How I Came To Buy My XLR

[Crimson Pearl]

Bruce,

We are looking forward to reading YOUR story when you acquire YOUR XLR!

Until then, I consider myself in good company with you, Kathy and the Vette.

 

[jjsea55]

Vicki and I were returning from a Bama game in Tuscaloosa to our home in Pensacola and stopped at a Waffle House off I-65 in central Alabama to grab a bite to eat. We walked right by this vehicle parked near the door... then we both stopped, turned around, and practically gasped in unison... "What is THAT???" That was our first encounter with the XLR in October, 2010.

We talked of the encounter much of the way home and I proceeded to gather information over the next month or so until noticing that there was a 2006 V at a local dealer in early December. We drove over and, although this vehicle was practically spoken for by a south Florida buyer, the sales rep allowed us a test drive, which absolutely confirmed our affection.

With renewed vigor, I continued my search online and ultimately found the very same model (Black Raven/Shale) with 2k additional miles on a Carmax lot in Maryland, for about $3k less. Commenced communication and determined it was a one-owner vehicle (one of my "hopefuls"), acquired some positive historical information, and had it transferred to our nearest Carmax lot in Birmingham. We drove up one Saturday in February, 2011, made the acquisition, and have never looked back (except to admire her after parking somewhere : ) I have seen only two additional XLR's "in the wild" since that first encounter in October. Bandit, I KNOW what you mean!

 

[james04xlr]

I purchased my 2004 Xenon Blue about a month ago now and she has just 14,000 miles on the clock. I sold my 2004 flawless black z06 when I bought this car and I have to say that I don't even miss it a little bit. I love my XLR and I will be driving this car for many years to come. I consider it my early 40th birthday present to myself. I love this car

 

[Comfortzone]

Three years ago I sold my Mercedes convertible and wanted something truly unique.. After seeing the XLR in Robb Report, I started looking for just the right one and found a certified 2004 Satin Nickel in South Bend, IN. I got a great deal and loved the car!!

I sold it about a year ago and immediately had sellers remorse....

While spending this winter in FL, I found a 2006 Light Platinum with 13K miles and in great condition.. I purchased it in February and have started personalizing it for a long relationship!!!

 

[1BADXLR]

I seen one for the first time in '04 at a car show. I said one day I will own that. I always had pictures of one on my phone and desktop, I figured the more I seen it the more sure I was that I would get one. my buddies knew I would have one because its all i would take about at car shows. I have a 1982 pacecar camaro at home I restored, I love it, but its slow. I needed something fast, but different. Last august I found one I wanted in the price range I could afford. I smiled like a little kid when it was delivered to me. I have done alot to it already and cant wait to do more... and I havent even had it a year yet lol... I've had 2 couples offer me to trade a vette, and a viper. I was 22 when I bought my dream car and I'll never get rid of it!!!

 

[graytoad]

I gonna keep my husband!

I have always loved the XLR's......well perhaps that is not totally true. I first saw the XLR through a crowd at the Toronto Auto show I thought gee.....that is kind of angular and edgy, not totally sure about that design. Then we wandered around the show a bit and on the way back I saw the car from a completly different angle without having to look past 20 people and I then thought 'dang', I like all those angles and edges! Like so many of us I took one look at the price tag and sadly walked away. I live in southern Ontario and there are not many of these around, Ontario is not a 'mecca' for summer cars: hard top or not, convertibles are not as useable here as in the southern states.
Many years pass and every so often the local Cadillac dealer would have one on a podium or in the showroom and no matter what vehicle brought us into the showroom the XLR would get a thorough look-e-loo. I distincly remember a beautiful blue one sitting on the drive-up display rack near the road. (I am guessing around 2007), I am not a fan of blue as a rule but that car burned into the back of my mind, it was stunning. I know a local guy with and early silver one but that is the only one I see regularly but I know there are a few around.
I should mention that we have a decent assortment of fun classic cars, it is not like I 'need' a toy.
Anyway time passes and my daily driver, my 2006 Grand Prix is over 5 years old and I was looking for something new. I am a GM girl through-and-through and I am just not excited about the latest line up: plus I have got to have a back seat for my sweet grand daughters car seat! My husband Steve asked me "what are you wanting in a car?" I said I didn't know, just that I was not excited about the prospects and maybe I should wait for the 2012's. Then I snickered, he asked "What?" and I answered "Well if I was living in My Dream World I would be driving an XLR and have a dependable 4-door as my back up/winter driver" Well that is when he reminded me that I have the dependable 4-door back up so why am I not looking for the XLR? I am going to keep that husband of mine!
So the rest is quick history, it took 2 months to find The One, a 2009 Red XLR with under 7,700 miles (from Missouri).......or at least it had under 7,700 miles, I intend to drive this baby!

