I've been wanting to do an extended road trip from Houston to Los Angeles for some time. I'd finally decided to do it this year, but in my old CTS-V; however, I traded that in on an 08 V8V last December. The car has 32k miles and I've put another 1k or so on it. I wasn't able to get any maintenance records, but the dealer (not an AM dealer) promised it was "CPO."

My question is, what all maintenance issues should I look into before considering a 3k mile road trip? I've already replaced the battery, and I will have new wheels/tires as well.

 

They're pretty well-built cars and you shouldn't have any real issues so long as the car is in proper running order. I've done 10+ hours in a day in mine.

I'm calling BS on the dealer's CPO claim. CPO can only be done through an authorized AM dealership (or whichever manufacturer). And a CPO car should come with maintenance records.

Generally, maintenance is pretty comprehensive on an AM. Engine oil, coolant, break fluid, filters, transmission oil, all of it gets replaced at least every few years (engine oil every year, of course). You can either do it all from scratch to make sure it's all done, or hunt down the records for your car.

 

I agree with all of the above but please have the belts checked too. Bring along a tire repair "plug kit" as the goo in the inflator isn't that effective. Go online and learn how to plug a tire before you leave. Have the A/C inspected too as lord knows you don't want to be driving the car in the heat without that working. Sounds like fun… I need a road trip but we've been snowed in here in NJ for several weeks now and more snow is comming on Thursday. I just plugged in my AM battery tender which I purchased online for just $150 bucks.

 

Go to the local AM dealer and check the Vin for any service records in the system. I'm sure there are records at least while it was under warranty. You will also learn the name of the selling dealer. You can check with them for any history of the car.
I agree the CPO claim is BS.
All service should be up to date before taking a long trip. Be prepared if the car needs service as it will be more expensive than the Caddy.

 

I'll be taking it in to the local dealer to get some little stuff checked out soon, I'll have them pull the records and check everything out. My little brother thinks it was previously owned by a Houston rapper LOL

I don't doubt it was a lie one bit, but it was a good deal and the exact options I wanted.

What's snow?

Definitely, especially since the Caddy had free maintenance and a warranty!!

Sometimes I think I'm insane...

 

"what's snow?" HA! One of the things I do NOT miss about the east coast.

I agree with the above posts, take it to an AM dealer and they should be able to assist you with some maintenance records.

 

Curious, I sold my 09 CTS-V to make garage space for my 09 DB9, purchased in Dec 2011.


Drove the DB9 to Houston from Miami over the course of 2 days, performed flawlessly.

 

Just make sure you let us Cali folks know when you arrive, especially me, so we can arrange a photoshoot

 

You do know you're directly responsible for this insanity, right?

 

Wow, I totally forgot I made this thread!! My Aston ended up getting bought back by the dealer due to electrical issues, and they worked a deal on a GT500 they had in inventory. However, I did actually make this trip! It came out to 4800 miles, done in 9 days of driving with 5 days spent in LA. Some quick pics:

There



Back



Some random shots from the road

New Mexico



Arizona



California (Mulholland)



Cars and Coffee - Irvine



Utah