Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  Iffy - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Mike43 - December 25 - 2:00 am

  The day after I bought the car at 43,500 miles the transmission went out. The dealer did fix it, but still lags on a cold start from 1st to 2nd gear. The handling of the car is good and the power is sufficient. The car engine sounds great and the car loves to purr and hum at highway speeds which the Catera thrives on. The car is fun and exciting to drive. I just had the right tie rod replaced and there is a rattle on the left side, the repair place said its fine. I hope it will last 100,000 miles with low maintenance costs????

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  Run, dont walk away from this one - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Vinman - December 24 - 2:00 am

  This was by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. I constantly had the car in the shop for nuisance repairs to the brakes, electrical system, and finally a completely dead engine. Anyone considering buying one of these cars MUST have an extended warranty because you WILL use it. Unfortunately the first engine gasket blowout that I had leaked oil onto the spark plugs and wires. Those parts are not covered under warranty because they are maintenance items, yet cost $800.00 to replace. Whatever happened to $5 plugs and $50 wires? In addition, I thought that Cadillac (Opel) engines should at least last more than 60,000 miles before deemed DOA.

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  Mikes Catera - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By M CAngialosi - December 12 - 2:00 am

  Ive owned this car since new. Aside from a recall or two it has been great. The Caddy dealer has been 1st class in servicing the car and has even added baby seat tethers to the 1997 model car during the last few months.

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  Great car - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By mfan - December 2 - 2:00 am

  A great vehicle--mine has been perfect! Love it-handles like a BMW

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  Junk Car - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By allendr - November 26 - 2:00 am

  Terrible workmanship. How many parts are there that could break.

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  STAY AWAY from a used Catera - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Birn - November 4 - 2:00 am

  I have a 97 Catera that I bought new. I like a lot except when it is in the shop, which has been quite often in the past year. Many things have gone wrong that shouldnt have gone wrong at all, or at least not so soon. My first car was a GM (86 Pontiac Sunbird), and I swore I would never buy another GM car. Now I remember why, and this time I really, really wont buy another GM. Cadillac had a good marketing strategy-- build a car for younger buyers and get them hooked on the Cadillac brand--but the strategy has backfired (at least as far as Im concerned) because of the poor quality of the car.

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  Catera ,german for "No One Can Fix it" - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Captain Canuk - October 18 - 2:00 am

  We bought this car off of lease with only 45k on it. At first we thought we had a great car. The ride was great and the handling was beautiful. After the first couple of months things started to go, front left signal light just fell off(poor plastic???bracket)then the tires started leaking (rusting rims after 50K same problem they had in the 70S),water pump,air conditioner pump,leaky oil cooler,driver side mirror discoloration, front breaks and finally the timing belt (recall). Our warranty is coming to an end in May and we are going to ditch the car for an import maybe we will upgrade to a Corolla!!

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  Car with Class yet Fun to Drive - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By John M. Gallant - October 10 - 2:00 am

  The looks and style shows class on the outside. Behind the wheel you can feel the workmanship. Maybe a little under powered, but the handling makes up for that. This car corners and stays flat and very stable.

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  Catera Schmera - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Doug Qualls - September 16 - 2:00 am

  I stopped counting Cadilacs at my fifteenth. This Catera I bought used has been very reliable and provided excellent service so far. It has a crisp, taylored feel to it which is nice. The handling and performance and fuel economy are excellent. I normally use premium, but I have been buying regular gas for it and it has performed well, averaging 24 mpg. There are no squeeks or rattles and it has a solid quality feel: for a small car it does not feel cheap. While it is not as luxurious as other Cadillacs I own, it does have all the Cadillac features you would want the car to have. My overall feel of the car is that it has been very undervalued due to its plain styling.

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  Dont get caught - 1997 Cadillac Catera
  By Mad as Hell - August 31 - 2:00 am

  My father has purchased nothing but Cadillacs for as long as I can remember. You can imagine how excited I was to purchase my first. Low mileage and every feature I wanted. Well, it would be nice to drive the car instead of repairing all the time. Leaks in power steering, ABS, Traction control and to top it off $400 for brake pads. This car has been a nightmare. I want out and cant get enough for it to pay off the loan!