The CTS-V Wagon has always been my dream daily driver. So when one popped up on CarMax with only 12k miles I decided to jump on it. Paid to have CarMax ship the V Wagon to my local store, and it’s still in transit, so I haven’t bought it yet. But after running the VIN through a command F on this google doc: https://www.cadillacforums.com/threads/extensive-v2-production-number-breakdown.960330/ I discovered that the V Wagon I’m waiting on spent the first 6k miles of its life as a member of Cadillac Racing’s Infineon fleet.
So guys and gals…totally not a red flag right? Right?
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Just buy the carmax extended warranty and full send.
Full send with both kids screaming in the back.
My kids had no complaints in the back of my ‘12 ctsv sedan when I had it. The neighborhood kids hadn’t ever seen a stick shift and said it wasn’t a sports car… so I did a smokey burnout in the street for them. Those cars make you do bad things.
Cadillac probably maintains and serviced its cars well. Have a PPO performed and see if there’s any red flags. Nothing wrong with a car that’s been used correctly.
Sound and solid advice. Since this was the factory thats a logical conclusion. Also with the car being paid for options are limited and a proper inspection at this point is the only way to go.
I’d be careful. Same with the cars from any driving school, they get driven hard and then sold to the public. They do get all of their maintenance done, but it’s a tough life for the car.
I took one of the performance schools and we absolutely pushed the cars hard. There was a lot of full heavy braking back into full heavy throttle. And then the handling tests like figure 8s and drifting in the wet.
They said they like to sell the cars before 9,000 miles.
If you plug “Cadillac Racing at Infineon” into YouTube, one of the first videos is of a guy doing a slow “parade lap” in a long line of Cadillac production vehicles. So maybe that 6k miles was a mixture of racing and “parade laps.” But the split is impossible to know. 50/50? 10/90? 99/1? Might just have to call up Cadillac Racing to find out.
Parade lap is always there and usually to warm the car up before driven hard. So maybe 1 or 2 parade lap a day and then 2-3 hours of thrashing.
So I did the Spring Mountain C8 school and the Cadillac V school is now run by the same group there. Here is info on the V program.
You start out the first day doing slow laps behind instructors. They have a mix of track time, autocross, braking exercises and cone drills. Then they put you in different groups based on skill level. The end of the first day and all of the second day is testing your limits. The track sessions, the instructor leads you in a small group of 2 or 3 cars and they will pace at whatever speed you are going.
They fully tell you to apply full brake pressure and full throttle pressure to get the most out of the cars and each car is basically at least run for a couple schools a month.
So you might get one person that drives it slow and is easy on it, then you could have the next guy absolutely thrash it.
Part of that 6k miles should be at least the break in though. The Corvette’s came in brand new and the instructors would drive them around town until they get to the break in miles. I think they said 1500.
Keep in mind, these are performance schools to learn the limits of your car and to get you comfortable. These cars are driven hard all day long, but they are maintained extremely well and they don’t see snow/salt.
Thanks this is great insight!
For BMW M school cars they refuse to cpo the cars before selling. Last time I was at their school told me that they would inspect all of the normal cpo parts and replace any before selling but they don’t check the engine or transmission.
Cadillac is doing something similar. They’re not CPOing it and selling it at local dealers. A PPI isn’t going to expose early engine or transmission wear either. So if you do get one… get the carmax warranty. You can probably assume it’s gonna be in good condition otherwise tho.
This is great insight, thanks.
Get a PPI and if you don’t like what you see, I believe CarMax does let you return the car within 30 days for a refund of your down payment. You’re out of luck for the transport fees though.
Keep in mind that it’s not just someone driving the car hard - it’s many people who are unfamiliar with the car driving it hard (I assume it’s not a passenger experience?).
I would stay away, but it’s up to you as to what your risk appetite is. If you plan to keep it a few years then trade it in, and you can get it with a worthwhile warranty - you might be alright…but it’s more of a risk than I would be comfortable with, personally.