The Seville's Douchey Impreza Look

[Tornado]

I want a Seville. Always loved their looks. They aren't too bad a place to be inside. They were fairly decent when they were new, and their value dropped like stones compared to their contemporaries. They get "good enough" gas mileage. They've got all the cool little things that I found irresistible to fiddle with when my Grandpa had them in his DeVille (God himself invented heated leather seats), minus the night vision. They sound wonderful. And I don't see too many cars in the same price range that I would think are better to get instead, all things considering.










So let me have it.

Buy a Seville.

So. Two months (and a forgone "pick me a car so I can ignore your suggestions and just buy what I want" thread) later, here we are. +1 Seville (despite the random appearance of a 2003 Lincoln LS V8 for the same price in that timeframe; and James trying to sell me on a GS430 I would have nonetheless had to have driven 300 miles to see).

Not that one, that I said I was going to get; for those paying too much attention.

That one.


2003. Two owners. Extremely detailed maintenence history for the second owner. 86 grand on the clock. Every option you could get on them except the compass in the rearview mirror since the compass on the rearview mirror couldn't be had with navigation.

Also, some ducks.







It rides like a dream. It sounds beautiful. It looks amazing. It feels much more solid than any other domestic car I've ever driven. It has (as the maximum steering lock probably suggests) the turning radius of a small aircraft carrier, despite how composed it is at speed. Still much better than some damn Taurus or something.




















Now let's see how long it takes for something extremely expensive to break.

 

[Doog]

As someone who has an infatuation with late model Sevilles (Devilles, too), I've just gotten a new favorite car thread to watch. Not a big fan of that shade of red, but it looks to be in great condition. How's the handling?

 

[Dennisch]

Good looking car. Excellent color. And that red grill just completes the package.

May it bring you years of magic carpet driving pleasure. 👍

 

[Slash]

Love the color!

 

[Cano]

Oooo, I've always liked these and they're slipping into a price range that I could maybe afford, even here in cars-are-expensive-as-hell Mexico. Howzit?

 

[Bopop4]

I like how I wanted a Toyota, and I tried to get you to buy a Toyota, but in the end we both bought American.


Good to see that you got one after having looking for so long.👍
I parked beside one the other day, and the whole thing really does look nice.

My opinion on the Lexus still stands though. : p

 

[homeforsummer]

I recall I was also one of the ones who didn't help at all and suggested you buy a Seville.

So... good choice

(Is now on eBay looking for cheap Sevilles)

 

[Katiegan]

I think it looks awesome. It might make you broke, but you'll be broke with style.

 

[Azure Flare]

👍

 

[Crash]

Nice purchase. The inside doesn't look fancy but looks like a genuinely nice place to be and just cruise. Enjoy it. 👍

Also, are those chrome wheels?

 

[unit-one]

Looks really nice! The interior is so bright and filled with light!
Congratulations! Take care of her! =)

Looks like everyone will have a car before I get one myself. xD

 

[Tornado]

First day after getting it registered. Woke up early. Was going to drive it to work, so they could see it over there before the store opened.







Wouldn't start.

The beginning of a beautiful friendship, I'm sure.

I like how I wanted a Toyota, and I tried to get you to buy a Toyota, but in the end we both bought American.

You still should have bought an Avalon.

Howzit?

How's the handling?

It's kind of hard to describe. It's just as pillowy soft over everything as I remember my Grandfather's contemporary Deville DHS was (and as his later Avalon was, which I actually drove somewhat frequently. It's certainly more "comfortable" than his Mercury Milan and Lincoln MKZ were), but when you push it you can actually feel where the car is in relation to your actions. That wasn't the case with the Avalon, as sure footed as it drove. It's also very, very quiet (except when you nail it, at which point it wakes up gloriously); making it very easy to be going too fast in it (just like his Avalon was).



It is also the best... smelling car I've ever driven.

 

[RVDNuT374]

First day after getting it registered. Woke up early. Was going to drive it to work, so they could see it over there before the store opened.

Wouldn't start.

Welcome to the world of modern GM cars. But seriously, sweet ride; enjoy it when it runs.

 

[Vegard]

'Dat Northstar

This car has aged really well, absolutely beautiful.

I've had a bit of a soft spot for the Seville STS ever since reading about it in a local car mag 20 years ago.

Happy ownership

 

[CDailey]

This is awesome. I almost bought an STS as my first car but backed out because we found it the heads were cracked. Ended up with a 300M Special.

Congrats on the purchase. 👍

 

[homeforsummer]

I was out drinking with a friend last night and the subject of Sevilles came up.

Long story short, he's a truck driver, and the only maintenance his truck has needed in 200k miles is tyres. As in, they've got so advanced they don't even need oil changes any more. And he's only used 20 percent of the brake pads. Amazing vehicles.

Led us on to the Seville, which I recall was advertised as having a no-maintenance engine, or at least not until 100k miles. Reading things like this:

Wouldn't start.

...makes me believe their heart was in the right place, but perhaps the technology itself wasn't quite there yet...

