VegasMarkVIII
Registered
For the last couple of months I was thinking of going with only one daily driver. I have a one way commute of about 25 miles, so I liked the idea of having two cars to choose from. My '98 Mark VIII has proven very reliable, over the last 3 years, compared to my '03 Cadillac DHS. The DHS has been out of warranty, since 2009, but it had some bugs fixed when it was under warranty. Work on the DHS included, issues with all four power windows, a bad engine mount, a service engine soon light that went out that required replacing the entire instrument cluster, a bad blower motor, and the torque converter had to be replaced. Thankfully, all that work was done under warranty. Since the warranty expired, I replaced the blower motor a second time, and then the "service engine soon" light came on again last month. It turns out the codes for the light were related to the torque converter once again, and the warranty from the dealer for that work had previously expired.
Turns out my decision was easy to make after that diagnosis! I unloaded the DHS the same day of that torque converter diagnosis (estimated 12 hours labor time). The Northstar 4.6L engine had previously developed a small oil leak, so I knew that would have to be dealt with at some point down the road.
The DHS was a plush car, with many over the top features, but in the end, it could not compete with my Mark VIII. I've found the Mark's 4.6L engine to be far more durable than the Northstar engine, and I certainly never had those other issues with my Mark that I experienced with the DHS.
At 132,000, I think my Mark VIII is up for the challenge of a long commute five days a week.
Turns out my decision was easy to make after that diagnosis! I unloaded the DHS the same day of that torque converter diagnosis (estimated 12 hours labor time). The Northstar 4.6L engine had previously developed a small oil leak, so I knew that would have to be dealt with at some point down the road.
The DHS was a plush car, with many over the top features, but in the end, it could not compete with my Mark VIII. I've found the Mark's 4.6L engine to be far more durable than the Northstar engine, and I certainly never had those other issues with my Mark that I experienced with the DHS.
At 132,000, I think my Mark VIII is up for the challenge of a long commute five days a week.