Help! New Purchaser wuold love some experience advice - major worries

[newv]

Let me correct: New Purchaser would love some experienced advice - major worries.

Hello all,
I just picked up my 2006 V today - man I love this car. However there are a couple very troubling things I was hoping to get some advice on. Where I purchased I have a few days to return the car, and because of this they wouldn't let my mechanic look it over pre-purchase. So I bought it and drove directly to him, and he had the following concerns (he is not a Cadillac dealer - they didn't offer any inspection like this, I asked):

1) There is an oil leak with fresh oil accumulating on the pan, and coating the front spring.
a) The seller had listed a pan gasket replacement as part of the vehicle prep - but only listed 2.3 hours labor for that, my mechanic looked it up and it calls for 5.6 hrs. He said the gasket looks new (maybe) but whatever they did do, there is still a leak.
b) Question - Should I be suspicious of the repair (no kidding since it didn't work)?
c) Question - Are there any chronic oil leaks you all know about?
d) Question - Assuming the pan gasket was replaced - where would you look next?
e) QUestion - how much would this worry you? With the low miles, even though it is 8 years old, I wouldn't expect a leak.

2) The car has 26,000 miles (Great - I know!) but when my mechanic did an ODB-II check he found a reading that listed the mileage when the codes were last cleared as 36,389!
a) My mechanic found a TSB for engine replacement due to loose push rod cap nuts (I believe) and it applied to about 20 2006 vehicles but my VIN was not on the list.
b) Question - Any chance his reader (a very capable looking one, I've never seen one quite this good) may be fooled? Some Cadillac proprietary format down in the auxiliary data stream?
c) Question - If someone were to try and reset the Odometer - how hard would that be?

3) My mechanic found deposits of dirt/sand in pockets in the engine compartment, and organic debris wedged in the crease between the firewall and the inner fender. Not a lot of either, but more than just windblown debris.
a) He looked for any other sign of flood or water intrusion, an found none.
b) He also thought there was a lot of splash evidence in the door hinge area etc. I think this seemed a bit paranoid but...
c) I know the car has been driven in the rain because I did it, however I did see one of the deposits the day before my wet test drive so it wasn't just me.
c) The Seller had a car history report and I bought one from a different provider, both agreed and none showed any problems.
d) Question - The tires look pretty well shielded from the engine compartment so I couldn't see a lot of paths for road splash to come up into the engine compartment and land down in the crevices of the frame etc - but do you all have a different experience - not that I expect you're going off-roading, but has anyone seen road debris settle in the engine compartment?
e) Question - Any specific tell tale water damage spots you'd look for in this car? My mechanic checked floorboards and trunk at least, and also there are no evident electrical problems.

That is a ton of questions and information, my apologies for being a newbie with nothing to offer but questions, but I am desperate for some advice as I don't want to return this car - I really like it! However I also don't want to get stuck with a bad apple. Any advice you have on any of the topics will be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[monepit]

Hello all,
I just picked up my 2006 V today - man I love this car. However there are a couple very troubling things I was hoping to get some advice on. Where I purchased I have a few days to return the car, and because of this they wouldn't let my mechanic look it over pre-purchase. So I bought it and drove directly to him, and he had the following concerns (he is not a Cadillac dealer - they didn't offer any inspection like this, I asked):

1) There is an oil leak with fresh oil accumulating on the pan, and coating the front spring.
a) The seller had listed a pan gasket replacement as part of the vehicle prep - but only listed 2.3 hours labor for that, my mechanic looked it up and it calls for 5.6 hrs. He said the gasket looks new (maybe) but whatever they did do, there is still a leak.
b) Question - Should I be suspicious of the repair (no kidding since it didn't work)?
c) Question - Are there any chronic oil leaks you all know about?
d) Question - Assuming the pan gasket was replaced - where would you look next?
e) QUestion - how much would this worry you? With the low miles, even though it is 8 years old, I wouldn't expect a leak.

