2006 Cadillac CTS: worth looking into or run away?

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Found a 2006 Cadillac CTS that has 3.6 v6. Good price on it and it has 140k on it. I have heard about timing chain horrors. Should I look at this vehicle or run far away?
 
Pre-bailout era GMs other than the GMT800 are not a good idea. I could understand if it were a cheap price in 2010 but not in 2020, there are better contemporary options.
 
These aren't too bad to work on. The motor is longitudinal not transverse in the chassis and there's a fair amount of room to pull the front end parts off the engine.
You can get a decent chain kit (Cloyes) from Rockauto for about 200 bucks.
Good step by step instructions on cadillacforums.com
 
Originally Posted by JC1
As temping as it looks, I would stay away. The Camry will give you less headaches.

His Camry was in an accident, so he is looking into potential replacements, AFAIK.
 
Originally Posted by ls1mike
It depends, do you know the history of the timing chain? How much do they want?



I looked on GM tech site since I have access cause we use it to troubleshoot stuff. Found recalls do e at dealer and other stuff like oil changes, etc. Timing sure I can't answer as it would be roll of dice or takin' a chance. Brothers friend thay has dealer license and nice lot said he'd take $2800 instead of the $3400 its listed for
 
Originally Posted by JC1
As temping as it looks, I would stay away. The Camry will give you less headaches.



Quattro Pete is right; the Camry may be destined to be metal pieces soon
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Originally Posted by nascarnation
These aren't too bad to work on. The motor is longitudinal not transverse in the chassis and there's a fair amount of room to pull the front end parts off the engine.
You can get a decent chain kit (Cloyes) from Rockauto for about 200 bucks.
Good step by step instructions on cadillacforums.com



Thank You for the info
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Originally Posted by 53' Stude
Brothers friend thay has dealer license and nice lot said he'd take $2800 instead of the $3400 its listed for


What color and where you at? This is what 140K ones sold for at auction recently.

1/23/20 $1,700 141,809 - - 6G/- - Gold Regular Northeast Fredericksburg
1/23/20 $750 143,927 - - 6G/A Silver Regular West Coast Nevada
12/31/19 $1,000 147,444 - - 6G/A Gray Regular Southeast Central Florida
 
They are ok. Standard GM fair, the big issue is the timing chain. If you don't want to mess with the chain I would skip it.
 
We recently did a major ac job on one of those. The compressor blew up and sent metal through every ac component. That meant pulling the dash to get to the expansion valve. There is no reason to put an expansion valve in such a hard to access place.
The job came out to about $3400 due to all the labor.

I say pass on that pile.
 
Adam: The only GM from that era that I'd consider....is a 2005 LeSabre (the last year. made)....the 3.8 is a great motor and all issues were solved by then IIRC....I'd pass on the Caddy because of what Chris said about the AC expansion valve....that's poor engineering...Those LeSabres can be found reasonably priced and can get near 30 mpg highway...
 
Run away from any GM car with 3.6L they suffer from chain problems. Money maker for local mechanics, they want ~ 3000 to open and replace all the chains and camphasers.
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The 3.6 uses oil. Mine uses a half quart in the first 500 miles than another half the next 1000.
Various opinions and theories on why, main ones are pcv breathing issues (which I believe) or rings.
Most people these days don't check oil very faithfully so it's easy to see how they get run low on oil.
The timing chains seem to be a casualty of this.
 
Originally Posted by atikovi
This one? https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/inven...r.selectedEntity=c1449#listing=258594131 Looks sharp. Have it checked out by a mechanic. At that age in PA, I'd start to look for rust.



Well, it has new PA Inspection and emissions on it. Yeah, that is it. Some way I feel like I'd be gambling on it. To me, that price is high for a 14 year.old vehicle. Or am I truly crazy?
 
Originally Posted by nascarnation
The 3.6 uses oil. Mine uses a half quart in the first 500 miles than another half the next 1000.
Various opinions and theories on why, main ones are pcv breathing issues (which I believe) or rings.
Most people these days don't check oil very faithfully so it's easy to see how they get run low on oil.
The timing chains seem to be a casualty of this.



So, they use oil because people dont check or keep eye on oil? If that's case it would live a long life with me as I check my oil 4 times at least a week
 
Originally Posted by OVERKILL
I'd avoid this car like the plague if your goal is reliable transport.



I see where you are coming from. It is a Cadillac though
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