep one cool, sunny April Saturday morning...one black SUV (Grand Cherokee, Merc ML or GL, BMW X5, Audi Q5 or Q7, after another... and how more alike than different they are in terms of the chrome trim usage, interior colors, etc.  

[G. David Felt]

53 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Hehheh..of course, in Scottsdale black was the dominant color for luxury cars and SUVs, with white a close second.  I'll never forget sitting at the car wash w/ my Jeep one cool, sunny April Saturday morning...one black SUV (Grand Cherokee, Merc ML or GL, BMW X5, Audi Q5 or Q7, after another... and how more alike than different they are in terms of the chrome trim usage, interior colors, etc.  

Totally agree that traditional White and Black are such BLAH Colors.

If I ever went black, it would have to be some form of heavy metallic black with built up layers of metallic black paint and clear coat to give it depth. Had a white auto twice in my life, never again.

[Robert Hall]

I kind of like the metallic black on my Jeep, though I'd prefer metallic brown or a dark red metallic.  About the only modern car I like in white is the Challenger.  

[A Horse With No Name]

16 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I kind of like the metallic black on my Jeep, though I'd prefer metallic brown or a dark red metallic.  About the only modern car I like in white is the Challenger.  

A lot of German cars look good in white, as does the BRZ IMHO. 

[G. David Felt]

58 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

I kind of like the metallic black on my Jeep, though I'd prefer metallic brown or a dark red metallic.  About the only modern car I like in white is the Challenger.  

I want a deep dark Metallic Green, Purple or Mocha Brown for my next exterior auto paintjob.

[2QuickZ's]

I personally am not a fan of silver but when you are getting a good lease deal on a courtesy car, you have to go with the color they have.  I generally am not a fan of grey either but I did like the grey that was on my Saab 9-5.

Otherwise, give me a nice metallic blue, dark red (like our minivan) or black (the XT4 Sport for example) and I am happy.  Pearlescent white looks great as well such as the white diamond tricoat.  I do think the silver looks good on the CTS for some reason, though.  Also, while not normally a fan of green, I really love the Carageen Green on the Buick Regal.  I also really liked the pearlescent orange on a VW Jetta they had a NAIAS.

[Robert Hall]

Haven't seen that green on the Regal..very nice. I love the '70s looking metallic apple green (not sure of the name) I've seen on the Challenger, Charger and 300.    I really the browns I've seen on several vehicles--Jeep has a couple and I've seen a nice one on the Regal Tour X.    I also love dark reds, like wine colors.   I've had dark metallic gray and dark metallic blue in the past, along w/ bright red. 

[G. David Felt]

15 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

Haven't seen that green on the Regal..very nice. I love the '70s looking metallic apple green (not sure of the name) I've seen on the Challenger, Charger and 300.    I really the browns I've seen on several vehicles--Jeep has a couple and I've seen a nice one on the Regal Tour X.    I also love dark reds, like wine colors.   I've had dark metallic gray and dark metallic blue in the past, along w/ bright red. 

The Amethyst color they have on the Escalade I love!

[Robert Hall]

17 minutes ago, dfelt said:

The Amethyst color they have on the Escalade I love!

 

That is sharp..would like to see a CT6 in that color.

[G. David Felt]

8 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

That is sharp..would like to see a CT6 in that color.

Agree, I am very disappointed in the color selection they have for the cars at Cadillac.

[A Horse With No Name]

15 hours ago, dfelt said:

Agree, I am very disappointed in the color selection they have for the cars at Cadillac.

No one wants color...my friends that sell cars tell me everyone wants grey, silver, black or white. Cars ordered in colors sit on the lot. 

[G. David Felt]

53 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

No one wants color...my friends that sell cars tell me everyone wants grey, silver, black or white. Cars ordered in colors sit on the lot. 

While there are pros and cons to using paramagnetic paint, the biggest benefit is paint the car one color and then the dealer can change it to any color the customer wants. Yes early tech, but I believe it could really change the future of autos.

https://www.litcoat.com/paramagnetic-paint

[ccap41]

1 hour ago, A Horse With No Name said:

No one wants color...my friends that sell cars tell me everyone wants grey, silver, black or white. Cars ordered in colors sit on the lot. 

I'm one of them. 

Outside of like a really dark red or brown and some blue.. I'm not a fan of brighter colors on cars.

[A Horse With No Name]

1 hour ago, ccap41 said:

I'm one of them. 

Outside of like a really dark red or brown and some blue.. I'm not a fan of brighter colors on cars.

 I am a fan on sporty, small or muscle cars....everything else prefer a bit more somber myself.

[G. David Felt]

26 minutes ago, A Horse With No Name said:

 I am a fan on sporty, small or muscle cars....everything else prefer a bit more somber myself.

I love the Garnette Red on my SS and my White Diamond on my Escalade, though as posted, I would love a purple Escalade.  

