Bought my 5th car this weekend 2nd Gen Cadillac ESV

[Electronic M]

Finally got what I wanted back almost a decade ago when I bought the suburban. Back then I wanted an Escalade ESV, but didn't have the budget. I only pulled half a Billy Joel since I didn't trade in my Chevy for a Cadillac... Ack, Ack, Ack! And plan to keep the Chevy as a winter beater until it finishes rusting in half or something similar.



Someone is probably wondering why not a new car... Well I absolutely can't stand infotainment era cars, and if I'm going to spend mid 5 to 6 figures (it's crazy what new cars cost) I rather it be on the downpayment of a house.... I love my GMT800 suburban, and the Escalade ESV is basically a suburban with a nice trim package (the nicest looking of the GMT800 family IMO).

This time around funding wasn't an issue (99.9% of the ESV generation I was targeting were in budget), being a picky son of a gun was the problem. I wanted a rust free southern car with low miles... Was hoping for blue or green (unfortunately those seem to be the rarest colors) a bench middle row seat (the buckets when folded for cargo leave a hole that sucks for carrying consoles with legs) and the base CD cassette radio. I gradually realized that I probably would not find that combo. I ended up buying a zero body rust almost zero rust underneath 95k mile 2006 out of North Carolina. For approximately double what my suburban cost me... Granted it might be the same if accounting for how much inflation has happened in the last decade. I'm going to have to find a second row bench, and the aftermarket stereo has to go (the radio section ain't half as good as factory and most of my commute listening is radio)... I also need to replace the front headliner, fix the rear wiper and sunroof motors (I'm hoping it's a fuse, but I know those wiper motors aren't the best). Couple of tiny dink cosmetic things to deal with too like a scratch on the plastic front bumper cover. The 4L60 was rebuilt by a shop at the used car dealer's expense... I'm not sure I trust it completely, but it did get me home... There's a warranty on it... I figure I'll wait until it fails out of warranty (4L60s need rebuilt every 140k from friends experience) then convert it to a 4L80 (the 80 in my Burban has yet to need anything ever). All and all she's way more solid than the Burban was when I bought it.... If I can get her treated against rust and keep her off the road in salt season I wouldn't be surprised if I can keep her nice for another 20+ years.


My third car the suburban has been driven every winter for the nearly decade I've had it and I've taken it from 110K all the way to 226K... The frame isn't shot on the burb YET, but it's starting to concern me, between that, increased number of maintenance issues I've had to deal with on the burb and a general shabbyness from all it's been through. I wanted a backup and atleast one summer car with good factory paint.


Apologies to squirrel boy for limited pictures... I drove the entire weekend plus Friday and have been dealing with after work backlog of my weekend activities and all I got is Sunday mornings pic.

I think I did OK, and I'll be arriving in style to the ETF this fall. I also love how much more comfortable it is than the suburban... It's not quite the miracle Lincoln Mark V/LazyBoy "your back feels better after an 8 hour trip than it did when you started" seat comfort level, but it doesn't make you feel the slightest bit worse than you did at the start, and that is a vast improvement over almost every car made since 2000 I've sat in... I swear Honda engineers their seats to ruin your back in 2 hours or less.

Onto ETF prep, weekend catchup and various car prep.

[WISCOJIM]

Congrats!

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