CT5-V Shopping: So discouraging!

[Badillac]

Posted this awhile back in the sticky thread about dealers not charging over MSRP.....

It's worth checking out Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac in Clinton Township, MI. I ordered mine from there at MSRP & couln't have been happier. Ask for Ralph DeBuce (my salesguy). He even knew to tell me that if I ordered the CF, my order would not get picked up. He also offered to do the whole deal remotely as I'm in Cali but I went to pick it up anyway. I also gave clear instruction not to prep the car or anything- he listened! Was a pleasure working with him & 100% seamless.

Cadillac Dealer near Me | Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac

Visit Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac in Clinton Township, MI to buy or lease a new Cadillac. Schedule service or explore Cadillac financing options today.

www.jimriehlcadillac.com

 

[rubberduck]

I'm getting closer... found a car in Atlanta and I got the dealer to knock off all of their customary b.s. add-on's and ADP except for about $1200 worth of crap. Natch it's a bunch of crap I don't want nor need, so it's a deal-breaker for me. Plus, the car is white, which is not in my top 5 preferred colors. But perhaps there is light at the tunnel's end...

Been there. You’re at the optimism/denial stage of the process. Thinking you’ll get a car soon and defy the odds. The rodeo is no joke and has sent many a member to regular therapist treatments.

And even after the car arrives there is a new stage of the rodeo. Keep reading more here and you’ll see what I mean. For example, your choice of black paint is likely to require substantial paint correction (best case outcome). I’m more than one year past delivery and still waiting on some CF bits and have the driver side window buzzing issue that I need to get fixed. I had numerous minor issues that required multiple trips to the dealers and months of time to resolve. Don’t be discouraged, it’s all worth it. #goatrodeolifer

 

[ukcats12]

The rodeo is no joke and has sent many a member to regular therapist treatments.

This is very accurate. My therapist bills are so high I can't afford both my house and my soon to be delivered 5BW. And since the 5BW is the reason I'm in this mess I can't abandon it now, or all that mental anguish will have been for nothing. The only logical choice is to sell the house and live out of the car. Hell, you can live in a car but you can't drive a house. Seems like an easy choice to me.

 

[BimmerFan]

This is very accurate. My therapist bills are so high I can't afford both my house and my soon to be delivered 5BW. And since the 5BW is the reason I'm in this mess I can't abandon it now, or all that mental anguish will have been for nothing. The only logical choice is to sell the house and live out of the car. Hell, you can live in a car but you can't drive a house. Seems like an easy choice to me.

I understand that showering can be a challenge.

In the LOL department, I did find a used 2022 not too far away... it's priced at $99K "one price" dealer. They were kind enough to include the original window sticker, which shows an MSRP of $86K. Gads.

I mean, I get market pricing, but it hurts just to look at it. About 5K miles on the car, 9 months old.

 

[Tall Steve]

I am the Goatfather!

 

[quikag]

The things we do for our Blackwings.

My car #26 six-speed 5BW is in my 'permanent' collection along with my C6 ZR1. I'm not planning on ever getting rid of it unless it blows up on me or turns into a POS. So far, so awesome with 9k glorious miles over the past 2 years.

It's worth the search and wait, BimmerFan, as you now know.

 

[ChiBW]

Been there. You’re at the optimism/denial stage of the process. Thinking you’ll get a car soon and defy the odds. The rodeo is no joke and has sent many a member to regular therapist treatments.

And even after the car arrives there is a new stage of the rodeo. Keep reading more here and you’ll see what I mean. For example, your choice of black paint is likely to require substantial paint correction (best case outcome). I’m more than one year past delivery and still waiting on some CF bits and have the driver side window buzzing issue that I need to get fixed. I had numerous minor issues that required multiple trips to the dealers and months of time to resolve. Don’t be discouraged, it’s all worth it. #goatrodeolifer

Did you ever asked the dealer to take a look at the door and take it apart?

 

[jbawden]

Just as an anecdote, my Black Raven paint was nearly flawless when delivered. I think this is the norm and the damaged finishes we've read about are the exception.

 

[rubberduck]

Did you ever asked the dealer to take a look at the door and take it apart?