2) The car has 26,000 miles (Great - I know!) but when my mechanic did an ODB-II check he found a reading that listed the mileage when the codes were last cleared as 36,389!
a) My mechanic found a TSB for engine replacement due to loose push rod cap nuts (I believe) and it applied to about 20 2006 vehicles but my VIN was not on the list.
b) Question - Any chance his reader (a very capable looking one, I've never seen one quite this good) may be fooled? Some Cadillac proprietary format down in the auxiliary data stream?
c) Question - If someone were to try and reset the Odometer - how hard would that be?

3) My mechanic found deposits of dirt/sand in pockets in the engine compartment, and organic debris wedged in the crease between the firewall and the inner fender. Not a lot of either, but more than just windblown debris.
a) He looked for any other sign of flood or water intrusion, an found none.
b) He also thought there was a lot of splash evidence in the door hinge area etc. I think this seemed a bit paranoid but...
c) I know the car has been driven in the rain because I did it, however I did see one of the deposits the day before my wet test drive so it wasn't just me.
c) The Seller had a car history report and I bought one from a different provider, both agreed and none showed any problems.
d) Question - The tires look pretty well shielded from the engine compartment so I couldn't see a lot of paths for road splash to come up into the engine compartment and land down in the crevices of the frame etc - but do you all have a different experience - not that I expect you're going off-roading, but has anyone seen road debris settle in the engine compartment?
e) Question - Any specific tell tale water damage spots you'd look for in this car? My mechanic checked floorboards and trunk at least, and also there are no evident electrical problems.

That is a ton of questions and information, my apologies for being a newbie with nothing to offer but questions, but I am desperate for some advice as I don't want to return this car - I really like it! However I also don't want to get stuck with a bad apple. Any advice you have on any of the topics will be very much appreciated.

Thanks![/QUOTE
their a great car. Just drive it and love it. Mine has 120000 on it. Have I had any problems, yes. Does it erase my love for the car, not a chance.

 

[SrChief]

When I had an oil leak like you described it required the engine to be removed and resealed. It was stioll under warranty but I was told it was about a $3000.00 repair. If I had a seller tell me I could not have the car inspected before I bought it I would have run the other way. With the other mileage problems and evidence of water damage I would return it very fast. These are great cars but if you have one that needs a lot of work done it gets expensive very fast.

 

[XLRATING]

If you search oil leaks on this site, you will see they are somewhat of a standard feature on Northstars (the engines in these cars). Both of our XLR's have oil leaks, one is 7 years old with 19k miles on it, got it at 15k miles 18 mos. ago & it had the leak then, the other has 43k miles & there's been no change in the amount of leak since we got it 4 years ago with 32k miles. So, we are just keeping an eye on them because, as Sr Chief said, they are expensive to fix (mostly labor to get to the problem).

The engine compartment in our higher mileage XLR is loaded with sand in the same pockets as yours - I clean it out & it keeps reappearing in there. However, we live in a coastal area & I know the car's history, so it's not a flood issue (for ours), stuff just collects in those areas.

Tech 2's with Cadillac-specific communication are what is used for computer analysis on these. I don't know if using an OBD would cause different mileage results - wouldn't think so but computers can do strange things.

No matter what you pay to get a used XLR, it is generally still a $80-100,000 car when it comes to repairs. That said, there are a good number of people on here who have 150-250k miles on these cars & just keep on getting it. You just have to realize something will break at some point. Knowing all that, these are still fantastic, cool, fun cars in our book!

See if you can get the service records for the car from a GM dealer. That will tell you a lot more about the car's history.

And I would agree with Sr. Chief that I personally would have run away really fast if someone said I couldn't have the car inspected before buying. Hopefully you have enough familiarity with the seller to be more comfortable with that!

Good luck!

