1999 Cadillac DeVille Review - The PEAK Of Northstar Unreliability!

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DISCLAIMER!
The thoughts, feelings, and opinions expressed in this video are the sole thoughts of Zack and no one else. The purpose of this video is to provide entertainment with the hope that you will take what you see and formulate your own opinions. I highly recommend consuming other reviews of this vehicle before making any form of financial decision.
#Cadillac #NorthStar #DeVille
Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro
0:53 - Engine / Transmission
2:16 - Interior
4:19 - BFB Test
4:36 - Seats
4:56 - Back Seats
5:45 - Trunk / Cargo Space
6:40 - Exterior
7:24 - Final Thoughts
9:15 - Outro

[@davidluciemable3778]

I’ve owned 3 Devilles, all with the Northstar - and let me tell you, the way you described us is perfect! My first car was a 98 Deville, and I’ve fallen in love with them since. I can’t get enough of the big body FWD sedans from that era! Currently have an ‘04 Park Avenue Ultra, and an ‘02 Deville. My type of car guy!

[@DS_IndustrieZ]

love the last park aves , specially the ultra s2 3800 SC, had a 93 bonneville sle, 93 LeSabre , but never the park Ave, I also have a thing for ninety eights and LSS eight eights, I just hate when they start to sit low in the back.. in some cases bounce up n Down. I actually like the design of the mid / late 90s DeVille's. now they are common backyard ornaments, i just hate when the rear begins to say. many that still run scrap the ground.... and have raspy exhaust. usually these gen DeVille's are scrapped when the power train fails, but I notice the newer ones have more appreciation. even the pre facelift HT powered version seem to have very loyal n faithful owners. but it's something about this engine. not really the car that makes it a black sheep of it's GM brethren/cousins n competition...

[@rushnerd]

Not a huge GM or Caddy guy, but I love the way these things look. If you can re-bore and fix the engine, I think it could be a very reliable and fantastic car. I used to have a 02' Mitsubishi Diamonte (until the tranny broke after 3K miles) and this Caddy was CLEARLY the inspiration for it as it shares a ton of of the looks and design cues.

[@lunchtimewatches1854]

*Better call Saul intro starts playing*

[@jasperdilincoln2341]

Couple guys on my jobs over the years have had older GM vehicles. Like Cadillac Deville, Oldsmobile Aurora, Buick Park Avenue all have told me they loved their old school 90s and early 2000s GM Vehicles but they all had Headgasket issues. I did too in my 2010 Impala. I've always loved the way this Deville looked back in the day. I used to detail cars back then for a couple. The wife owned a '97 Black Mercedes C-Class and the husband a '99 Emerald Green Deville 😊. They let me drive both cars. Didn't like the Mercedes because of the stiffness on the road. The Cadillac was Smooth like silk on the Highway. My grandmother still owns her 1992 Deville that she bought in '93. The car still runs just like her since she turned 99 in October 😄

[@jonathanfigueroa6684]

thats whats up man, I enjoy reading reviews like this, because it gives me hope as i am currently seriously thinking about buying a 97 DeVille

[@lervin78]

Noticed what appears to be a Cuyahoga County Ohio plate. The fact that this 20+ year old Caddy doesn’t seem to have any rust is miraculous

[@n_y_o_o_m]

I have a white 1999 deville, rust free

[@CheeseScout]

It might be just a summer car like mine

[@wackadoodle8951]

I have a 97 and 98 deville, both rust free is Ohio

[@dave11686]

And 20,000+ miles later I still have that 94 Deville and I still love it. I’ve had to put a bit of money into it but she’s absolutely worth it.

[@bb_lz9790]

My wife and I sat in one at the Chicago auto show back when they were in production. Another couple hopped in and one of them commented about it being the only car that would comfortably fit four "Chicago-sized" adults.

[@bwofficial1776]

Some of Cadillac's best styling. This is back when American luxury still meant a big, wafty, comfortable cruiser. Then Cadillac decided it needed to be sporty to compete with the Germans instead of sticking with what made it great. GM can build a great car but they always put something stupid or cheap in and it ruins the whole package.