[A Horse With No Name]

16 minutes ago, dfelt said:

I love the Garnette Red on my SS and my White Diamond on my Escalade, though as posted, I would love a purple Escalade.  

Purple also looks really good on the Chevrolet SSR.  Local collector had one....it was sharp....

[2QuickZ's]

I wouldn't say no one likes colors.  Here is most of what we have had in the last 15 years:

• Midnight Blue Saturn
• Ruby Red Saturn
• Granite Gray Saab
• Mediterranean Blue Metallic Ford Flex (there may still be a picture of it on here somewhere - very cool teal color)
• Redline Red Dodge
• Jazz Blue Chrysler
• Blue Ray Metallic Chevy
• True Blue Chrysler
• White Chrysler
• Velvet Red Chrysler
• Radiant Silver Metallic Cadillac

As you can see, it is mostly blues and reds.  Have never had any problem selling any of them because of the color either.  That being said, you sadly are correct that most people don't want colors.  My inlaws only buy white vehicles.  Doesn't matter what they get, it has to be white.  Never really understood it.  To me most white vehicles make me think rental or commercial vehicle unless it is a somewhat sporty car.

[A Horse With No Name]

19 hours ago, 2QuickZ's said:

I wouldn't say no one likes colors.  Here is most of what we have had in the last 15 years:

• Midnight Blue Saturn
• Ruby Red Saturn
• Granite Gray Saab
• Mediterranean Blue Metallic Ford Flex (there may still be a picture of it on here somewhere - very cool teal color)
• Redline Red Dodge
• Jazz Blue Chrysler
• Blue Ray Metallic Chevy
• True Blue Chrysler
• White Chrysler
• Velvet Red Chrysler
• Radiant Silver Metallic Cadillac

As you can see, it is mostly blues and reds.  Have never had any problem selling any of them because of the color either.  That being said, you sadly are correct that most people don't want colors.  My inlaws only buy white vehicles.  Doesn't matter what they get, it has to be white.  Never really understood it.  To me most white vehicles make me think rental or commercial vehicle unless it is a somewhat sporty car.

That Mediterranean Blue was a fantastic color from Ford.

[2QuickZ's]

Update on the CTS:

Not much to update.  Everything has been working well.  I don't calculate out mpg on this car but going by the VIC it gets around 27 mpg in the summer and maybe 25.5 mpg in the colder months.  This is probably around 75% interstate but seeing as this is Michigan and we only have 2 seasons: winter and construction, it spends a fair amount of time stuck in traffic jams.  It has never been on a trip since we always take the wife's minivan and I a mileage limited on my lease.

The car is very enjoyable to drive, handles very well and the 2.0T is plenty powerful for this car.  It does have the occasional weird trans issue when the car is cold where it seems like it is slow to go into drive and then slams into second but that only happens occasionally and only once on a given drive.

While I never lived daily with the old CUE system, the times I tried it I hated it.  I can report it is vastly improved and actually works very well now.  Uconnect is still better but this isn't too far behind any more.  Even the capacitive touch buttons work on the first try now for the most part.  I do still have the occasional flaky ghost in the machine type problem but that is to be expected with pretty much all modern infotainment systems.

Still kind of wish I had bought a used V-Sport instead of leasing this 2.0T but outside of it not having the 3.6TT, I really don't have too many complaints.

[2QuickZ's]

Latest update:  All is still well with the car.  I really do like this car.  I still kind of wish I had just bought a used V-Sport but the 2.0T acquits itself well.  I will say if you are in the market for a nice used car, I'm not sure you could do much better than one of these.  You can get a 2-3 year old off lease car for half of MSRP and still under warranty or grab a certified one and have another 3-4 years of warranty (6 yr / 100k miles).

The biggest issue I have had with this car is the tires.  The stock Pirelli run flats are not fit for Michigan's carpet bombed roads.  I have already replaced one of them due to a bad sidewall blister and I now have two more that have smaller sidewall blisters.  I have lived in Michigan my whole life and in 30 years of car ownership I don't recall ever having a car get a blister in the sidewall before.  From doing a little online research it appears these P-Zero Nero's are known for that problem.  Due to Michigan's horrible roads I  should have done the wheel & tire insurance.  At $230 a pop it doesn't really pay to even replace the two bad ones I have now.  I'm better off just replacing all 4 tires with a "lesser" non run flat. 

[2QuickZ's]

Well, the stock Pirelli P-Zero Neros are finally gone.  I kept the two good ones so I can hopefully sell them to some poor sucker(s) that needs them for a lease return.  I was able to get a set of four tires installed with warranty for less than it would have cost me to replace the two Pirelli's with sidewall bubbles, one of which was bad and the other of which was very bad.