 

[airmike]

I would open the trunk and look in the little pocket at the rear, inside on drivers side. That is where the top related parts live. It has a little carpeted cover to remove, and look for ANY evidence of water marks or corrosion. If you suspect the car has been wet (other than rain)/even including rain, that is the very expensive place to start looking. ZERO evidence of water is acceptable in that pocket.
I also get a small amount of sand/grit/ type stuff in the engine compartment around the frame. I clean in there almost every time I wash the car and it continually needs wiped out.
No pushrods in the engine, it is overhead cam
I had my pan gasket replaced under warranty, because the pan was damp. I wouldn't say a leak as typically described.(it didn't get the floor wet) I can tell you for sure if the case half is leaking that is a major job. I did it on my seville (when I had to do the head gaskets) and it is now completely dry. That is not likely a job to do just for the oil leaking. Those are two different leaks. You need to KNOW which it is if you are going to let it make the buy/not buy decision.
I agree with previous statements about running away. I love my car and intend to keep it till the day I die, so I understand your desire to own that car. Having said that, there are more out there and most have been pampered. You can find as nice a car I am sure and if you were to overpay by $3000 even, that would be less than repairs for the top, or case half seals, without all the heartache. I have no idea about the speedo.
Can you explain what reason any seller would have for not allowing an inspection?

Considering all the above, I would look for one that I had no apprehension about when buying. They are definitely out there.

 

[Phrede]

Let me correct: New Purchaser would love some experienced advice - major worries.

Hello all,
I just picked up my 2006 V today - man I love this car. However there are a couple very troubling things I was hoping to get some advice on. Where I purchased I have a few days to return the car, and because of this they wouldn't let my mechanic look it over pre-purchase. So I bought it and drove directly to him, and he had the following concerns (he is not a Cadillac dealer - they didn't offer any inspection like this, I asked):

1) There is an oil leak with fresh oil accumulating on the pan, and coating the front spring.
a) The seller had listed a pan gasket replacement as part of the vehicle prep - but only listed 2.3 hours labor for that, my mechanic looked it up and it calls for 5.6 hrs. He said the gasket looks new (maybe) but whatever they did do, there is still a leak.
b) Question - Should I be suspicious of the repair (no kidding since it didn't work)?
c) Question - Are there any chronic oil leaks you all know about?
d) Question - Assuming the pan gasket was replaced - where would you look next?
e) QUestion - how much would this worry you? With the low miles, even though it is 8 years old, I wouldn't expect a leak.

2) The car has 26,000 miles (Great - I know!) but when my mechanic did an ODB-II check he found a reading that listed the mileage when the codes were last cleared as 36,389!
a) My mechanic found a TSB for engine replacement due to loose push rod cap nuts (I believe) and it applied to about 20 2006 vehicles but my VIN was not on the list.
b) Question - Any chance his reader (a very capable looking one, I've never seen one quite this good) may be fooled? Some Cadillac proprietary format down in the auxiliary data stream?
c) Question - If someone were to try and reset the Odometer - how hard would that be?

3) My mechanic found deposits of dirt/sand in pockets in the engine compartment, and organic debris wedged in the crease between the firewall and the inner fender. Not a lot of either, but more than just windblown debris.
a) He looked for any other sign of flood or water intrusion, an found none.
b) He also thought there was a lot of splash evidence in the door hinge area etc. I think this seemed a bit paranoid but...
c) I know the car has been driven in the rain because I did it, however I did see one of the deposits the day before my wet test drive so it wasn't just me.
c) The Seller had a car history report and I bought one from a different provider, both agreed and none showed any problems.
d) Question - The tires look pretty well shielded from the engine compartment so I couldn't see a lot of paths for road splash to come up into the engine compartment and land down in the crevices of the frame etc - but do you all have a different experience - not that I expect you're going off-roading, but has anyone seen road debris settle in the engine compartment?
e) Question - Any specific tell tale water damage spots you'd look for in this car? My mechanic checked floorboards and trunk at least, and also there are no evident electrical problems.

That is a ton of questions and information, my apologies for being a newbie with nothing to offer but questions, but I am desperate for some advice as I don't want to return this car - I really like it! However I also don't want to get stuck with a bad apple. Any advice you have on any of the topics will be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

There are a couple of common oil leak spots like the cam actuator covers. Usually a UV dye can locate the trouble areas.

I wonder about your mechanics comments about pushrods. This is an overhead cam engine and any motorhead can recognize that.

