Bought a new 2008 CTS Today (Pics added 8/31/08)

[69Firebird400]

Well boys, I'm back in the GM family as of today, just two weeks shy of five years from the first time I bought a non-GM vehicle.

I found a black/black 2008 CTS DI RWD with 18" wheels and Premium Luxury Collection (keyless start, sapele wood, navigation, heated/cooled seats, light pipes, hard disc, etc) at a dealer 50 miles from my home.

If anyone's been shopping for a CTS, they will have probably seen something similar to what I did - all the loaded ones are AWD, and all the RWD ones are basic cars usually without DI and almost always without navigation, which was a must-have for me. When this one almost fell through, another dealer tried to find another 08 for me (the 08 was something like $4,700 less than the 09 I was considering), but there were none with this equipment within a 250 mile radius!

Anyway, the car had an MSRP over $46,000 and an employee price of $41,200. Then it had a $2,000 rebate on top of that, taking it down to $39,200. Further, I have an old blue GM Card ($500 in earnings per year, unlimited redemptions), so that took my price out the door before TTL to about $35,700, or somewhere around $10,500 below MSRP. Also, it's an April 2008 build, so it has bluetooth - and I paired my iPhone very easily with it already.

The car is gorgeous and drives like a dream. Unfortunately, it rained on me the entire trip home, so I had to put it away wet on the first night. The trim on the A-pillars inside does not appear firmly attached where it should (it's sort of wavy...I'll attach pics later), and since it's raining right now and dark, I'll have to post pics tomorrow or Sunday. I know...

Here are some pics:




Here's the poorly-fitting trim I was talking about on the A-pillars; both sides are like this and it bends in when you press on it. I'll ask the dealer about it at my first oil change.

[91 s-10baja]

I bow to thee.

[FenwickHockey65]

Congrats! Post pics as soon as you can!

[TuffG929]

We're not worthy! We're not worthy!


Seriously though, congrats on your new ride and that awesome deal.

[eurohazard]

Nice! Congrats on one of the phatest GM cars available!

[AndrewGS]

You now drive my "Affordable Dream Car", except I'd get AWD because I want to move to Denver.

Congrats!

Oh, and make with the pics ASAP.

[paul8488]

Yeah-hoo! Excited for you man! Cadillac has done such an amazing job on the CTS! And despite all the babble about how the CTS doesn't know it's place between the 3 series and 5 series... look! It doesn't matter! You didn't buy a BMW, you bought a Cadillac! Great choice! Enjoy!

[rmodys]

You suck... can't wait to see the pictures of it!

[mbukukanyau]

why did you deny me my right to post this???



I can hardly wait to see it

[EldoFan]

Here's to you and your Standard of the World!

[Michael_S]

Congratulations! Sweet car.

[powervette]

Originally Posted by paul8488

Yeah-hoo! Excited for you man! Cadillac has done such an amazing job on the CTS! And despite all the babble about how the CTS doesn't know it's place between the 3 series and 5 series... look! It doesn't matter! You didn't buy a BMW, you bought a Cadillac! Great choice! Enjoy!

Amen to that Paul.
I wish only there were more new CTSes on our roads. Unfortunately I saw only one new CTS and dozens of those stupid Lexus IS-F.

[Pedal 2 Metal]

Originally Posted by rmodys

You suck...

That pretty much sums up my thoughts

[69Firebird400]

I just washed the car tonight for the first time tonight in the dark and haven't had a chance to wax, detail, etc...plus I'm sure I missed a bunch of dirt, doing it in the dark and all. But, I ordered an Adam's detailing kit online last night to hopefully get it up to par soon.

Meanwhile, here's one pic I snapped of the car right before we left my parents' house after visiting for a few hours (you can see my wife in the passenger seat waiting for me). The car is pretty dirty in the picture, but it's hard to see the dirt from this angle. Tomorrow it will be a sunny day here so hopefully I can get some more shots.


I also took a shot of the light pipe in the front (they're pretty cool) and a couple of the interior. Yes, I am an awful photographer!

So far, so good with the car. I finally took it for a two mile ride tonight on dry roads without my family in the car, and it honestly doesn't feel anywhere near as fast as an IS350 I drove for a week a few months ago (it's a bigger car, and much heavier, but has similar horsepower numbers). It didn't feel like 300 horsepower to me, but it's still a step up power-wise from my V6 Accord (not to mention having probably 20 additional comfort/luxury features!) The ride/steering/braking/handling/roadholding all feel awesome, but you can feel a little bit of the car's weight once in a while. Not a big deal to me, and obviously not a deal-breaker, since I bought the car.

I got about 22 mpg today on an almost all-highway trip @ 72 mph. I have no idea why I didn't get closer to the 26 rating, but it's still pretty good.

Here are the others; more to follow tomorrow night. Thanks for all the kind words!

Light pipe:


Interior with flash:


Center stack without flash:


Comfy back seat for napping little boys:

[rmodys]

Man that'd be fun to photograph...