[@daroachdoggjr188]

Northstar V8 unreliable? Nah. Saul goodman 🤙

[@ItalianCJM8232]

Loved how these looked back in the day.

[@xBIG_MO]

Boy these were everywhere when I was a kid...Some of the comfiest cars of their time, and I believe 99 was the very last year of those signature tailfins that went back to the 1940s...I remember my neighbours having a 94-96 DeVille in the same colour (I think with a red interior)....Nice video

[@wranglercody8422]

I’ve seen so so so many of these in my local junk yard. Head gasket problems. The paint and interiors held up great tho.

[@jonasfan2907]

I love how you do exterior driving shots! Just adds something extra to the review. ❤

[@rolfthewhatever]

My nana worked for Mary Kay and got several free cars during her tenure, and one of them was an 01 Deville which has more or less the same styling as the 99 complete with the digital dash! One feature you didn't mention is the back armrest has a little door that open up to the trunk without having to pull the backrow seats down, which if you're sitting back there and youre five/six years old is big enough to stick your head in and crawl into the trunk while the car is moving. :D

[@MichaelDingeldey]

Hi All, I’m Mike and this is my 99 Deville. Zach, thank you for coming out to Cleveland and the kind words. I fell in love with this Deville because of the interior and exterior color combination. I also have a 06 Lucerne CXL with the Northstar that I wanted Zach to review but he already reviewed a CXS with the Northstar. That’s where the 2+2 review came in. Anyways, thank you all for watching and leaving comments on my Deville!

[@frankme9862]

The interior is the only thing Cadillac has going for it.

[@ArthurRondeau-me1sb]

I just bought a 1999 DeVille in extremely clean condition. It has the Northstar engine but only 52,000 miles on it. Same red metallic color with the light interior, so it seems a lot brighter. The only shortcoming is that it doesn’t have the CD player radio, but I still have a lot of cassette tapes!

[@mojothehelpermonkey1176]

This was my first car. Same year and color. I bought 2 more after an 02 and a 07 I just love them.

[@pablopicaro7649]

have a 97 deville (71k miles), ride is NOT as cushy as earlier generation rear drive Cadi models, Ride is still floaty, Northstar is quite powerfull and really rocks the big boat when floored. Good car for long trips, the A/C climate control is very good, never blows hot air out (blower turns on slowly after Compressor runs for a bit).

[@3800TType]

Crazy how I mightve been a huge Cadillac guy if I didn't learn about those goddamn head bolts from a young age...

[@Chinunit22]

I used to have a 99 Deville base model. It was a great comfortable smooth runner. Although it had a coolant smell from under the hood, never overheated. I sold it after owning it for 2 years

[@beardedhoya]

My grandma had a 97. Its got 80k miles. We are keeping it alive in her memory. Im not sure what car she wouldve “approved” of other than maybe a new caddilac but even then she was old school, so im not sure i can ever get rid of it. Rest in pimpin nonna.

[@boringtobewild6288]

You can scrape the aluminum from the engine with your thumb nail. Probably some were harder than others. If the surface seems powdery, it's a crumbler.

[@andy_182]

Awesome video! I have a Grand Marq. and the trunk space is definitely the best part about it! Wish they would still make these land yachts haha

[@thomasrhinehart6084]

You can go into more detailed information of engine diagnostic functions using the cluster, such as monitoring all the on board computer and software systems, I recently saw another youtuber adjusting fuel trim and and rpm settings from the display...pretty cool stuff if you know what you are doing.

[@Hazus00]

You are not wrong about red Cadillacs being uncommon. I have the 2008 model of this also in red, though they changed up the naming to just DTS. Still with a Northstar. But by the 2006 redesign, they fixed the head issue on the Northstar. Its virtuallly unheard of for a 2006-11 Northstar going bad that way.

[@victorbaird8220]

Looking good with the clean shave Zach! Thanks for the good content keep it up

[@edwartvonfectonia4362]

Better call Saul.

