How I Came To Buy My XLR

[bettyboop27]

Count me in!!

Not sure what to say about that ..... but I will anyway! Apparently you kept the XLR and traded the ex in a more reliable model: which could highly be possible that is NO replacement! So are you coming to Bowling Green? (I may be able to discover that if I look....)

Yes, I just retired so its time to travel!!

 

[hawkeye372]

I don't remember what actually got me looking at/for an xlr, all I know is that I had to have one. I had owned a 69 1/2 6 pak super bee for over 30 years. I sold my prize in order to get one. I have a ls1 trans am so a non supercharged xlr was not gonna get it, and my prize left. Then having already had blk/blk cars often I decided I wanted a light color interior. Now my available prospects had dwindled to few. Found in NY, black, shale xlr-v. Really don't have to decide on options after that as you all know. Well I guess I got lucky because I did buy it sight unseen, and it is unbelievably perfect. So then all I need is a truck to deliver it to Kansas! They bid the delivery for $740. Problem is there is no truck coming to podunk S.E. Kansas. My beautiful car sits in NY paid for, and insured and I cant even look at it, much less drive it! Impatiently waiting (1 week) I call another trucking co.. Sure they can bring it. 1 week later no car. aahhh It is mid december and I really don't want to drive it home it a blizzard. Finally I can't stand it any more, and 3 plane rides later, I am in Albany. That is a capable rear wheel drive car in the snow. I stopped at a convenience store somewhere in Indiana and when I returned from the store and saw the front of my no longer chrome grill, I was so unhappy that this car that had never been out in the snow, was now! 6 thousand trucks on the interstate later i was probably lucky the black crud on the entire front of my car was saving it from rock chips. It was still perfect once I could finally clean it.
My friends and family could not believe I would sell that super bee, until they saw my xlr and or rode in it. The looks from people! I took it to a small car show, didn't win anything but anytime anyone found out I was the owner of the caddy they had to comment on it. Young, old, male, female-didn't matter. They all loved it and remembered it. Makes a great prom car too. I recommend not buying one if you don't like constant compliments.

Actually my mom found mine. It was sometime in 2012. Maybe October but she new I wanted back in a convertible. I had a Chrysler Le baron soft top

before. Then had a couple Honda crvs. Mom calls me from the dealership and I head down right away. It was a red 06 and only had 20752 miles on her. So long story short she has been parked in my garage ever since. She is my daily driver though. And I too have taken her to shows. Received some awards but the best part is having people come up and talk to me about the car. She now has just under 60 k and has a cushioned floor and pics/awards line one side of the garage wall I also have the book and Xlr diecast and matchbox car but those are kept inside the house. Recently I had to replace my shocks. Front one was blown. So I decided along with service tech to replace all 4. That was a major expense. But planing on attending the reunion but will not be being the car up since the trip is combined with Memphis


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[pure zen]

Dr. Phil ,,,,,,says

My ex gave me mine for our 25th wedding anniversary just 2 weeks before I caught him running around. I really need to give her a new name.

Maybe should have given him a second chance,,,, you might have moved up to a Ferrari next.. 25 year marriage must be a difficult thing to toss aside?

Agree,,,,drop the 'boop' and insert 'bell' Would sound much better, jmo.

 

[bettyboop27]

How I got my car.

Maybe should have given him a second chance,,,, you might have moved up to a Ferrari next.. 25 year marriage must be a difficult thing to toss aside?

Agree,,,,drop the 'boop' and insert 'bell' Would sound much better, jmo.

The 25 years to throw away was difficult but when you find out his girlfriend was 20 and he was 66 (pervert) and I did give him a second chance that lasted 3 weeks. I took my Raven and kicked his ass out to the camper.
Been having a ball ever since. Just sold my business, now I have lots of time for family and friends.

 

[David_B]

I owned a jeep type vehicle in the past with a soft top, loved it. Didn't love when someone broke in it and stole my stereo.

Many years later I decided I wanted a convertable, one with a hard top. So I started doing research on the "best" used ones. Went to forums looking for the kinks in the armor of the ones I looked at. Most all said "the top is a pain to fix, and it will break".

So I was looking at SSRs, on Craigslist and ebay near me and found one listed on craigslist that was actually at a dealer. So I went to the dearler's website, they had a lot of cars listed, got tired of scrolling and next paging, and saw the filter on the left, Oooh, 2 convertables. So I clicked that.

Found the SSR, AND the listing for an XLR. I had completely forgotten about this car! But I absolutely remember driving past a cadillac dealership back in 2004, seeing a black one drive out and was completely blown away. I had already seen it in the car magazines, but I couldn't afford $80k at the time. The 2 year newer SSR was the same price, so I started searching craigslist for XLRs now!