I always said I would not buy Chinese tires but I did it anyway.  My only excuse = Lease.  I will say even though they were very cheap, they had surprisingly good reviews.  They are Nankang NS-25's.  My impression after two days with them:  much quieter than the 24k mile Pirelli's that had started to get quite loud before 15K miles, seem to handle at least as well on dry pavement and due to the softer sidewalls of a non-run flat they also seem to take the bumps much better.  Only downside so far seems to be that they tramline much more.  First drive on the grooved cement interstate had the car squirming around following the grooves.  Not severe or concerning but definitely noticeable.  It will be interesting to see how they do in rain and snow.

[daves87rs]

Nice car! 

Believe it or not- I have heard good things about those tires. Nankangs seem to have always been popular with the tuner crowd- but I have a few car friends with those too! They handle well, but the only downside is the tread life- but for the price it tends to work better....

[2QuickZ's]

Update on the Caddy - still cruising along and doing well.  No warranty work since the last report and no more tire issues once the Pirelli run flats were replaced with something different.  I still enjoy driving this car a lot.  The lease is up soon and if I can't get a good lease deal on its replacement (likely a GMC Canyon for the wife) then I may just buy out the lease and keep it a while longer.

Regarding the Nankang tires - After almost a year I am actually still pretty impressed with them.  Had I known for certain I was going to keep the car I would have more likely than not bought something better (I'm a fan of Continental tires) but that said, they really have been good tires.  They do well in the dry and the rain.  I didn't drive them much in the snow last winter but on the rare occasions I did, they did okay.  They actually seem to perform better than the factory Pirelli run flats.  Even after hitting more than a few big pot holes (thanks MDOT!), they have not gotten any sidewall bubbles or shown any signs of belt separation.  If you are on a tight budget, they are definitely worth giving a try.

[2QuickZ's]

Final update on the Caddy as the lease is up and after initially contemplating buying it, I decided to turn it in for something different.  Inventory is tight but I was able to swing a deal on something I wanted so I pulled the trigger.  More info coming on the new ride in a few days.

As for the Cadillac, I really had no issues with it.  Final mileage was around 33k.  I was 3K miles ahead of where I should have been when Covid hit but even using this as our primary family vehicle since then resulted in being well below mileage.  You just don't put a lot on when you are work from home so I left 6k miles on the table.

It still had the occasional 1-2 funky shift on the first shift after a cold start but the 8 speed is known for that.  It would not do it again after that initial shift.  Never bothered me enough to take it in to the dealer.  I did notice a slight bubble in the sidewall of one of the Nankang's but keeping my fingers crossed I don't get charged for that since the rest of the car is so clean.  Those tires held up extremely well and even after 10k miles of use had no appreciable loss of tread depth.

All in all, very pleased with this vehicle.  The 4-cylinder performed well enough that I never really felt like I missed out by not getting the 3.6 V6.  The interior held up really well and was very clean.  The front fascia had more stone chips than I would have expected (I don't live on a gravel road and never really travel on any) but they weren't super noticeable since what was underneath almost matched the paint color.  I suspect since it was a demo when I leased it, the dealer may have repainted the fascia before I got it.

Summary: Enjoyed my 3 years with the car very much.  I will miss it.  I would not hesitate to buy one used.  Before the Covid used car price craziness, they were actually a pretty good used car value.

[oldshurst442]

I am curious to know what is your next ride.

Waiting for you to tell us!    

[G. David Felt]

? Covid has made many auto companies insist the lease be traded back in at their own company owned auto dealership. I am wondering if it is a Cadillac XT5 or XT6? ?

[2QuickZ's]

18 hours ago, David said:

? Covid has made many auto companies insist the lease be traded back in at their own company owned auto dealership. I am wondering if it is a Cadillac XT5 or XT6? ?

GM only cares that you turn it back into a GM dealership.  They don't care which brand.  XT6 was the leading contender (would have been my wife's vehicle) until GM pulled some of the returning lease holder rebate money off the table right before we were ready to pull the trigger.  Once that happened, my wife lost interest and told me to go get something for myself.  I'll start a new thread tonight.  I haven't taken any pictures of it yet to post.

[2QuickZ's]

Final, final update:  Got the last statement from GM Financial.  Was surprised to see they were going to charge me $900 or so dollars but since the car sold at auction for more than the buyout + the charge, they waived it.  I am assuming the charge was for the tires.  The only rule to replacing the tires is they have to be the same performance rating or better and even though I knew that and thought what I was buying was the same rating, they actually were not.  At the end of the day, it didn't matter.

In case any one is curious, the car sold at auction for $31,000 and the dealership down south that bought it had it on their lot for $34,500!!!  There really is some COVID madness there.  You could bought one in similar condition (age, mileage) a year or so ago for around $26k. Oh, and it still has the same tires on it so I guess they couldn't have been too bad ?

[ccap41]

Have you replaced it yet? Do you need to right away or do you have another vehicle to get you by until you find something else? Orrrr did I miss it and you already have something else? Haha

[2QuickZ's]

You missed something. ?  More than likely my fault since I gave both threads similar names.