[@sirmingusdewiv8325]

I did. He tried to sell me an Astek. Mumbled something about Pontiac.

[@Romiman1]

Still beautiful! At least Chuck Jordan has done his job well. With the right material- and build-quality and of course a reliable V8 engine, this would be more Cadillac than every vehicle coming out later on.

[@williamowens5542]

Due to good warranty service on my 97 Deville, I didn't have to pay for replacement torque converter, wiper mechanism, antilock brakes and engine control module, all of which broke in the first 20,000 miles. Due to good dealer service, I didn't have to pay for any rental cars while mine was getting its flaws fixed.

[@dave11686]

Been waiting for this review!!

[@CarringtonHollister]

The official car of a mafia boss saying “problem meet problem solver, problem solver meet problem” and every pastors car since forever

[@user30017]

Saw an ad where they said this car was stronger than a Lexus LS400

[@tetchuma]

This was when Cadillac destroyed their reputation.

[@SteelRhinoXpress]

They started to destroy their reputation way before that, beginning in the mid 70s when gm started to cheap out on the quality of materials with their Cadillacs as a "cost" saving messure.

[@jlr194]

Did you own one?

[@galil_6863]

@@SteelRhinoXpress Yeah but at least those worked. The Northstar took a whole decade worth of Cadillacs off the road and made them completely worthless. Cadillacs went from being a car everyone wanted to own to being a car no one wants to own "because it blows head gaskets".

[@SteelRhinoXpress]

@@galil_6863 buddy by the 1980s no one wanted to own a Cadillac anymore, everyone wanted to own a Benz or BMW instead by then. American luxury cars buyers were sick of Cadillac's quality and reliability issues. Even to this day Cadillac has never recovered from what they once were prior to the mid 70s. It's a lot easier to gain a fanbase, then to lose a fanbase and try to get a fanbase back.

[@tetchuma]

@@jlr194 My aunt who stayed with us a while did when I was a kid. Around 1998 or 1999. Head gasket went out. GM came up with every excuse to NOT cover it since it was still under warranty. Eventually, it got fixed, but even as a kid, I remember the all the times she would complain about GM being very unhelpful. She switched to second-hand Mercedes-Benz’s after that but would cycle through BMW’s and Audi’s thereafter. Then a coworker of mine who I carpooled with, bought a fully loaded DeVille for real cheap and the same thing happened within a month. Hers was a 1998. All had the same problem. Oddly enough, my coworkers car was never able to produce heat in the winter, even after replacing the thermostat. The engine would get up to temperature, but it never blew warm air. It just was never possible for some reason… ¯\_(°_°)_/¯

[@deadfishparty]

A car in ANY colour looks good. Everyone used to complain about beige cars, all the while they fail to realize grey is the new beige.

[@SimonLopez3312]

Beautiful Caddy, got me a 99 DeVille to

[@brookelynnebartley2451]

I’m going to bid on a 99 Deville on an auction coming soon, your video really helped and gave me a lot of insight on what to expect, thank you!

[@nickys1008]

It is such a shame that the 4.6 came in nearly every Cadillac throughout the entirety of the 90s, Cadillacs best looking era in my opinion

[@coolomino]

TBF, when Lexus started surging in the US, outselling the domestic luxury brands (Cadillac and Lincoln), GM wanted to stick their game up with the Caddy brand. However, it's GM after all... they destroyed Caddy's rep that time! 🤣 But nowadays, Cadillac markets good enough cars to take on the Euros...

[@idontknowimbored4851]

A red Cadillac is such a nice sight to see. I love the northstar era cadillacs before the whole turbo xt-ct wannabe racecar era. Northstar V8’s are hit or miss, 1993-03 was the weak headbolt years, 04-11 was the best years to have from a reliability standpoint besides the oil pan leaking.

[@catsaregovernmentspies]

I had a 99 Seville SLS that I had to replace the head gaskets on. What an absolute nightmare of a job. After I did it I had like 3 people ask me to do theirs. F that. Never again.