 

[newv]

monepit, SrChief, XLRATING, and airmike,
Thank you for the replies. Good information all around. Very glad to hear that others have seen sand up in the crevices. I checked that rear compartment with the top components and it looks perfectly fine, no evidence of any water there. The dilemma is that there is no evidence of water damage that we can find, but the sand/debris in the engine compartment (again, not a lot, but grain size that has to be moved by water) make it imperative to look for water damage. If that kind of debris can be sloshed up from the road then I don't have any other evidence of a problem with water.

As for the ability to inspect with a mechanic first - the seller is CarMax. For those of you that don't have them in your state, they are a national chain of used car lots. They have their own service department that reviews/repairs their cars, they give a 30 day warranty, and you can return the car within 5 days. Given all of that, they are not willing to let you take the car pre purchase to your mechanic since you are "covered" by the 5 and 30 days. I don't take that as a possible intent to hide something on this car, just their general policy which is why I didn't run from this stipulation as I would have with a smaller lot or an individual where the sale is final and they don't have any warranty responsibility.

That being said, I am confident when I go in to talk to them tomorrow they will commit to fixing the oil leak, my worry is that if it is a really difficult (expensive) job as you all have mentioned, they may not get it done right. And I am willing to live with "seepage" leaks, certainty the rest of my vehicles are no oil free saints. But this is not a seep, nor a gusher, and they did try once. I suspect they may find a way out of the repair if it entails pulling the engine, but I won't know that until after 5 days are passed.

I agree that the computer reading could be bad due to an error in the program of the car or the reader, or incompatibility - which is what I suspect. As my mechanic put it - I'm not condemning this car, but I have questions. Unfortunately the Caddy dealer is not open for a quick double check.

Airmike, thanks for the correction on the push-rods, my default thought is still in the old school (I am still driving a 76 Eldorado convertible, I think of these two cars as a thirty year example of the best convertible technology of their day) - and since I don't have a lift I haven't gotten to eyeball how this thing is put together, can you elaborate a bit on the what the case half is? I take it your saying unless this is a real major leak an objective mechanic wouldn't recommend fixing it due to cost?

Once again, thank you all very much, and I am still very interested in what other folks think about all this. I'm going to go out for a good long drive today and decide by Monday.

Oh by the way - it's really clear you all love this car!

 

[newv]

There are a couple of common oil leak spots like the cam actuator covers. Usually a UV dye can locate the trouble areas.

I wonder about your mechanics comments about pushrods. This is an overhead cam engine and any motorhead can recognize that.

Phrede,
Thanks, that gives me a couple things to talk with the seller mechanics about, I wonder if they just assumed a pan without trying the dye. The pushrod error was mine, I was focused on the "Engine Replacement" title on the TSB and checking those VINs, I recalled it was incorrectly torqued nuts but didn't recall which ones exactly. As I said to airmike, I am an old school guy so I always default to thinking in the old ways, got a lot to learn about newer engines (yeah I know, overhead cams have been around forever, but sometimes I feel I have been around forever and a day.)

 

[BusaMan]

NewV, first, congrat's on getting a really good model. Now, for a little advice.

First, I'd locate a different Caddy dealer right away, and only consider one with a certified XLR tech on staff. (It takes an investment in special XLR training.) They'll hook up the Tech II and tell you tons of stuff right away. Don't even consider having anyone but a certified tech touch your car. If you DO decide to keep this car, I'd have that tech do a complete service and fluid replacement. If that thing HAD sat in water, I'd be leery of the fluids being OK.

I second the recommendation to check out the oil leak threads on this site. My Base model had leaky cam actuator caps, which my extended warranty (HIGHLY recommended, BTW, should you decide to keep this particular car) paid for.

Be certain to operate the top up/down several times to ensure that it's OK. Check out everything: the Nav' system, A/C, the voice response, the seat heating/cooling, cruise control, manual shift mode, etc., and look for damage UNDER the vehicle. Make sure you got the owners manual, and see if the special Torx tool is with the car (used for manually working the top).

Resolve that odometer difference.

If the certified Caddy XLR tech says it's OK, you're good to go with it (IMO). Enjoy it and get used to smiling and blushing when all those folks tell you what a sweet car you're driving.

