Cadillac CTS-V - What's it worth? 04 CTS V

Think I found the one I want. But want some opinions as I have almost no gearhead friends, which sucks.

It's an 04 CTS V with 68k miles spec stage 3+ clutch, katech short throw,BMR anti hop kit, k&n intake, patriot heads, titanium valves, dual valve springs, comp cam, lingenfelter 160* stat, custom built plug wires, pacesetter headers, full 3" true duals, electric cutouts, flowmaster super 40 delta flows, new motor mounts, new brake pedal sensor, new yaw sensor, new alternator and belt.

Looks like I'll be paying around 19k. Good deal? Fair? The pics he sent me look real clean. In and out. Sent me and idle clip, and it idles just fine. Little nervous about spending the cash on just what I know..

Depends if you subscribe to the theory that mods increase a car's value or not. Stock with those miles the price would be at the higher end for an 04.

I would find out about the diff before purchasing.

I don't think mods add much value. There's something to be said for them, I for one, appreciate them, but I know not to buy a car with a jacked up price for the mods. I of course checked KBB and NADA, which would say it's over priced, but in my search, I did see many V1's under 70k miles, under a price of 20k.. Is this just one of those cars that go a little higher than they're valued? Or do I just need to spend a month or two more looking for the "right one"?

Sounds reasonable. Try offering a little less. And find out what rear it has.

For reference, I bought my 05 with just under 80k miles for $16k about 5 months ago. Already has a built creative steel 8.8 rear, 4.10 gear, cam, full exhaust, nitrous, tune, etc. Car is super clean and i didn't mind buying it modded because my buddy owned it for the past year, he was the second owner and did all the work on it from bone stock within the last 6 months he had it. I know it wasn't thrashed on or ragged out and only had a couple bottles through it between dyno time and playing on the street. Biggest attraction for me was the built rear though...

Seeing it in person is the only way you'll feel good about the price... If it is in pristine condition it sounds like a fair starting price... Like the others said you should find out about the diff... I paid the higher end of the range for my 04, but it was in great shape cosmetically

Thanks for the replies guys, I feel a little better. How much would it cost to upgrade the rear diff assuming it hasn't been done? I've read it's a pretty common thing to need to be replaced or upgraded..

new rears are 1200$ I think. And that's without labor

i mean the only time you really NEED to replace a diff is if it's broken, and if this one isn't in pieces on the road (or holding gear pieces inside), then buy the damn car. there's at least a few grand in mods there, and the labor is already done, so if you were gonna do it yourself, you'd end up spending more.

I say offer him 18 but pay the full 19.

I think the price is fair. Like others said, only need to worry about the diff if it breaks. If it doesn't have the updated diff, just keep that in mind and go easy on it until u have the cash to replace it just incase. An 8.8 kit will run u $2200-$2500 if u piece it together yourself and $4600 or so if u buy it complete from creative steel.

Seems a touch high to me, KBB when I pull it up with that mileage is $16,856 in "Very Good Condition" and $17,356 in Excellent condition, I would say $18k at the most but that's just me. With that said, it is a good list of mod's all of which would cost a decent chunk of coinage if you did them yourself.

Regardless of what KBB or NADA say about what the car is worth....it's the first Cadillac with a manual tranny in quite some time not to mention them throwing the Corvette inside. The car is hard to find for sell unless you are searching sites like these. I've been offered over 25000 for mine and it's not even supercharged and has a few more miles than the one's above mentioned. It's a car that will always look great and has plenty of horsepower but you can easily mod to get more. The rear diff needs to be a generation IV at minimum (especially with the mods that have been done to the one you're thinking about buying). I think it's a damn good price but i'm a wheeler n dealer so i'd still throw $1000 less at him and see if he takes it.

Regardless of what KBB or NADA say about what the car is worth....it's the first Cadillac with a manual tranny in quite some time not to mention them throwing the Corvette inside. The car is hard to find for sell unless you are searching sites like these. I've been offered over 25000 for mine and it's not even supercharged and has a few more miles than the one's above mentioned. It's a car that will always look great and has plenty of horsepower but you can easily mod to get more. The rear diff needs to be a generation IV at minimum (especially with the mods that have been done to the one you're thinking about buying). I think it's a damn good price but i'm a wheeler n dealer so i'd still throw $1000 less at him and see if he takes it.
Is that a White V in your Sig

Regardless of what KBB or NADA say about what the car is worth....it's the first Cadillac with a manual tranny in quite some time not to mention them throwing the Corvette inside. The car is hard to find for sell unless you are searching sites like these. I've been offered over 25000 for mine and it's not even supercharged and has a few more miles than the one's above mentioned. It's a car that will always look great and has plenty of horsepower but you can easily mod to get more. The rear diff needs to be a generation IV at minimum (especially with the mods that have been done to the one you're thinking about buying). I think it's a damn good price but i'm a wheeler n dealer so i'd still throw $1000 less at him and see if he takes it.

I bought mine 4 years ago with 30k miles for $18k

Thanks for the replies guys. Im just going to go for it I think. I have car add so I'll probably just be keeping it for like a year or so.

It's from CO and I live in MO so I hear I should stop in KC for a tune, do to the altitude. Besides the rear end, anything not too expensive you guys suggest I should do?

if you are going to keep it for a short while then this isnt the car for you. its resale is pretty piss poor

^ Agreed. Unless you buy it fully built from someone else for pennies on the dollar, these things are not easily flippable.

Im interested too. Sorry for the thread jack OP

Is that a White V in your Sig