I have zero faith in the dealer to diagnose it. I went through this with my previous Mercedes. And after a few trips to the dealer they write it off. I ended up ripping apart my door panels and headliner and found the issues myself.

With the 5BW I don’t think it is internal to the door. I believe it’s the weather stripping on either the driver door or front windshield or maybe the side view mirror. It may also be door alignment. The underlying cause is wind. I had too many other things going on and I just turn the music up to mitigate. When it gets cooler here my plan is to put tape over various areas to isolate the source. That requires me to drive around on the highway and pull over, tape, drive, repeat. Eventually I’ll figure it out. I’m in no hurry to retire from my goat cowboy life. #goatrodeolifer

 

[NewCaddy]

Stop showing off, Tall Guy

 

[Ergoc5]

I have zero faith in the dealer to diagnose it. I went through this with my previous Mercedes. And after a few trips to the dealer they write it off. I ended up ripping apart my door panels and headliner and found the issues myself.

With the 5BW I don’t think it is internal to the door. I believe it’s the weather stripping on either the driver door or front windshield or maybe the side view mirror. It may also be door alignment. The underlying cause is wind. I had too many other things going on and I just turn the music up to mitigate. When it gets cooler here my plan is to put tape over various areas to isolate the source. That requires me to drive around on the highway and pull over, tape, drive, repeat. Eventually I’ll figure it out. I’m in no hurry to retire from my goat cowboy life. #goatrodeolifer

I had the same buzzing sound and the dealer told me it was "commercially acceptable" lol. I either got used to it or somehow it miraculously cured itself....I don't notice it as much any more. The door striker on this car is not adjustable and I am not able to see how to align the door. I tried the blue tape process but that did not seem to eliminate the noise. in any case it's less obvious now.

 

[dizz81]

Did a search just now and I'm incredibly surprised at how many CT5BW are listed with less than 2k miles. Are people just getting past the break-in period and thinking the car is just too much?

 

[668LT4]

Did a search just now and I'm incredibly surprised at how many CT5BW are listed with less than 2k miles. Are people just getting past the break-in period and thinking the car is just too much?

I think a good handful of people get the car thinking they are a driving "enthusiast" but then realize they are not. This car is for real driving enthusiasts, and those that are will love it to death. Those wanting a more luxurious cabin or a faster 0-60 or a more exotic exterior should look elsewhere.

One of the car's best attributes is that you can grow into it. All of the traction options allow you to remove layers as comfort increases. I don't mind saying over my 4000 miles I have keep the nannies on for most of the time and still enjoy the car beyond words. It is a nonstop smile machine. Also happy to report my sample has 0 issues since delivery. Paint is great, doors are all perfectly aligned, no rattles or buzzes.

 

[Finally-a-V]

One of the car's best attributes is that you can grow into it. All of the traction options allow you to remove layers as comfort increases. I don't mind saying over my 4000 miles I have keep the nannies on for most of the time and still enjoy the car beyond words. It is a nonstop smile machine. Also happy to report my sample has 0 issues since delivery. Paint is great, doors are all perfectly aligned, no rattles or buzzes.

I agree 100%!!! No issues, no noise, nannies on, constant smiles

 

[Deneed4spd]

Posted this awhile back in the sticky thread about dealers not charging over MSRP.....

It's worth checking out Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac in Clinton Township, MI. I ordered mine from there at MSRP & couln't have been happier. Ask for Ralph DeBuce (my salesguy). He even knew to tell me that if I ordered the CF, my order would not get picked up. He also offered to do the whole deal remotely as I'm in Cali but I went to pick it up anyway. I also gave clear instruction not to prep the car or anything- he listened! Was a pleasure working with him & 100% seamless.

Cadillac Dealer near Me | Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac

Visit Jim Riehl's Friendly Cadillac in Clinton Township, MI to buy or lease a new Cadillac. Schedule service or explore Cadillac financing options today.

www.jimriehlcadillac.com

I also ordered one from Bruce. Top notch experience.

 

[dribs15]

I understand that showering can be a challenge.

...wiper fluid

 

[raneil86]

Best route is to search country wide on cars.com and then start calling dealerships. You may have to travel a bit to get the best deal.