[@maxeluy]

This reminds me of Midtown Madness 2 i know is not the same model, but is a red Cadillac!

[@Whatevs_Punyeta]

El Dorado

[@damilolaakanni]

I wonder why GM decided to make their flagship sedan front wheel drive when all their rivals (except Acura) were rear wheel drive, especially since they had a rear wheel drive architecture.

[@tommitchell2055]

Well the rear drive Fleetwood ended in 96, and that chassis wasn't too different than the chassis that came out in 1977. And that car sold a fraction of the numbers of this deville when it was on sale. People who bought Cadillacs didn't care about the sporty characteristics that rear wheel drive gave them, they liked the extra interior room that front drive gave them. Most likely the reason though is that GM constantly makes terrible decisions.

[@OhPhuckYou]

Lincoln Continental was also FWD.

[@scottpeterson4873]

@@tommitchell2055 family member replaced a totalled 92 seville 4.9- great car ran to 200k with 05 sts v6. We got a 98 deville base no comparison in ride to RWD 05 STS. I could fall asleep behind the wheel in the 98 it was that comfortable! The ecm failed in it during pandemic and we couldn't get a new one and it shorted the ignition switch, dash cluster and bcm modules with age. Timeless design and the classic 90's silver beige with these chrome rims. I fought to the ends of the earth replacing the coolant fill tank, radiator and alternator on it and few hazard flashers modules and foggy headlight buckets in inspections but the rear level ride sagged and it gave out a tcc transmission failure, at 180 k so I knew when to say when. Car looked timeless and regret that decision now. Sad part is a 15 Nissan Altima that replaced it and it's replacement transmission was same price as headgasket and you can t find a following of Nissan parts or work on it yourself. 2 modules replaced later and its easier to drive and park daily but it just doesn't inspire or ride like that Deville did. Thanks for the video, brought back memories, took the deville on many trips and that trunk and car was made for road trips, no traffic, blizzard or long distance could stop it but I did carry spare oil and a gallon of distilled water and antifreeze in the trunk too.

[@EnthusiastCarHangar]

I love the classy timeless design. Love my Town Car in my channel but I would buy a Cadillac as well.

[@sirmingusdewiv8325]

Northstar. From all of us at certain age. It's more reliable as a smoke grenade than an engine. It didn't sound sweet, but it smelled sweet. Oh the irony.

[@OhPhuckYou]

Northstars sound amazing though Flowmaster 40s. Haha Even with a misfire.

[@MrKoladge]

If you keep the oil changed and always make sure it’s not running hot these 99 Northstars will run a LONG time!!! Most people that have problems with them are the ones who don’t do Normal Maintenance and don’t know any better..

[@OhPhuckYou]

Such beautiful cars completely RUINED by a nice V8 that so happens to be less reliable than my ex.

[@JASKO-hh5ip]

Im on my second cadillac, went from a 04 deville which i got with 50k ended up giving it to my cousin it had 260k it leaked and needed an oil change every 3k but it was a great daily driver only thing i ever changed on it was a water pump, then i got a 06 dts it had 15k currently its at 160k also leaks and had to change the water pump which was a pain in the ass but overall i love these big sedans i hope to find another one with low miles when i get rid of this one

[@MintyFreshTurds]

Gotta have the fins.

[@ElChicano92]

Great review…. Thank you

[@Aschoolbusandsimulatorfan2219]

One of the best cars ever bulit by Cadillac!

[@brianlee9233]

I love your shaved look, Zack! It really looks good! Sorry if that has nothing to do with the video.

[@greatvaluechoppedonions8130]

I saw one of these once with cloth seats. Never saw another

[@warthog5562]

Love that North Coast nasal accent. Not quite as exteme as Chicago accents or as annoying as Minnesota accents.