I came to this website, found all the info about the top and other problems (headlights weren't such a problem back then ​

) and decided I could live with the few issues people where having since 2004. Found one by accident in a city 90 miles away, with super low mileage and went and bought it!

Happy every since. I probably drive it too much in the summer, and gave it a break last year after a couple 4000 mile driving vacations out west to Yellowstone and South Dakota.​

 

[graytoad]

I am glad to see the Bettyboop found this thread and added to it, had not been used since 2011: somehow had got lost in the forums. Great to hear about peoples stories: had they dreamed about these cars forever or recently discovered them and decided they just had to have one!
Keep the stories coming y'all!

 

[Rule62]

I didn’t see this thread until today. Here’s my story in a nutshell.

In 2003-4 I spent a year selling Cadillacs in Seattle at the dealership I had been leasing from for several years. I had been a Cadillac owner/lessee for basically my whole life. From that first 1967 Fleetwood 60
Special to the 2001 deVille DTS I was driving when I took the job. It’s a long story how I arrived there but my stay was relatively brief.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire experience, was delivering the first XLR sold at that store.
When it arrived from BG my head Tech and I took it out for a pre-delivery test drive and I was hooked! Owning an XLR shot straight to the top of my bucket list.

10 years hence I was finally in a position to buy. I was now living in SoCal and there were a few intriguing units available, but none that really met my criteria.
I wanted a 1 owner, 06-08 V Series with less than 50K miles, a clean CarFax and demonstrated service history. I wasn’t picky about the color as long as it was Black on Black.

Needless to say the search took a while. There was a really clean ‘09 V in AZ but the guy was stuck at $60k and that was not happening.

Then in 2014, escaping a ridiculously hot October weekend in the Valley, the wife and I went to a friend’s cabin up
in the Mountains. I had been obsessing on a V for sale in Cathedral City just outside of Palm Springs, but the dealer was jerking me around about the price and it had a Shale interior...so meh.

Late on Saturday night I got an alert from one of the search websites that a new listing had just popped up in Bakersfield.
2006 XLR-V, One Owner, Black/Black, 40400 miles, being sold by the Lexus dealer across the street from The Cadillac Store that sold it new!

I woke up my now sleeping wife and said, “How about a little side trip to Bakersfield tomorrow??”

It was 110° when we arrived at MotorCity Lexus that Sunday just after noon. Not another customer in the store. Not one.

The sales person gave me the keys and off I went. I cycled the top two or three times. Felt the headliner for moisture. Went up and down the I-5 a few exits just to get her nice and warm.
The pulled it into the Service Bay at Three Way Cadillac (unfortunate name) and gave the kid running the quick lube bay $20 to go print out the service history for me! Jackpot. Every fluid change, warranty repair and even a new set of Eufori’s in 2009.

I went back to Lexus and we cut a deal that included a 4 year/ 40k $0 deductible Platinum Used Car Warranty and I was home by 4:00pm.

Every now and then I catch myself thinking “maybe I should sell it and get...”. But invariably I come back to the fact that the V is the perfect occasional driver for me right now.

Maybe next year I’ll look at that used Ferrari California T.

Maybe.



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[pure zen]

All is Forgiven,,,

The 25 years to throw away was difficult but when you find out his girlfriend was 20 and he was 66 (pervert) and I did give him a second chance that lasted 3 weeks. I took my Raven and kicked his ass out to the camper.
Been having a ball ever since. Just sold my business, now I have lots of time for family and friends.

OK Bettybell,,,,, Since you gave him the 2nd chance,, forgive me ENJOY your time with family and friends.... Don't cruise in the Raven alone,,,find a boyfriend to spend time who isn't looking for a 'nurse and a purse'

 

[DOUG ASHBY]