 

[batgirl1]

I inherited my love for cars from my father. When I was younger, my father was the top Cadillac mechanic at the local dealership. Often, he'd drive home an Allante. He'd always take me for a ride and I loved the digital lights on the dash. I developed a fondness for Cadillacs and saw my first XLR while showing my corvette at a car show. It was in the showroom with a hundred thousand price tag. It was love a first sight. But, with only a teacher's salary, I knew I'd have to wait a few years to buy a used one. When I was ready to sell the vette, I looked high and low for an XLR and there were none out there. I settled for a mercedes. I'd had it a year when I got a phone call from my husband, a wholesaler, saying that someone he knew had bought one at an auction. That very day, I met the guy at the car lot with a check and drove it home. Everyone thought I was crazy for trading a perfect, new mercedes for a car that was very much less than perfect. I never had any regrets. When we started doing research on the car, we traced it back to the first XLR I originally saw years ago in the showroom. How great is that? My dad is the only person that understands my love for this car and I am very lucky to have my own personal mechanic! To make it even better, my kids at school are convinced that it's the batmobile.

 

[mtrocket]

To make it even better, my kids at school are convinced that it's the batmobile.

That's what my brother-in-law calls mine!!!! Kids around town call it a transformer...

 

[XLR ED]

I sold my 2004 flawless black z06 when I bought this car and I have to say that I don't even miss it a little bit.

I traded my flawless 04 Yellow Corvette Coupe with 16K Miles in on my XLR.

 

[Crimson Pearl]

I traded my flawless 04 Yellow Corvette Coupe with 16K Miles in on my XLR.

I traded in a stack of flawless $100 bills for mine!

 

[mtrocket]

I traded in a stack of flawless $100 bills for mine!

Your printing press is in a secret room, I presume??

 

[First Robin]

I traded in a stack of flawless $100 bills for mine!

When I bought mine I wished I could get my hands on $1,000 dollar bills but the bank said they didn't have them anymore so I just wrote a check.

 

[Crimson Pearl]

Your printing press is in a secret room, I presume??

As I sometimes tell people who see my XLR and say "You must be making big money"!

"Yes, it's almost 1/4 inch too big!"

 

[airmike]