[@timfremstad3434]

I have a 99 golden anniversary Deville, gold of course, like wise interior , I've only driven it 9,000 miles in three years, it had 86000 to start with ,but it runs and drives great, gets lots of looks.....the last of the elegant looking Caddiies

[@vinceyumul5658]

please review an 07 DTS

[@CDC-Vprototype]

Well you definitely speaks the truth I've owned a couple and a rebuilding one for some supercharged fun and I'll tell you this no matter what people say about it it's not going to change the fact that I love it and I love working on them they're not as hard as people make them out to be that I can say that because I actually work on North Stars and I've done it with backyard tools and still managed to do a engine swap the North Star has power when you need it and it is a very fun car to drive it sucks when they break and they will but if you are a gearhead and you really want to put the work in these cars are worth saving only if you have the knowledge and know how if you don't then don't even try it you're just going to give yourself a headache but people like me and people that don't want to give up and want a challenge and don't want to live life on easy mode than the North Star is for you and in the end it's very rewarding and I'm taking mine a step further and throwing a supercharger from an sts-v that's been ported into my 1995 Cadillac DeVille Concours and many people have still told me not to do it but nothing's ever stopped me before and I don't plan on letting it stop me now

[@Flamingpenguin88]

I just got myself into a 98 Base model at 115k for 3k. I dont know much about these cars so I did a bit of research after being told by a few old heads about the oil leak/ head issues and what have you. I came across a forum that mentioned a kit which included longer bolts for the heads and I was curious if you knew whether this is a viable option or if you had even heard of such. Thank you for reading if you find this. My grandmother had a green one when I was a kiddo and there is a great deal of nostalgia with this car. Like you, I wont let it go that easy. Any other tips or advice on these cars would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks again.

[@courtneypuzzo2502]

I Love the Deville as it was the first Cadillac I ever rode in as a baby my late maternal grandmother owned a used 1981 Coupe Deville in Colonial Yellow over dark saddle brown leather interior with a white or brown landau vinyl roof the only Cadillac I've ever felt claustrophobic in was the CTS had I not been visually impaired/autistic I'd have likely gotten my license in the last gen of Deville/Seville in Sept 2001 the Deville is the best selling model in Cadillac History with sales of around 5.3 million in its 46 year production life Seville is 2nd best selling with around 1,000,000 in its 28 year production run and CTS is 3rd best selling with around 730,000 where as the Toyota Camry for example sold 839,000 units in the US in its first 6 years of release and up to 2021 has sold around 15,333,000 in the US in its nearly 40 year production run

[@compostboomtron9001]

Saul Goodman approves of this vehicle

[@anthonyrivera4735]

You should do a review on GM's Dustbuster platform minivans

[@ShootingCars]

Coming soon!

[@redneon06]

It’s too bad that the Northstar destroyed these beautiful cars.

[@ralphabreu5022]

The Northstar ruined Cadillac They should have still Retrained the Fleetwood 5.7 liter A real engine..

[@JustARandomGuy-1234]

Saul Goodman approves

[@paulm6481]

These are prime reason GM lost market share and ultimately had to file for bankruptcy. It is as though they even care to be a real luxury brand. I can not blame yuppies that bought Acuras, Lexus, BMW and Mercedes. Incredible how badly designed these are, not to mention quality.

[@cleanriderjonez5247]

My cousin had a 96 deville paid $3300 to fix the head gasket issue

[@levithrasher7417]

The northstar is the best engine GM ever made.

[@jaylonworld]

They should made these rwd

[@jaka286]

Not only are Northstar lovers hard workers….they also have hard big money… I will take the Buick Park Avenue 3800 series II. Just as big, beautiful and luxurious

[@conniegerena5255]

I love my gold 99 Deville but with a small block V8

[@mworld2611]

LWYRUP

[@nickgee7291]

I really like the formal shapes of this car

[@MowerModdin]

I own a Northstar Performance head studded Vin 9 Northstar, and coupled with the NSP tune, I can say that 7000 rpm shifts are very fun. After pulling the engine out, installing some timing parts, oil gaskets, and the head studs, I haven't had any real other problems in 5000 miles. Even though it gets sent past its stock redline multiple times a day (6500rpm is the stock rev limiter). I've also taken it on two 250 mile trips with no issues.

[@scottpeterson4873]

you have a kit for the 96 sts?

