Although the term “time capsule” is one of the most overused in the classic world, there are few better ones that could describe this 1988 Cadillac Seville STS. It is an estate find that has a genuine 2,200 miles showing on its odometer. You must scrutinize the seller’s photos pretty hard to find anything to criticize on a luxury car that was spotted by my eagle-eyed colleague, Russell Glantz. The seller has listed this survivor here on eBay in Lakeland, Florida. They set their auction to open at $15,000 but have received no bids at the time of writing.
The Seville hit the market as Cadillac’s mid-sized luxury model for the 1976 model year. A Second Generation landed on showroom floors in 1980, replaced by a Third Generation that remained on sale from 1986 until 1991. The original owner ordered this Seville STS in 1988, choosing stunning Black Sapphire paint to cloak its exterior. The car saw limited use until their recent passing and is now set to find a new home with a second owner. The car’s presentation is all that you would rightly expect from a classic with a four-digit odometer reading. The paint shines as impressively as it would have when the vehicle left the showroom, while the panels are laser-straight. The underside shots, and there are plenty of them, reveal that the floors are clean enough to eat off. The fact that this Caddy has been garage-kept since Day One has helped its cause and allowed it to remain rust-free. The trim is excellent, and the glass is clean. It took me a while to find a genuine flaw in its presentation, although it is only small and easily remedied. The center cap for one of the 15″ alloy wheels has a scrape that I don’t think could be addressed without replacing the offending part. I doubt that your local Cadillac dealer will have one in stock, meaning that it might take some searching of one of the online auction sites to locate one.
If the Cadillac’s exterior makes a positive impression, its interior heightens that feel. It is a sea of Beachwood leather with plenty of Burled Elm trim. This is one aspect of this car that is perfect. There is no wear, and even the traditional leather creases are quite minor. The overall condition is consistent with the odometer reading, and the new owner will receive a vast array of traditional luxury touches. In addition to airbags and climate-control air conditioning, there is power operation for the windows, locks, seats, mirrors, and trunk release. Throw a Twilight Sentinel, tilt wheel, cruise control, a rear defogger, a rear-seat console, and a premium AM/FM radio/cassette player into the mix, and any journey in this Seville would feel like a special occasion.
Cadillac followed a “one size fits all” philosophy with the 1988 Seville, with buyers receiving the 4.5-liter “HT4500” V8 producing 155hp. Power feeds to the ground via a four-speed automatic transmission, with power-assisted steering and brakes as standard equipment. The seller states that this Seville has a genuine 2,200 miles showing on its odometer, and this isn’t an idle boast. The glovebox houses every fuel receipt for this classic since Day One, confirming the mileage beyond doubt. The Caddy still rolls on its original tires, although the seller will swap these out if the buyer requests it. Otherwise, it appears that this classic has no mechanical needs and is a turnkey proposition for the winning bidder.
This 1988 Seville STS might have thirty-seven years under its belt, but it would still look right at home sitting in a Cadillac showroom. Its condition is absolutely stunning, with only a single, easily addressed flaw for potential buyers to consider. The price is at the top end of the market, but cars like this write their own rules when they have a four-figure odometer reading. Will it find a new home? I won’t be surprised if it does.
No way it sells near 15. Maybe half that. These FWD Caddies are decent reliable cars but not appreciated on the collector market.
All I can say is wow…. This looks like, at the very least what would have been a demo model for sale at a Cadillac dealership in the fall of 1988. The very dark blue and tan interior not only compliment each other but looks like brand new, the chrome, under the hood, everything. I wasn’t really into these when they came out. But even back then I always thought that a car that was similar in size to the Cutlass Calais, Pontiac Grand Am, etc, would seriously move with that little V8 under the hood. At least in its time in the late ’80s. (We all know the HT series V8s didn’t do so hot in the full size models).
They always say if you’re going to buy a collector car, buy the best example you can find, and this little Caddy would probably be it. You’d be very hard pressed to find a lower mileage one in this condition. Very nice find Russel and very nice article Adam, I enjoyed it.
Looks blue to me, not Black Sapphire.
I agree with Mike Kripke, it looks blue and not black. 15k sounds way to high to me and I will be surprised if the seller gets anywhere close to that.
You’re right! The market spoke when this stealership won it at Mecum for $14.3k out the door
You are going to have to look at a Black Sapphire. I find the color enchanting
Arguably the best one left, but is the best example of one of Cadillac’s worst cars worth $15K? I guess we’ll find out. Cadillac made so many blunders in the 1980s that it’s tough to pick the biggest: Diesels (including a V6 in the ’85 DeVille/Fleetwood), V-8-6-4, HT4100, Cimarron, and shrunken ’86 Eldorado and Seville that looked just like a Buick Skylark that cost barely a third as much. The chassis was GM’s best FWD chassis, but the awkward, derivative styling and odd proportions left critics and customers cold.