Tim

 

[newv]

BusaMan,
Thanks for your advice. Good ideas. I did have a phone conversation with the local Cadillac dealer when I was looking for a pre-purchace inspection from them. He said they won't do one for liability reasons, but post purchase of course they would. However what he described was reading the codes (good) and checking the lights, signals etc., a "Trip Check" as he called it. Didn't sound very thorough. I called him back and spent a little more time with him, he was familiar with the car, said he was trained on them (and did in fact mention that it was a lot of training) and answered some questions about what he typically sees go wrong (he called the XLR "pretty bulletproof".)

He also confirmed that the extended warranty plan I bought was good to work with and let them use GM parts without complaint. Thanks for confirming that the warranty was a good choice, as XLRATING wisely put it, it's still a $100K car in the repair shop no matter the purchase price today. In any case, I am going to see if I can squeeze into the dealer's tomorrow. Also, per XL's idea, I do know from CARFAX of at least one dealer who serviced this car over a few years, so I am going to see if they are willing to share any data.

I did find the tool - Just one large L shaped pseudo allen wrench with a small torx on one end - is that everything?

Yeah, I hadn't driven it 3 miles off the lot and got a big thumbs up and wave from folks on the road.

Thanks

 

[b_pappy]

Hope you get it sorted out. I have heard some really good things things about the CARMAX warranty over on Jalopnik. I think they have several, but their top notch one is great. Sorry I don't have more info at hand.
They are great cars, and really beautiful.
Bruce

 

[ald42]

Welcome newv, I agree w/ the above and would not let anyone but a cert. xlr tech work on your car.. I also get the sand on the frame rails,don't live near the water or out in rain. I think it's road dirt but it looks like fine sand.it comes up under the engine. clean it off and after a month it'll be back, I just blow off the eng comp once a mo. Al

 

[V Happy]

-new-purchaser-wuold-love-some-experience-advice-major-wo

New Purchaser
I own a 2006 V. I think most of the previous answer will help. I had a certified warranty when I bought mine. I read all the scary stories about these cars before purchasing mine. It sort of had me not wanting to buy one. I did purchase it with 9000 on it. It now has 26000 and knock on wood no problems. If your top works without having to push the button variousness times that eliminates one of the major troubles I would however check the hydraulic well for water stains. Make sure the drain and welll are clean and clear incase of water intrusion in the future! I don't think u ever said how bad the oil was leaking is. Once in awhile I get a drop or so on the garage floor. The sandy frame debree is normal. Clean it and a few runs later it's back. Four years and going and I couldn't be happier with a car. I think being causios is good. Oh I did want to say wash the car and then check the trunk for leaks Having a down pour with a bad trunk seal can be disastorous
V happy

 

[newv]

V Happy, ald42. and b_pappy,

Thanks for chiming in. And thanks to everyone for their advice and knowledge - it was very helpful.

So, the short conclusion to the story is - I kept the car! Between your advice, some more time under the car, and the follow-up checkup I did with the Caddy dealer I felt pretty comfortable in the end.

Here is the longer version for those that may be interested:

Sand in engine compartment/possible water intrusion:
So many of you called out the sand in the engine compartment as normal, AND the Caddy tech said the same exact thing, that dissolved my worry about that for the most part. I also got under the car (no small chore) and inspected every little weird nook and cranny I could for any kind of residue from water and didn't find anything, period. As I said previously, the top control well looked perfect, and even the Caddy Tech thought the car underside looked very clean. So I was confident the car had not been in any bad water situation and the debris my original mechanic found was explained away by all of you.

Oil Leak:
V happy was right, I hadn't described how big the leak was. That was because I couldn't be there when my mechanic lifted the car, so he sent me a picture and description. Once I got under the car it was a lot smaller than I had imagined. It was not enough to drip on the ground. It dripped a bit on the leaf spring and I found accumulated gunk on top of it. The picture my mechanic sent showed fresh oil around the pan gasket. When I looked two days later this was already gone. What I found was a "sheen" on one of the parts on the lower front of the engine (I couldn't see too well and the engine is unfamiliar - perhaps an idler pulley anchor arm?) this was not the source but the collection point. I could see from there how it ends up on the spring and around the front of the oil pan. I wiped everything down then went for a 50-60 mile hard drive and looked under again. The sheen was back - very faint. I put this into the annoying but not worrying category. Not sure I would term it just seepage, but close. Sounds similar to what you all and others on the forum have mentioned. I am not going to ask CarMax to try and fix this, I'll just keep a close eye on it and hope it stays stable, if not then I'll have an issue to contend with.