[@scottpeterson4873]

same style and where does temp idle in traffic or hot summer days?

[@rustbeltrobclassic2512]

I had a 99 and it caught fire.. but man, when it worked right, it really was amazing to drive, fast for the day and god it was good to drive on the highway at 80

[@jakehawkins8669]

How did your 99 DeVille catch fire?

[@jakehawkins8669]

How did your 99 DeVille catch fire?

[@11.9lsupercharged4]

Would chirp the tires on light throttle

[@captwar]

You have to baby it or you will blow the head gaskets. You have all that horse power but you can't really use it.

[@shatan120]

Dear Shooting Cars: North/ south views of the backseat are not very revealing. Try the east/ west view, its a lot better

[@Scythe_Voltage]

Found a 1999 Seville with 60k miles, 5200$. Wanted to buy it, looked up this video, now I’m looking for something else

[@ManyTriangles]

My Northstar robbed me blind and I still dearly miss that hateful bucket of arthritis.

[@MandusahRamirez]

Cadillacs like this are the reason a $250,000 Cadillac Celestiq is a a joke!🤦🏽‍♂️😭

[@elimogenson3316]

The RWD LT1 powered Fleetwood is a much better car. There's a reason these Deville's can be had for so cheap. Avoid them like the plague.

[@vicarod]

Dang! I was going to invite you to review my '98 DeVille. Same color. RPO code 86U "Crimson Red" Same as the corvette "Magnetic Red" i believe.

[@mikejohnson8522]

Have one

[@bikermikemotors]

I think the 00-02s were the only ones with head gasket issues

[@tientrinh943]

How do you work so hard? Lol

[@xBeeGee]

You gotta show us the backseats 😞

[@Wbfuhn]

The reality with a lot of engines is that they last longest if kept under a certain rpm. 3k should be your limit for longevity. 2k is your economy limit for 4cyl and with V8 engines that's 1.5k. My experience with a I4 and V8.

[@Heavychevy0402]

Flooring it clears carbon build up

[@stigarchives4138]

Northstars need to be driven hard to not carbon up. A lot of the oil consuming problems with the northstars comes from the fact that they were too babied by older people

[@ToyotaandDodgeGarage]

Put an LS3 in it when it blows

[@mikehall737]

That car would be perfect for a ls4 swap

[@namemcnamerton4249]

The car of somebody who wants his denny’s grand slam heh heh

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

NorthStar reliable if carefully maintained. I see NorthStar cars with 200k+ miles for sale.

[@jpb1231000]

2002 Eldorado ESC... 66,000 qnd WELL KEPT $6500 Should I do it???

[@JD-gx3ms]

I miss mine

[@aaronl.9580]

Cleveland!

[@jamesruiz4005]

North Star owners are like Lt1 owners

[@bidensucks6792]

We never had issues with any Northstar engine, parents still drive an 04 SRX and 07 XLR. We always had issues with the transmission not the engine, sometimes the motor mounts.

[@user30017]

The newer ones improved alot

[@bidensucks6792]

@@user30017 But they started buying them long before the Northstar. I believe our 1st Northstar was a crimson pearl red with black interior Devile DTS probably 1994-5 sport's trim model. I believe we didn't have engen issues because they only kept them for 30000 miles. Typically they would order white with red interior.

[@OhPhuckYou]

@@user30017 That's completely subjective. Compared to any other engine? No. Compared to other Northstars? Kinda better. Some people get lucky, especially if they ditch the Dexcool early in ownership.

[@birdwife589]

it’s even got the tail-fins

[@stalincespedes1651]

I THINK EVERY SINGLE CAR WITH THE PROPPER MAINTANANCE IS A GOOD AND RELIABLE CAR.

[@BenyKorenberg]

WTH is the point of that stupid BFB test? Like real world application...? Most cars don't pass it and most people don't use such giant bottles... What's the point of that stupid test? Cool Car... Its like the essence of 90s American luxury... Awesome color...

[@elmerpacheco1513]

I'd rather have it black jet black not red and not white but black