I stumbled upon this 1-owner Caddy in May 2000 during a particularly stressful time period. Circumstances in my life dictated that I MUST get rid of a car payment, and do so rather quickly. There was absolutely nothing wrong with my daily driver, a 1993 Ford Taurus SHO, EXCEPT for the monthly payment.

It just so happened that Courtesy Motors in Altoona PA, (my employer at the time), had traded in a mint condition 1984 Cadillac Coupe de Ville from St. Petersburg, FL. It was purchased new in St. Petersburg, and had spent the last 16 years hanging out in a climate controlled garage, getting driven only when the owner was at his Florida residence. Courtesy Motors got the 24k original mile car when it was traded in on a new Dodge after the desire to downsize became too great to ignore.

To say that this giant blue beauty "stood out" in the sea of Neons and Sentras on our lot is somewhat of an understatement. The fact that it is an "old car" means I would have noticed it immediately anyways. However, this old car was showroom new. To satisfy my curiosity, I asked a few questions and took it home for a weekend test drive, a really wonderful test drive. Over those two days, the idea of owning an old car again AND being able to eliminate my car payment in the process transitioned from "plausible," to "must do now !" I signed the papers on May 18, 2000.

After purchase, this car then began the task of transporting me back and forth to work from Altoona PA to my new job in Bedford PA. That 37 mile one-way commute along Interstate 99 is exactly where this car was happiest. While not powerful by any means, it was a wonderful long-haul cruiser, the perfect highway car.

Even though it did make some threatening noises, the much-maligned HT4100 V-8 performed almost flawlessly during my three years of ownership. A power steering pump replacement and A/C compressor replacement were the only trouble spots I ever encountered.

I would drive this Caddy 75 miles per day for the next 3 years. During that time, a few issues had surfaced, the biggest of which were that both the A/C and cruise control had quit working, two items considered really desirable on long trips. On my way home from work one night in November 2002, I crossed paths with Bambi on the interstate, resulting in some "custom bodywork" on the passenger side of the car. But, it was my impending cross-country move in June 2003 that had the biggest influence on my decision to sell.

So, with 85k miles on the odometer, I sold it to a co-worker on June 6, 2003, exactly 5 days before I moved to Columbia, MO. While I was sad to see it go, I had a 1996 Mark VIII waiting for me the next day . . .