The Cimarron was a few years away by the time America’s Bicentennial rolled around, and this 1976 Cadillac Coupe DeVille was a whopping 4.5 feet longer than the Chevy Cavalier-based Cimarron! Four and a half feet! That’s like half of a Subaru 360. This car is over 19 feet long, and the seller has it posted here on craigslist in Babylon, New York, and they’re asking $20,000 or best offer. Here is the original listing, and thanks to Zen for the tip!
The first photo shows some reflections along the bottom of the driver’s side that make me scratch my chin a bit. The seller says this one is in excellent condition and has never seen rain, sleet, or snow. It sure doesn’t look like a factory shine on that side. They say it has no rust and has had no accidents, and is all original, and nothing has been touched, modified, or changed. What are your thoughts?
From what I hear, at least on silver cars in this era from GM, bumper filler material can fade a bit, and both sides are a shade lighter in the back. We don’t get to see inside the trunk; it must be the missing photo out of the 23 photos the seller has uploaded to the listing. This car is owned by an older gentleman who has kept it in a garage when not in use, and he’s traveling so much that it’s regretfully for sale, according to the person who wrote the listing.
Red leather, ahhhh… With just 48,555 miles, the seats look nice with just a little wrinkling from use over the decades. I see some pitting or surface rust on the chrome column shifter, or selector, and some wear on parts of the dash bits, but otherwise, it looks nice inside. The back seat appears unused. The listing says that the AC works, so that’s a good sign.
I did not expect to see such a dirty engine and engine compartment, ouch. Needless to say, it could use even a quick cleaning and detailing, but if this car is as nice as they say it is, it should be done right. This is Cadillac’s 500-cu.in. OHV V8, which by this point in the 70s had 190 horsepower and 360 lb-ft of torque. It’s backed by a Turbo-Hydramatic 400 sending power to the rear wheels, and it’s said to start, run, and drive perfectly. Hagerty is at $14,000 for a #3 good-condition car and $21,200 for a #2 excellent car. I’d put this one closer to #3, how about you?
The last of the mighty 500 cube V8. This one looks nice overall, but I am going to have to agree with Scotty here, somethings up with that side view. Its not a bad thing if its been worked on. Silver was one of the hardest colors to keep up with and would peel off. The leather looks good from what I can see of it. It’s definitely been garage kept for most if not all its life. The OEM mat that I can see looks good, and those dark red GM carpets would fade to an orange like color in time, and I don’t see any of that here. Overall a nice looking Caddy.
Seems like a pretty basic DeVille. No tilt wheel or cruise control! Both of which would make it a much more comfortable cruiser.
Hard to believe it would have original paint. Silver on GM cars from this era was known to deteriorate quickly.
Silver paint’s worst enemy has always been UV from the sun. With the low mileage on this one, it must have spent most of it’s time indoors or covered up.
These cars remind me how far we’ve come in automotive technology, style and preferences. What were options (power windows, fm radio, AC) then are now standard equipment on the most basic car today. And the horsepower on my 10-year old 4 cylinder Honda Civic almost matches this 500 CID engine. But when they were new, I thought they were amazing.
I never thought of climbing up on the roof to photograph a car for sale. What’s next, a flyover?
Most likely just an easy drone shot.
…………the last of the REAL Cadillacs. It only went downhill after that. In size, quality, and stature. Today, All a Cadiillac is, is a glorified Chevy–pretty much matching them model for model. Don’t get me started on the EVs.
Agreed with Will Fox! EV’s are a WOT Waste of Time!
Uhh I’m pretty sure the CT4 and CT5 are still being produced. There’s no Chevy equivalent.
Last of the good ones!! This one is clean with the last year with the 500 engine!!
silver and red. cant beat it. i bet 15k could buy it. i do agree with the writer that engine bay looks like 140k though.
A ’76 Coupe de Ville was my parent’s first Cadillac. Two years old they bought it off the lease from my father’s boss. Midnight blue with the lighter blue 3/4 padded vinyl roof. What a cruiser! It was powerful and drove so smooth. As a 6′ teenager, I could completely stretch out in the back seat. That was the first of many Cadillacs that they would own but by far the most comfortable and luxurious. They eventually dropped Cadillacs and went for a new 2005 Lexus LS 430 for their last car….
It’s more of a #3 condition car, no 60/40 front seat which is a dealbreaker for me.
Also, a lack of “expected” Cadillac options doesn’t help it case any.
A spartan coupe , that engine bay needs breathing and cleaning . Keep the A/C cold and enjoy