20k: 2004 Cadillac CTS-V w/ 10k original miles
The first generation Cadillac CTS-V was a bit of a shock to the automotive world when it first rolled off the production lines in 2004. It was the first legitimately fast and fun car from the company named after the founder of the city of Detroit (Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac) since it stopped producing the V-16 engined Cadillac Sixteen in 1940. This 2004 Cadillac CTS-V with only 10k miles is for sale in Gig Harbor, WA currently bidding on ebay for $19,600 reserve-not-met with a buy-it-now price of $25,500.
The price tag on this CTS-V is a bit sky-high, but it is strictly because of the condition (low miles) of the car. Sure, you can buy a CTS-V for half of this seller’s buy-it-now price, but you wouldn’t be stepping into a time warp to the beginning of the 2nd Bush term, when Swift Boats were big news, Al Gore was skinny…er, the housing market never drops and Colin Powell still had credibility.
The CTS-V was a standard Cadillac CTS sedan on steroids. The pedestrian V6 was swapped for tire melting LS6 taken from the Corvette Z06, the 5.7 liter all-aluminum push-rod V8 putting out 400 horsepower and 400 ft-lbs of torque. Power is put through a six-speed manual transmission (no sissy slushbox in the 1st gen CTS-V, so no need to sort through the junk to find what you are looking for) and into a limited slip differential in the rear. Performance is nothing short of fast – unless the axles have been twisted into pretzel shapes -which these are notorious for doing.
Inside the CTS-V is a low-rent GM plastic parts-bin interior and some leather that will probably look horrible in a few years – honestly the DOT should leave OBD-III non-sense on the shelves and force all OEMs to use Mercedes MB-Tex style synthetic, it would be far better a value for the consumer. Leather looks great in the showroom, but gets ugly after the honeymoon is over and we much prefer a good quality cloth or synthetic.
The car clearly looks nice in the photos – but we are especially impressed with the cleanliness, organization and decor in the sellers garage. And there is a clear link between how a seller treats his garage and how he treats his car, which would indicate he gives this car a nice foot-bath and massage every night.
See another fast Caddy for sale? email us here: tips@dailyturismo.com
Question – why are you posting such an overpriced car that is way outside your normal limits – not even something unusual or special – does it belong to someone at DT??
Anonymous – First of all – Haha, that was funny! When DT editors aren't hitchhiking or riding the bus, we are driving around in rebuilt title frankenmobiles that have bondo holding the rust to other pieces of bondo. We'd love to have that car…because, well we'd sell it and by 10 other $2500 cars…because that is the way we roll when pushed.
In all truth -we had originally posted the higher mile 'ex-husband' owned car that was listed half-way thru the article, but then we found this 10k mile example that lives in a checkerboard tile garage with K&N & Kragen wall coverings…as the church lady says "now, isn't that special"!
While it doesn't quite fit the usual DT criteria, we should probably give them some latitude. It is their site after all.
However…this has got to be the least inspiring V out there. Other than the ultra-low miles (and excessive pricing to match), it's a first year CTS-V with the typical rental car grade materials and design, the least potent V performance configuration, and what has to be the least interesting color combo. Actually, even in black or red, the 1st gen CTS is a bit boring looking. Just like McKayla, Larry is not impressed.
If I were to consider overpaying for a CTS-V, and if I thought I could get over the GM interior, I'd hold out for a 2nd gen car. Much better performance, better looks, and most importantly if I can find one, a wagon version. Yes, that would be way higher than $25K, but it would be way more worth the money spent.
You can get a lot of engine and performance for the money with one of these CTS-Vs. I don't know that I would choose this one, though. My primary concern with these cars is figuring out where the depreciation curve starts to level off. They lose value in a big hurry.
DT is correct in lookin at the whole package. When I look at car, I'm also checkin out the garage, the house, the lawn, his other cars, everything. I'm not just buyin a piece of pig iron, I'm buyin a reputation.