How I found Red

Like a couple other commenters, how did I miss this thread? Just now stumbled across it. Anyway, three years ago, I was able to talk (nag? beg?) my long-suffering wife, Kathleen, into letting me buy a 2006 Cadillac XLR. Kathleen is not what you would call a ‘car person’. To her, a car is a tool to be used for a purpose – getting from point A to point B. She has no more love for a sports car than she does a pickup or a bus. So when I was finally able to get her to go with me to ‘look at’ an XLR, it came as a real surprise.
I’ve always wanted a convertible, but refused to have a ragtop with their rotting, wind noise, and bad fitting problems. Needless to say, that limited my choices over the years. Finally in the early 2000s three models came on the scene that caught my interest: the Lexus SC300, Mercedes SL500, and the Caddy XLR. While I think Lexus makes great automobiles, I think the SC300 is just flat UGLY, so that one was out. The SL500 is a wonderful car, but you see them all over the place, and working on them requires huge infusions of cash. Also, I was really struck by the lines and looks of the XLR. Nothing else on the road looks like them. I researched their service history, problems, and reliability. After satisfying my questions, I settled on the XLR and began to haunt the for-sale ads.
I watched for over a year before spotting a good possibility at a local dealership. After plotting for days on how to talk Kathleen into taking a look, she said yes, and off we went. The dealership actually had three XLRs at the time – two silver ones, and a drop dead gorgeous red one. I asked to see the red one. When they pulled the car up to the curb, Kathleen’s first comment was, “Oh, I like that!” Touchdown! Home run! I was hard-pressed not to turn a summersault. But I kept my cool, and we took it out for a spin. It was love at first drive. It rides surprisingly well. Having had several surgeries on my back, I was afraid a little sporty car like this might ride like a log truck. But it was smooth and quiet. With the top up, you wouldn’t know it’s a convertible – no wind noise, no leaks, no flapping. And it’s as peppy and responsive as most anyone could want a car to be. I’ve never pushed it to its limits because I can tell it has a LOT more muscle than I need. Since I make no claims to being a race car driver, I’m happy just cruising around in my modern day chariot.
We've had Red for over three years now, and Kathleen continues to surprise me. Every once in a while, on a pretty day, she'll just up and say, "Why don't we take Red for a spin?" She never has to ask me twice. And yes, we are driving Red to Bowling Green. See ya!

 

[beaver_jd]

So here's my story. Six years ago in Oct My buddies and I went to the local Cadillac store in Palm Springs CA. We are Snowbirds and a couple of us get our cars serviced there over the winter. I looked out the window and saw an 06 red XLR. It looked kind of dirty and had about 84,000 miles on it. I told the salesman I knew to call me when it was cleaned up. A couple of days later I get a call and down I go to have a look. It was nice. The millage didn't bother me as I may but 500-600 miles on the car a year and it would be good driver. This wouldn't be a garage queen. I said I'd go get my wife and bring her down for a look. In the years gone by she was a real car girl but not anymore. She doesn't even like convertibles anymore. I think a lot has to do with the California heat. So I go back with my wife and the car has now been moved under their delivery canopy and the top is down. This car looked fabulous. I took the salesman aside and told him to get the top up as my wife is not a fan. So we get in to go for a ride and my bride says if she were me she would buy the car. It was the end of the month which is a great time to buy a car and to make a long story short we bought it. It has been a great car and I have had no problems to date. I keep it in a storage garage in the summer when I am not there. The only mistake I made was leaving CA. plates on it . I should have brought it home , licensed it and returned to CA.
John F.

 

[graytoad]

Like a couple other commenters, how did I miss this thread? Just now stumbled across it. Anyway, three years ago, I was able to talk (nag? beg?) my long-suffering wife, Kathleen, into letting me buy a 2006 Cadillac XLR. Kathleen is not what you would call a ‘car person’. To her, a car is a tool to be used for a purpose – getting from point A to point B. She has no more love for a sports car than she does a pickup or a bus. So when I was finally able to get her to go with me to ‘look at’ an XLR, it came as a real surprise.
I’ve always wanted a convertible, but refused to have a ragtop with their rotting, wind noise, and bad fitting problems. Needless to say, that limited my choices over the years. Finally in the early 2000s three models came on the scene that caught my interest: the Lexus SC300, Mercedes SL500, and the Caddy XLR. While I think Lexus makes great automobiles, I think the SC300 is just flat UGLY, so that one was out. The SL500 is a wonderful car, but you see them all over the place, and working on them requires huge infusions of cash. Also, I was really struck by the lines and looks of the XLR. Nothing else on the road looks like them. I researched their service history, problems, and reliability. After satisfying my questions, I settled on the XLR and began to haunt the for-sale ads.
I watched for over a year before spotting a good possibility at a local dealership. After plotting for days on how to talk Kathleen into taking a look, she said yes, and off we went. The dealership actually had three XLRs at the time – two silver ones, and a drop dead gorgeous red one. I asked to see the red one. When they pulled the car up to the curb, Kathleen’s first comment was, “Oh, I like that!” Touchdown! Home run! I was hard-pressed not to turn a summersault. But I kept my cool, and we took it out for a spin. It was love at first drive. It rides surprisingly well. Having had several surgeries on my back, I was afraid a little sporty car like this might ride like a log truck. But it was smooth and quiet. With the top up, you wouldn’t know it’s a convertible – no wind noise, no leaks, no flapping. And it’s as peppy and responsive as most anyone could want a car to be. I’ve never pushed it to its limits because I can tell it has a LOT more muscle than I need. Since I make no claims to being a race car driver, I’m happy just cruising around in my modern day chariot.
We've had Red for over three years now, and Kathleen continues to surprise me. Every once in a while, on a pretty day, she'll just up and say, "Why don't we take Red for a spin?" She never has to ask me twice. And yes, we are driving Red to Bowling Green. See ya!

