In pursuit of the perfect $30K Cadillac

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The total cost of owning a car includes a variety of factors.  The actual price of the car is not directly a factor, unless you keep the car forever.

The difference in price of a car between when you buy it and when you sell it form the simple depreciation of the car while you owned it.   For example, if you were to purchase a car (we’ll call it car1),  for $45K, drive it for a year, then sell it for $40K, you might say that car1 cost you $5K to drive for a year.  On the other hand, if you purchase car2 for $25K, drive it for a year, then sell it for $18K, it cost you $7K to drive car2 for a year.  So although car1 had a higher price, car2 had a higher depreciation, and so cost more to drive for the year.

For my next Cadillac I plan to target an expense range of $400/month for the car.  I plan to drive it for 60 months.  At the end of the 60 months I anticipate that the residual value of the car will be no greater than $5K.  This means I will be looking for a vehicle that has a purchase price of $24K (60 mo x $400) plus $5K, or $29K.

Since the new CTS starts at $35K, that seems difficult as a budget for a Cadillac.  But I will not be shopping for a new car this time out, but rather for a 2 year old model with under 25K miles.  I also know that I drive an average of 15K miles per year.  Keeping in mind my 5 year horizon, if I purchase a car with 25K miles, after 5 years it would have 5×15=75K + 25K = 100K miles, and should still be in relatively good shape, and not require excessive maintenance or repairs.

My favorite target that is just coming into the 30Ks is the 2008 Cadillac STS-V.  As I have previously noted, the STS-V with every option known to man and a 469 hp supercharged DOHC Northstar V8 seems an amazing value, and it a high-weather mark in STS development.  I am hopeful that by this summer I will be able to find an excellent example within my price range.  Alternates would be to shop a fully loaded 2008/2009 CTS Sedan, or STS V8 Sedan, but the power and suspension tuning of the STS-V fit my idea of fun better.

2006 Cadillac STS-V

STS-V Interior Tango Red option shown

Now it is just the matter of finding the right STS-V. Total sales in 2008 of this model was under 500, but as the V-Coupe arrives this summer hopefully more of the STS-Vs will be coming out of the woodwork.

I have not lost my love for the new 2nd Generation CTS-V of course, and once prices for the Super Car CTS-V are in the mid to low $30Ks I will be looking very hard at them for the next Cadillac V.

The Old Car Dilemma the Siren Song of the Weekend Cadillac

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I am often attracted to the idea of picking up an older Cadillac as a weekend car.  There are some really interesting models that are in the $5K-10K range now — the Allante convertibles from 1989-1993, or the classic Eldorado convertibles from 1970-1975.

The goal would be to have a fun car as a weekend car.  Not to restore the vehicle to a show car standard, but to keep it operational as a Saturday out to the store type of vehicle.  We have a 2-car garage, so that means the weekend car would have to go into the garage (on my side), and my prized current daily driver out into the weather, if it stayed here.  Another idea would be to rent a storage area and park the weekend car ‘away’, but that makes it very likely that I would not spend any time working on it, or driving it.  It would just be an expense.

The ‘entry’ cost of buying an older Cadillac is of course just the start.  Then there are replacement parts to be tracked down, and additional cost.   The car itself becomes a hobby even if it is running well enough — planning ahead for the next repair or restoration step.  The 70s Cadillacs were not fuel efficient, so a lot of the fun drives would be near gas stations lol.

There are ‘new’ old skills to learn, and there are things to deal with such as metal fatigue that just don’t come up a lot on newer cars.

There are safety issues — the older cars don’t have air bags, or traction control, or stability control — they are strictly cruisers.

But there is the joy of driving a Cadillac convertible the way God intended, and enjoying one of the finest motorcars available for its time.

Generally the newer the model, the better the performance, handling, comfort, luxury, and safety.  My 2005 CTS out-performs even the 93 Allante’s with the Northstar V8, and far outperforms the 70s Eldorado’s with the massive 500 cubic inch V8s.  Any money spent on a hobby or weekend Cadillac would come right out of my budget for the next Cadillac to replace my current car. So not the sensible thing to do.

But one can dream of  cruising down the street in a classic Cadillac convertible with wall to wall leather and enough torque to move the planet.

[Please see this Ad for the source of my Eldo picture.  Hope it sells soon so it moves out of temptation!]

ChromaFlair: the art of misdirection

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One of my favorite current Cadillac colors is Thunder Gray ChromaFlair.  Cadillac has a summary ChromaFlair site here.

ChromaFlair is a paint process in which metallic flakes in the paint act as tiny prisms, and reflect light differently in different lighting conditions.   In other words, the car color changes somewhat when seen in different lighting, or sometimes at different angles.  The ChromaFlair colors are premium paints for Cadillac, and tend to bring an additional $995 charge for new vehicles.

Unfortunately there is not a great way to show the color online.

Thunder Gray Chromaflair CTS-V

Here is what JDSU, the manufacturer of this process, says about it:

ChromaFlair pigments are unique, multi-layer pigment flakes that give paints, coatings, plastics, textiles and packaging the ability to change color when viewed from different angles. Created using a revolutionary thin-film technology, each flake exhibits a wide range of hues depending on the angle at which it is viewed and the angle of incidence of light – a dramatic color shift that is even achievable in low-light environments. Highly chromatic, durable and easy to incorporate, ChromaFlair pigments can add value and appeal to virtually any product where color is a key differentiating factor.

Thunder Gray ChromaFlair is a medium gray metallic that can appear to have a blue or green tint in different lighting conditions.  In any case it is a conservative, elegant color.   But deeper and more complex than a simple gray.  It is a subtle, refined mix of colors that suit the Cadillac line well.  The shift is subtle, but Cadillac Owners do report having difficulty finding their car on occasion, or not recognizing their car as they approach it due to the color shift.

ChromaFlair is a registered trademark of JDS Uniphase Corporation.