When the Caddy tech looked it over they didn't even notice it. I got under the lift (alone) and looked everything over again. Just a little sheen of oil on the one spot, everything else, including the trans-axle was bone dry and looked good. The tech said that "when these things leak - they pour - we don't usually have any problems tracing the streak back to the source, and if we do we'll use dye to track it down." I think he just wrote off what I saw as road grime.

Weird odometer code mileage:
I could not get either of the two Caddy tech's to even worry a little about this. Said one, I never look at that, it's so far down the list of information I never pay any attention to that one, I look at when codes were set and what they are. The second one said about the same - I never even look that far down the screen. All the codes looked good, saw some loss of communication codes - which is consistent with a dead battery, nothing suspicious.

Per XLRATINg's idea, I asked these guys to pull all of the records from the service calls on this vehicle in their Dealer service database, which they did. It has pretty regular service information from the longest term previous owner, and there was nothing bad, the only unusual thing was a trans axle fluid change at 8000 miles - not sure why anyone would do that. All of the mileage numbers were consistent with the odometer so I think the wierd reading my mechanic got was an anomaly, though I am still dissapointed the Caddy tech didn't explicitly verify.

Because I know anyone who read this far might ask - let me make a few comments about the Caddy tech's. It turns out the service writer (a concept I despise - I want to talk to the actual mechanic) was fully XLR trained before he moved out of the garage and up to the front. The current techs are not XLR trained unfortunately. Like most big shops, it's hard to hang out with the car and mechanic in the back - they really hate that at dealerships I've learned becasue I always try to (can't realy blame them). But I insisted on getting under the car myself for the look-see. They didn't say as much, but I think the way they accommodated me was to tell the tech to be gone so he couldn't be blamed for letting me under the lift. That led to plenty of time for me under the lift, but I couldn't get the mechanic there with me. I did manage to intercept him later (he tried to duck out quickly) and talked to him about the oil leak and codes - he was reluctant to talk at first but finally loosened up and gave me some info. All that is to say this is why I couldn't look over their shoulder while they read the codes out - I tried! I was more concerned with getting under that lift for a better look than I could achieve in my driveway so I was satisfied.

This idea of operating in the back out of your sight with no interaction between owner and mechanic is something I really hate. I completely understand why they do it, I'd probably do it similarly just for efficiency's sake. I think the only saving grace in my situation here was the service writer happened to be technically up on the car (otherwise those guys are worse than useless because it's hard for them to translate your description on paper for the techs to read later). That said, these guy's got me what I needed - some educated assurance - and didn't charge too much.

Thanks again to all of you for your timely advice. I really appreciate it. I am sure I'll be talking with you later on in the Forum about one thing or another.

newv

 

[ald42]

V Happy, ald42. and b_pappy,

Thanks for chiming in. And thanks to everyone for their advice and knowledge - it was very helpful.

So, the short conclusion to the story is - I kept the car! Between your advice, some more time under the car, and the follow-up checkup I did with the Caddy dealer I felt pretty comfortable in the end.

Here is the longer version for those that may be interested:

Sand in engine compartment/possible water intrusion:
So many of you called out the sand in the engine compartment as normal, AND the Caddy tech said the same exact thing, that dissolved my worry about that for the most part. I also got under the car (no small chore) and inspected every little weird nook and cranny I could for any kind of residue from water and didn't find anything, period. As I said previously, the top control well looked perfect, and even the Caddy Tech thought the car underside looked very clean. So I was confident the car had not been in any bad water situation and the debris my original mechanic found was explained away by all of you.