I wouldn’t put these anywhere near the same league as those other Caddy blunders you mention. These are often derided but not terrible cars for any technical reason; they were just conceptually off-target for the market and intended buyers of the time.
Awkwardly styled in some aspects—a slightly faster backlight meeting the trunk directly above or slightly behind the rear axle line might’ve done wonders IMO—and too similar to other downmarket GM models despite sharing no body panels and little else in common, too small and understated for most established and aspiring Caddy buyers, yet also too traditional to entice most Euro-import buyers, even in STS spec.
I did at least appreciate the STS trim of this generation for toning down the glitz and sobering things up with a slightly sharper, cleaner, sportier presentation than the standard model.
CC recently reposted a pretty astute retrospective of these here:
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/curbside-classic-1988-91-cadillac-seville-sts-cadillac-shows-they-get-it-kind-of/
From GM’s perspective, it was definitely a huge blunder. For the first model year of this generation, sales were off by more than half, and that was a better performance than its E-body relatives. The quartet went from well over 200,000 units in 1985 to around 80,000 units in 1986. This, despite tremendous investment, including $500M for a new plant that required the razing of homes and churches in Detroit’s “Poletown” neighborhood. The cars themselves weren’t objectively bad, but they were woefully out of step with customer expectations. Quality control wasn’t great, either, especially considering the price point. Robots in the highly automated plant were reportedly spraying each other with glue and crushing windshields during installation. I remember getting behind the wheel of an STS like this one on the floor of the Pittsburgh Auto Show and being greeted by an instrument bezel that read “Eldorado Biarritz.” I asked one of the salesmen what happened, and he shrugged his shoulders and said, “That’s the way they built it. They screwed up.”
Exactly. Add to it a plastic and vinyl interior that wouldn’t look over the top on an Oldsmobile equivalent. The Cimarron interior looked better. Let that sink in a bit. This is pure late malaise era crap. The Seville is supposed to be a personal luxury sedan. In Europe this would be considered a nice Opel.
The problem with Sevilles except for the bustle backs they looked like GM parts bin specials with an egg crate grille. Even for the size 155 hp sounds anemic. I am always curious about the backstories on these ultra low mileage cars. This is around 60 miles per year. Even for a vacation home runabout that is awful low.
I had no idea these were so small. When I hear Seville I think of the bustle back ones, now I can’t get the resemblance to the Olds Calais out of my head. That said though, this would be a fine ride for ten grand. One thing about old Caddies and Lincoln’s, they can get old and beat but they still exude class. What can you say about an old Lexus? They look like Toyotas.
I have no TIME for this Capsule! 🤮 Totally CADILLACKING in every way.
A $15,000.00 dollar car??? If I were in the market for one especially with low miles like this I wouldn’t go over $7500.00.
It is nice to see a vehicle for sale that has a fresh detailing! As a former car salesman it makes me sick to see a
“ collectors car” for sale covered in dirt , grime, trash on the floors and the power plant covered in grease and grime.
As a famous car guy once stated,
“ if you don’t take the time and effort to clean a vehicle, you don’t deserve the extra $500.00 or $1,000.00 it could bring!
SevilleTouringSedan
This is a nice Cadillac. Is it worth the ask? Well yes and no. If you like this model that’s about as good as it gets then yes but if you can’t see paying the ask for it then no. Either way I’d understand.
I laugh every time I a car of this time being described as having LASER straight panels. Your use of puffery cements your status of being a used car salesman
Maybe your dog would bite better if it proof-read your comments for sloppy English usage. Buh-bye.
Fahrvergnugen Savage bro.
Seville sales really tanked with this body style. You were better off getting a Buick N car (Sommerset Regal).
I don’t know about that. The N cars, particularly Grand Am’s with the 2.5L Iron Duke were as detestable a car as I’ve ever driven. Including a Gen 1 Hyundai Excel and a Pinto 2.0L. The Cadillac looked similar but they drove ok, and once the started upgrading the HT4100 in 1988 they got substantially better. A friend bought one of the then new Lincoln Continental’s, the Taurus based car with the V6, I’d rather the Cadillac than that or the K-car based Imperial. Definitely a dreary time for American luxury.
Way back at the end of October 1988 when I got out of training on the east coast, I rented one of these when I flew to Houston to spend some time with my twin sons who were 7 as I was recently divorced. The one I rented was silver and it could have been either an 88 or an 89. I don’t know. I really liked it. I had a former co-worker where I used to work take a photo of me sitting on the rear bumper. At the time I owned a 1988 Toyota Corolla.