I don't remember what actually got me looking at/for an xlr, all I know is that I had to have one. I had owned a 69 1/2 6 pak super bee for over 30 years. I sold my prize in order to get one. I have a ls1 trans am so a non supercharged xlr was not gonna get it, and my prize left. Then having already had blk/blk cars often I decided I wanted a light color interior. Now my available prospects had dwindled to few. Found in NY, black, shale xlr-v. Really don't have to decide on options after that as you all know. Well I guess I got lucky because I did buy it sight unseen, and it is unbelievably perfect. So then all I need is a truck to deliver it to Kansas! They bid the delivery for $740. Problem is there is no truck coming to podunk S.E. Kansas. My beautiful car sits in NY paid for, and insured and I cant even look at it, much less drive it! Impatiently waiting (1 week) I call another trucking co.. Sure they can bring it. 1 week later no car. aahhh It is mid december and I really don't want to drive it home it a blizzard. Finally I can't stand it any more, and 3 plane rides later, I am in Albany. That is a capable rear wheel drive car in the snow. I stopped at a convenience store somewhere in Indiana and when I returned from the store and saw the front of my no longer chrome grill, I was so unhappy that this car that had never been out in the snow, was now! 6 thousand trucks on the interstate later i was probably lucky the black crud on the entire front of my car was saving it from rock chips. It was still perfect once I could finally clean it.
My friends and family could not believe I would sell that super bee, until they saw my xlr and or rode in it. The looks from people! I took it to a small car show, didn't win anything but anytime anyone found out I was the owner of the caddy they had to comment on it. Young, old, male, female-didn't matter. They all loved it and remembered it. Makes a great prom car too. I recommend not buying one if you don't like constant compliments.

 

[mtrocket]

As I sometimes tell people who see my XLR and say "You must be making big money"!

"Yes, it's almost 1/4 inch too big!"

 

[Anthony Cundari]

It was September 2008 and I was cutting my grass and thinking about replacing my 2005 CTS. Did I want a new CTS or ?? Not really sold on the new CTS and really liking the lines of the 2005, it hit me that the XLR was a much sharper CTS with 2 less doors. I went looking for pictures of the XLR on the web. A couple of weeks later I visited my sister and my nephew hands me the McCormick XLR book as a gift and I said if there was ever an omen that I should get one, this was it. No one knew that I was looking at the XLR! During 2009 I scouted the web and remembered my 1st car, a 1970 Toronado, the first of four that I owned, that I bought in June 1971 (40 years ago) that was a trade-in with 23,000 miles on it. I approached the same salesman in December 2009 that sold me the Toronado in 1971 and asked him to find me a black/camel 2007 XLR coming off lease with under 20,000 miles and at a fair price. Not too many convertibles sell in the middle of winter. We traded calls and leads and then he found my XLR in the Chicago area. 18,700 miles on it and the price was below most of the cars being offered on the web that had more miles. The flatbed headed to Chicago to pick it up and 5 days later with a break in the snowy weather, I drove it home from the dealership. Having grown up watching Todd and Buzz travel Route 66 and wanting a 'Vette, missing the opportunity when I was single in the 70's, with the daughters' through college and weddings, now was the time to enjoy myself in my XLR and 2010 was certainly a great 1st year of ownership!

 

[unionrunner]

Short long story/long short story = Ever since Coach's 70 Chevelle convertible had died of "northern exposure" she had wanted another summer car. After many years and many practical cars (some with sunroofs), the kids were grown, gone and settled and I set about finding her that next true summer car. We had shopped dealers lots, auction sites, internet and yard sales were probably next, when a nearby dealer listed a black (family car color for no known reason, just keeps happening) XLR-V on their web site. A quiet afternoon almost planned road trip got us there - I checked it out, practical Coach checked on the new SRX. She came over to give it her once over and I went to look at a new CTS-V coupe. When I got back, I ask what she thought and she just looked up and kissed me - after 37 years I had a pretty good idea what that meant. I wrote a check, she got her summer sunshine car (and I got a capital M motor). Everybody has been happy ever since.

 

[Cadillac Tech]

Thanks for all of the great stories...it has been a lot of fun reading them.

 

[bettyboop27]

Mine is my divorce car

My ex gave me mine for our 25th wedding anniversary just 2 weeks before I caught him running around. I really need to give her a new name.

 

[graytoad]

My ex gave me mine for our 25th wedding anniversary just 2 weeks before I caught him running around. I really need to give her a new name.

Not sure what to say about that ..... but I will anyway! Apparently you kept the XLR and traded the ex in a more reliable model: which could highly be possible that is NO replacement! So are you coming to Bowling Green? (I may be able to discover that if I look....)