Yahoo! article on worst used cars to buy

[Dan Howie]

Not sure if this is the correct forum to post this link, so don’t give me too much grief.
http://autos.yahoo.com/blogs/motoramic/car-dealer-scientific-guide-10-worst-used-vehicles-222709616.html

Topic

[Jonathan Stiver]

Interesting. Land Rover is a obvious one, everyone knows that. I resent the fact that the Millenia is on that list at all, let alone at #5. I had a 2002 Millenia S that I should have held on to. The ONLY very common problem is on the S model, the supercharger’s seals go bad at around 100k and if not repaired right away will take out the O2’s & cat with it. I guess as they age people are having a harder time justifying an $1800 reman S/C for a car worth less than that. I have a friend who still has his ’02 Milly with 155k and other than an oil leak and the shift selector sensor it’s been perfect. Anyways… /end Milly pride rant.

I think there’s a big difference between a car that is expensive to repair/maintain and one that is unreliable/low quality, however. I guess that is a different discussion.

It’s important to note their note at the end, too. The most unreliable or low quality vehicles head straight to the junkyard or scrap yard. The vehicles on this list, then, would appear to be likely to have problems but still be very valuable if dealers are buying/selling them.

[Its me]

Cadillacs with the Northstar engine built before 2004 must be too far from the memory of the writers…(or must be #11) 😛

While the Northstar (also referred to as a N*) is a PITA engine, it can be made right with Studs installed into the block instead of Timeserts and the block sealed with an anerobic sealer instead of a gasket….. The problem is, the car was so known for the headgasket issue that it has plummeted the value of these Caddies to almost nothing (I just traded two empty, used tool chests for a 1999 Deville which still runs and is in Excellent body condition)….. Thus, the cost to fix the engine properly can be double or triple of what the car is worth (if done by a professional shop)… When fixed properly and maintained, these engines get reasonable gas mileage (around 24 mpg) with V8 power (275 hp) and can last past 250k miles….. Me, I am just going to re-build my new Northstar properly… Should cost me around $1500…

JMHO

-Karl

[Author]

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