Son had one, very used, bought for $1200, great in snow for a 2 wheel drive car, one day it just stopped. Independant garage estimated more than that to make it run again, a “computer issue”. Made a deal with a mechanically inclined HS student son to pay for the parts, student to supply the labor, and when it sold, split the money. Sold it for about $3000 so they both made a little money. Do not expect your local GM dealer to want to work on this, unless the dealership is unusual, but mechanical parts shared across GM lines so should be findable. And even my son’s high milage, old, old, one was a great road car, really seats 3 adults in the back, so as long as you have a Toyota to rely on, this would be great to own.
There was no STS during this model year. The letters are an add-on.
Wiki says I am wrong, but as I was in charge of flooring for GM dealers at the time and do not recall ever seeing that appellation on a build sheet, I cannot say for sure. The only worse thing than getting old is the alternative.
I was with you until the pics on eBay revealed no Airbags. Airbags appeared in 1989 along with the 4.5L PFI engine. Definitely an ’88. Also, definitely a real STS, no stand up hood ornament and the rear seat center console lends credence to this being a Cars and Concepts built early model as I’ve never seen that rear console before.
I think the same thing. I had a ’87 Fleetwood d’Elegance, basically a front-drive deVille with nicer trim. It had the 4100 and was a real slug. Every time I took it in for service I’d ogle the ETC’s and STS’s in the showroom. I don’t recall seeing STS models until the ’90 model year when the 4.5L Port Injected engine was available, and those may have been ’91s with the 4.9L PFI engine. By then GM had corrected most all the flaws in these car and they were very nice drivers and the 4.9 made strong power for the day.
According to Wikipedia (not an unimpeachable source); “The first 1988 STSs were custom built by Cars and Concepts and announced at that year’s Detroit Grand Prix. These initial run models were available to VIPs within General Motors, the Cadillac Division, some major shareholders and a short list of dignitaries. A special label was affixed to the lower corner of the driver-side front door identifying it as one of the original STSs.” Any label in the doorframe?
If this is one of those early-’88 pilot-run cars, that might explain the super-low mileage and pristine condition; the first owner might have socked it away for posterity/investment and rarely drove it.
The wiki also says, “A special label was affixed to the lower corner of the driver-side front door identifying it as one of the original STSs.” It’s not clear where exactly that label would have been affixed (exterior, interior, in the door jamb, or…?) but I’m not seeing anything like that in the photos provided on eBay. Might be worth asking the seller to look closer.
The word “hate” is such a strong word. I absolutely LOATH these. Plain and simple.
My Dear Angel, Neither of us is plain or simple! Thank GOD 😊. I’ve been constantly filling my appointment book with Dr visits and a minor surgery that revealed the need for ANOTHER surgery. Yep! The big C. 😲 Discovered Hopefully in time. So that’s my SOB (definitely NOT Saab) story. Once again, I want to express my gratitude to BARN FINDS and all my colleagues here for offering information, great cars, and Camaraderie. Guess I will use the word HEART 💜to end 💖 my reverie. Yes Angel, I still enjoy playing with words and 😲 . Worst case, you become CEO and Chairperson of THE GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT PRESENTATION SOCIETY!
Disappointing news to hear Rick W. I strongly recommend getting your Ph more alkaline than acidic which means avoiding all foods or minimizing the intake to start with along with elimination of cured and carcinogenic meats. and any other foods. Understand what it likes and feeds and thrives on and starve it into nonexistence. Speaking of meat this lean starving Cadillac reminds me of a Wendy’s commercial back in the day of this sweet adorable elder lady whose 3 words were “Where’s the beef?”
BTW it’s PRESERVATION spellcheck is always interfering
This sold at Mecum Kissimmee for $14.3k including fees in January. This notoriously overpriced stealership oftens attempts to flip Mecum cars for double.
Worked at a Cadillac/Olds dealer as a tech in the early to mid 2000’s. All of these I saw were junk by then. Never thought I would ever see one in this condition. Amazing.
I love all the hate on the $15k opening bid. Wait until everyone discovers the dealership has this listed on their website for $29,500!
Delusion comes in many forms.
This looks like the car my wife and I had for a couple of weeks in the US in 88/89. We landed in LA from OZ and I went to the hire place at the airport to get a car and got this great spiel about I can have the latest Cadillac for just an extra ten bucks a day. I though what the hell I will never drive a Caddy in the rest of my life (which is true at 89). It was very nice to drive and took us to San Diego, SFO, and back to LA with no problems and very comfortable.