 

[cjr3559]

I'm a little late, but what was the prognosis? Is it merely a dead/dying battery? Hopefully it's nothing more than that. I will say however, I'm pretty leery of any used luxury cars. Too many bells and whistles that could potentially break or issues that could be difficult for a mechanic to diagnose.

While that's a sweet ride, my '03 Protege (which I've outgrown) is still ticking away with 130,000 miles on the odo. I've been waiting to get another car once it's ready to retire, but as long as I continue with proactive maintenance it's not going anywhere any time soon.

 

[Tornado]

It ended up being a combination of me screwing around with it for a week without actually driving it, and me not fully understanding how the automatic headlight switch worked when I did drive it Friday night. Got it jumped, drove it ten miles and it charged right back up.

 

[homeforsummer]

Ah, that's a nice simple issue then.

One question, based on the pics - does it have one of those steering wheels that back themselves out the way when you turn off the ignition, making it easier to get out? The wheel looks like it's positioned really high in the pics. Driven a few Lexus that do it and it always catches me by surprise...

 

[unit-one]

It ended up being a combination of me screwing around with it for a week without actually driving it, and me not fully understanding how the automatic headlight switch worked when I did drive it Friday night. Got it jumped, drove it ten miles and it charged right back up.

I'm glad it wasn't a serious problem.

 

[Tornado]

Ah, that's a nice simple issue then.

One question, based on the pics - does it have one of those steering wheels that back themselves out the way when you turn off the ignition, making it easier to get out? The wheel looks like it's positioned really high in the pics. Driven a few Lexus that do it and it always catches me by surprise...

Yes. Unlock the door and the wheel retracts and raises up. Turn the key to on and it lowers and extends (then retracts and raises when you put it in park and open the door). It's programmed in with the seat memory (so you can have two driver presets), and the seat also rises when the wheel does to make the step out easier. The steering wheel moving is a really clever bit, but the seat adjusting to help you out seems especially gimmicky.


Then again, I'm not a geriatric, so I don't know how helpful it could actually be. It's cool, though.

 

[Tornado]

 

[Slash]

Well, that didn't take long.

 

[Bopop4]

Did you get it figured out?

 

[Celicaas]

i hope every thing well go well in the future

 

[Crash]

I was amused by this article and thought of you.

How's the Seville going?

 

[Tornado]

How's the Seville going?

• The check engine light is still on, and refuses to divulge any information beyond "Engine Misfire" (not even the specific cylinder) even when hooked up to an external scanner. A $100 dropoff at a mechanic to clean out the fuel injectors kept it off for all of 20 miles, though the engine response is a bit nicer and it's not obviously dumping fuel anymore (which it started doing about 3 weeks ago).
  
• The alignment is off, which is fine I guess since I need new tires anyway (and new tire pressure sensor monitors).
  
• There's a random wire sticking out of the headliner that doesn't seem to do anything:
  
  
• There is a rattle coming from the right rear reading lamp on bumps because I had the audacity to touch it when I was sitting in the backseat looking at the wire that doesn't seem to do anything.
  
• The laser in the disc changer is dirty, and I can't find any stores that still sell CD cleaners.
  
• I'd much rather have a center console than a CD changer anyway, but I'm not sure where to buy the wiring harness to splice in the AUX input that the radio supports natively but GM decided not to implement.
  
• Chrome wheels are impossible to keep clean.
  
• The seat controls are mounted in a truly idiotic place, high enough on the side of the seat that when you slide in you can hear the plastic creaking when your ass brushes the top of the panel because it's not mounted on anything.
  
• There are several pieces of trim that I can see straight up are in flawless mechanical condition because of how OCD the previous owner was, but I absolutely refuse to touch them (rear seat heat controls/vents, front cupholders, storage bin in front of the shifter) anyway because they are in an American product from the last decade.
  
• The backlight for the temperature controls on the steering wheel is dead, and was working when I bought the car.
  
• I failed to take a picture of the 88000 mile rollover.
  
• The fuel mileage is still atrocious even after cleaning the fuel injectors because the engine sounds too nice to drive like an old person.
  
• The courtesy switch for closing the sunroof is broken.
  
• The car is too quiet at speed.
  
• I am not fat enough to properly fit in the front seats.
  
• I need to buy a newer version of the navigation disc.
• I probably should have bought the Lexus instead.
  
• I keep losing my car keys.

Which, all told, is about where I expected to be two months in. Nothing disastrously expensive has shown me its temper, and I've lucked out on a couple of things that scared the crap out of me and turned out to be me just not knowing how cars that aren't 1990 Remington Steelemobiles or 1995 Dodge Neons are in terms of options. If this thing drives this nice, I can't imagine how fantastic one of the objectively better handling cars would be.

 

[Cale]

Have you done an oil change yet? Talk about sticker shock. Northstars hold a ton of oil.

 

[Crash]

Sounds like a success so far then. 👍

 

[Aquarelle]

We did tell you to buy the Lexus

Hey at least things are going well so far, just knock on that wood before a wheel falls off on the highway!