This is how we did it. And how we've found most all of our purchased vehicles (both personal and commercial) for the past few years. In my experience from about 3 months ago, the difference with the Blackwing is that the inventories listed online at dealership websites and cars.com are simply not accurate -- much more so than with any other vehicle we've shopped for. I suspect it's because these cars move off the lots very quickly on those rare occasions when they arrive at the dealership and are not pre-sold.

I was told by several dealerships that virtually every 5BW is sold when it leaves the factory, as demand continues to outpace production capacity. However due to the high cost and the long wait, it's not uncommon for buyers to back out of the deal by the time the car actually arrives at the dealership -- maybe they've lost patience, or life circumstances have changed, or they moved on to something else. Who knows? A lot can change in your life in 14 - 18 months. In any event, the result is the dealerships occasionally do end up with one on the lot to sell.

We were lucky. We located several immediately available at two different dealerships in Houston. One worked out to be a perfect fit for use, so we bought it. But we would have never found it without actually calling individual dealerships and speaking directly to someone that could verify availability right then and there.

We've gotten spoiled over the past few years being able to successfully shop online for the car we want. But buying this car required some old fashioned "working the phones". It was so worth the effort.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

If someone gets a car without going through the rodeo we don't like them!

LMFAO!

I think a good handful of people get the car thinking they are a driving "enthusiast" but then realize they are not. This car is for real driving enthusiasts, and those that are will love it to death. Those wanting a more luxurious cabin or a faster 0-60 or a more exotic exterior should look elsewhere.

Completely agree. As long as you have respect for the power you won't get hurt.


O/P
Hang in there, it's not easy, however if you're persistent you will come out on top like many of us!

 

[BimmerFan]

So, here's my update for August 22:

I was able to find the email address for the owner of the orange BW-CT5 that was on BaT last month, and his reserve was 106. I got him down to 104. It still has only 636 miles on it, this is the orange car with CCB and PDR (I think) and 3 pedals, as God intended. MSRP was 107 I believe. That's only 3 hours from me and I really like the color, with the bronze wheels. When I get my car, odds are that I will track it - once, after proper break-in, and then it will just be my DD. So I don't really need CCB and PDR. Of course, if we're honest, I don't really need 668 horsepower either, but let's not go there.

Searching every dealer east of Kansas through the various tools available to me, I finally decided that I'm just not going to pay for options that I don't want (that silly badging package) or particularly need (sunroof) unless everything else is just perfect. And once you add on the fancy seats and the nice wheels and the other neat stuff, we're usually at or over $110, and that's just pushing my comfort level a bit too much. And, regardless of how much I want the car, I'm not going to pay over sticker, period. I never have and I never will (he says). And I've bought a lot of cars, some of which were actually in demand, so I've been at this dance before.

Finally, I found one. It's a stripper, it's black, it's got nothing on it but those black lug nuts. The dealer had a couple of ADM packages on it, I got them to take one off, the other I'm just going to eat because (rationalization starts here) it's only $300 and their doc fee is less than what dealers around here charge, so it's net zero to me. The car is "sold" to me, but since I haven't actually paid them yet and my salesman is on vacation today, I'm not going to share the dealer name until it's done. Not that any of you guys would try to steal it out from under me, but there are many nefarious actors on the Internet these days who can see this post without registering or participating in this forum.

And because I'm lazy, I'm going to have it shipped. If it doesn't get here in a few weeks, then I'll fly out and fetch it.

The wife just shook her head at me. "What color is it?" she asked. "Black," I said. "Figures."

WTH does that mean? She doesn't like black cars, she likes colors, like blue and purple. Yes, she once had a purple Jeep Wrangler. God I hated that thing, freakin' death trap with absolutely zero redeeming qualities. She never intentionally went off-road in it. She never took the doors off either (we did it once on her previous Jeepie and that's a scary feeling in such a top-heavy vehicle). She can't drive the BW anyway, as it has that extra pedal in it that she doesn't know what to do with. LOL I think I've digressed a bit.

Now I have to sell the BMW.

Anyway, I was having my doubts before but now I'm excited!

 

[Deneed4spd]

If your going to track, PDR is really slick.