Expert: Rob Painter - 6/7/2010

Question
i'm looking at buying a 1995 Cadillac Seville STS with 51K miles.  is it worse on a car to have little mileage in over 15 years and what is the repair record for this vehicle...is it a good one?  thanks,

Answer
Hello,

As for the mileage, you are correct in questioning it and many people do not understand this.

low mileage can be good and it can be bad.

If the car was used only for city driving-stop and go and never had a chance for the engine to warm up, or if the car had never been above 40 miles per hour over its life, can create internal problems. Ridges can form in the cylinder walls in the case the engine never went over 40 miles per hour. You take it and run it 70, you will break the ring lands. If the car was used only for city driving, condensation will build inside the engine. To determine this, you need to take a flash light and look in the oil filler and look for signs of condensation which will be white.

Now that I live in Texas where vehicles are not subjected to rust, I am seeing cars with 500,000 miles that run like new. Average mileage I see is 150,000 to 400,000 that have never had any serious engine work. Kind of amazing.

Even though the bodies fall apart from rust in Wisconsin, I think the winters are hard on the engines as well. Mileage of 120,000 and up are commonly problematic there.

The only real concern for you at this time is to look at the coolant overflow tank. If rusty, it was overheated and could spell potential big money problems for you. These engines are notorious for overheating and if overheated, serious engine damage can occur.

You might be getting a real good deal. Check for white smoke coming from the exhaust with a warm engine. That could tell you there is a possible blown head gasket or worse.

Do some of these checks. If the car runs good at hwy speeds you are probably getting a great deal.

Remove the oil dipstick and make sure the oil is not white in color.

Good luck!

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