Project Cadillac
Real-world Cadillac buying advice

Before you buy

Don't spend $20,000 before you spend 20 minutes.

Buying a used Cadillac should feel like getting a luxury car at half the price. Not inheriting someone else's repair bills. Here is how to tell which one you're looking at, before you sign.

600+ Cadillac buyers have downloaded the checklist / 4.8 average rating / Independent. No dealership upsells

The system

Two steps. One decision.

One tool checks the car in front of you. One figures out which car should be in front of you in the first place.

STEP 01

Inspect this Cadillac

Free Red Flag Checklist

  • Cold start, engine, transmission, body, electronics
  • Model-specific red flags for the common Cadillacs
  • A final risk score: walk away, or buy with confidence
  • Works on your phone, standing next to the car

STEP 02

Choose the right Cadillac

Cadillac Buyer's Guide

  • Best years to buy and the years to avoid, per model
  • Which engines last, and which get expensive
  • What a fair 2026 price actually looks like
  • A clear verdict: buy, buy with caution, or avoid

Launching soon

$24.90

Get the buyer's guide

Why this matters

The expensive mistakes don't show up on the test drive.

They show up 8,000 miles later, in a shop, on your bill. The car drove fine the day you bought it. That was the problem.

Shop reality checkIndependent-shop pricing
What you're looking at
Verify now
Ignore it, pay later
Escalade lifter check
Collapsed AFM lifter, common on the 6.2L V8
$270
$4,000+
CT6 air suspension
Struts and compressor wear with age and miles
$0
$600/strut

The depreciation already happened. The engineering stayed.

IN-SHOP PHOTO workwear · bay behind
THE MECHANIC BEHIND THE GUIDE

Who stands behind this

Built with a working Cadillac mechanic. 24 years in the bay, not the showroom.

Every recommendation comes from real repair experience, not spec sheets. The point isn't to talk you into a car. It's to make sure the one you buy doesn't become someone else's old problem.

No dealership upsells. No affiliate pressure. Just the checks worth running before you sign.

4.8 ★★★★★ from early checklist ratings
★★★★★

"Used this before looking at a 2017 XT5 this weekend. Worked great right on my phone at the dealership. Caught a couple things the seller didn't mention."

2017 XT5 buyer · Verified download

★★★★★

"Clear enough that I didn't need a mechanic standing next to me to understand it. Exactly what I wanted."

CTS owner · Verified download

★★★★★

"Straight talk before spending real money. No fluff, no upsell. That's rare."

Escalade buyer · Verified download

The goal isn't to avoid buying a Cadillac. It's to avoid buying the wrong one.

Delivered instantly. No card required for the checklist.