Smart man: bought a fast red one!

 

[graytoad]

So here's my story. Six years ago in Oct My buddies and I went to the local Cadillac store in Palm Springs CA. We are Snowbirds and a couple of us get our cars serviced there over the winter. I looked out the window and saw an 06 red XLR. It looked kind of dirty and had about 84,000 miles on it. I told the salesman I knew to call me when it was cleaned up. A couple of days later I get a call and down I go to have a look. It was nice. The millage didn't bother me as I may but 500-600 miles on the car a year and it would be good driver. This wouldn't be a garage queen. I said I'd go get my wife and bring her down for a look. In the years gone by she was a real car girl but not anymore. She doesn't even like convertibles anymore. I think a lot has to do with the California heat. So I go back with my wife and the car has now been moved under their delivery canopy and the top is down. This car looked fabulous. I took the salesman aside and told him to get the top up as my wife is not a fan. So we get in to go for a ride and my bride says if she were me she would buy the car. It was the end of the month which is a great time to buy a car and to make a long story short we bought it. It has been a great car and I have had no problems to date. I keep it in a storage garage in the summer when I am not there. The only mistake I made was leaving CA. plates on it . I should have brought it home , licensed it and returned to CA.
John F.

Oooh yet another smart buyer: a fast red one!

 

[hawkeye372]

Like a couple other commenters, how did I miss this thread? Just now stumbled across it. Anyway, three years ago, I was able to talk (nag? beg?) my long-suffering wife, Kathleen, into letting me buy a 2006 Cadillac XLR. Kathleen is not what you would call a ‘car person’. To her, a car is a tool to be used for a purpose – getting from point A to point B. She has no more love for a sports car than she does a pickup or a bus. So when I was finally able to get her to go with me to ‘look at’ an XLR, it came as a real surprise.
I’ve always wanted a convertible, but refused to have a ragtop with their rotting, wind noise, and bad fitting problems. Needless to say, that limited my choices over the years. Finally in the early 2000s three models came on the scene that caught my interest: the Lexus SC300, Mercedes SL500, and the Caddy XLR. While I think Lexus makes great automobiles, I think the SC300 is just flat UGLY, so that one was out. The SL500 is a wonderful car, but you see them all over the place, and working on them requires huge infusions of cash. Also, I was really struck by the lines and looks of the XLR. Nothing else on the road looks like them. I researched their service history, problems, and reliability. After satisfying my questions, I settled on the XLR and began to haunt the for-sale ads.
I watched for over a year before spotting a good possibility at a local dealership. After plotting for days on how to talk Kathleen into taking a look, she said yes, and off we went. The dealership actually had three XLRs at the time – two silver ones, and a drop dead gorgeous red one. I asked to see the red one. When they pulled the car up to the curb, Kathleen’s first comment was, “Oh, I like that!” Touchdown! Home run! I was hard-pressed not to turn a summersault. But I kept my cool, and we took it out for a spin. It was love at first drive. It rides surprisingly well. Having had several surgeries on my back, I was afraid a little sporty car like this might ride like a log truck. But it was smooth and quiet. With the top up, you wouldn’t know it’s a convertible – no wind noise, no leaks, no flapping. And it’s as peppy and responsive as most anyone could want a car to be. I’ve never pushed it to its limits because I can tell it has a LOT more muscle than I need. Since I make no claims to being a race car driver, I’m happy just cruising around in my modern day chariot.
We've had Red for over three years now, and Kathleen continues to surprise me. Every once in a while, on a pretty day, she'll just up and say, "Why don't we take Red for a spin?" She never has to ask me twice. And yes, we are driving Red to Bowling Green. See ya!

unfortunately I won’t be bringing my 2006 to the event. But glad you will be representing the red ones. I’ve enjoyed driving mine everyday since 2012. She had 20758 back when I purchased her and now she has just around 58 k on the clock. I even have designed a t shirt that I’ll be bringing to bowling green. It looks like this.

the Brest signia says convertible life and the back has the silhouette of the car with xll under it. I had a soft top but agree with you in the fact that they do have wind noise, discoloration and wear out faster.

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[GizmoQ]

Brought back from the dead, this thread is great!. Thanks everyone for your inputs and telling your stories.

Giz