Oil Leak:
V happy was right, I hadn't described how big the leak was. That was because I couldn't be there when my mechanic lifted the car, so he sent me a picture and description. Once I got under the car it was a lot smaller than I had imagined. It was not enough to drip on the ground. It dripped a bit on the leaf spring and I found accumulated gunk on top of it. The picture my mechanic sent showed fresh oil around the pan gasket. When I looked two days later this was already gone. What I found was a "sheen" on one of the parts on the lower front of the engine (I couldn't see too well and the engine is unfamiliar - perhaps an idler pulley anchor arm?) this was not the source but the collection point. I could see from there how it ends up on the spring and around the front of the oil pan. I wiped everything down then went for a 50-60 mile hard drive and looked under again. The sheen was back - very faint. I put this into the annoying but not worrying category. Not sure I would term it just seepage, but close. Sounds similar to what you all and others on the forum have mentioned. I am not going to ask CarMax to try and fix this, I'll just keep a close eye on it and hope it stays stable, if not then I'll have an issue to contend with.

When the Caddy tech looked it over they didn't even notice it. I got under the lift (alone) and looked everything over again. Just a little sheen of oil on the one spot, everything else, including the trans-axle was bone dry and looked good. The tech said that "when these things leak - they pour - we don't usually have any problems tracing the streak back to the source, and if we do we'll use dye to track it down." I think he just wrote off what I saw as road grime.

Weird odometer code mileage:
I could not get either of the two Caddy tech's to even worry a little about this. Said one, I never look at that, it's so far down the list of information I never pay any attention to that one, I look at when codes were set and what they are. The second one said about the same - I never even look that far down the screen. All the codes looked good, saw some loss of communication codes - which is consistent with a dead battery, nothing suspicious.

Per XLRATINg's idea, I asked these guys to pull all of the records from the service calls on this vehicle in their Dealer service database, which they did. It has pretty regular service information from the longest term previous owner, and there was nothing bad, the only unusual thing was a trans axle fluid change at 8000 miles - not sure why anyone would do that. All of the mileage numbers were consistent with the odometer so I think the wierd reading my mechanic got was an anomaly, though I am still dissapointed the Caddy tech didn't explicitly verify.

Because I know anyone who read this far might ask - let me make a few comments about the Caddy tech's. It turns out the service writer (a concept I despise - I want to talk to the actual mechanic) was fully XLR trained before he moved out of the garage and up to the front. The current techs are not XLR trained unfortunately. Like most big shops, it's hard to hang out with the car and mechanic in the back - they really hate that at dealerships I've learned becasue I always try to (can't realy blame them). But I insisted on getting under the car myself for the look-see. They didn't say as much, but I think the way they accommodated me was to tell the tech to be gone so he couldn't be blamed for letting me under the lift. That led to plenty of time for me under the lift, but I couldn't get the mechanic there with me. I did manage to intercept him later (he tried to duck out quickly) and talked to him about the oil leak and codes - he was reluctant to talk at first but finally loosened up and gave me some info. All that is to say this is why I couldn't look over their shoulder while they read the codes out - I tried! I was more concerned with getting under that lift for a better look than I could achieve in my driveway so I was satisfied.

This idea of operating in the back out of your sight with no interaction between owner and mechanic is something I really hate. I completely understand why they do it, I'd probably do it similarly just for efficiency's sake. I think the only saving grace in my situation here was the service writer happened to be technically up on the car (otherwise those guys are worse than useless because it's hard for them to translate your description on paper for the techs to read later). That said, these guy's got me what I needed - some educated assurance - and didn't charge too much.

Thanks again to all of you for your timely advice. I really appreciate it. I am sure I'll be talking with you later on in the Forum about one thing or another.

newv

this all sounds good. the rear end oil change @8000k mi was for a new type of oil to stop the clutches from chattering, most of us have had this done and it solves the problem. it's one less thing you have to do!! Al

 

[newv]

Thanks Al, Appreciate you solving the oil change mystery!

 

[XLRATING]

Glad things worked out well. You are way ahead of the game to come here & ask questions before committing - we were clueless when we bought our first XLR & just got flat out lucky.

Now go out & put that top down & ENJOY!!!

 

[newv]

Thanks XL, glad you pioneers were out there. Just got back from a nice evening drive tonight - great car!