I recently spotted a Cadillac Allante flailing over the shoulder of a local road and into the breakdown area; after a bad week with my daily driver, it was a phenomenon I understood all too well. There was something sad about this, however: it seemed like the car was bought for pleasure, and here it was giving thre owner fits. Maybe this one here on craigslist is a better bet @ $5,999.
I say that because the one I spotted was pretty tatty in appearance. You could practically predict it was purchased at a local used car lot, likely for too much money, under the trickery of how much prestige the Pininfarina badge carried. The seller of this example certainly thinks the luxury ties are worth mentioning, as he brings up how the Allante was designed to compete with the Mercedes SL.
I don’t put much weight in who you compete against if you can’t stack up in a head-to-head duel. Although both the Caddy and the SL of the same era are junkyard queens these days, I’m inclined to believe the Mercedes was the better car. Cadillac was still struggling for a new identity at this point, and the Allante is yet another example of poor execution supported by a huge marketing budget.
Truth be told, with the hardtop on, the Allante is not a bad looking car. But low values and high cost of ownership can turn potential buyers away, just as its initial price tag did when the car was first introduced. The seller counts the “neat stuff” (Recaro-style seats, Bose audio, Carello headlights) as its key attributes; I think it could be a deal for half the asking price. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Dylan B. for the find!
I was working at a Cadillac dealer doing detail work in high school when these came out. I thought they were nice looking cars but the fit and finish was horrible
I liked the looks and bought one used, to use as my inexpensive commuter. I had the wheels polished and put about 100k miles on it (on top of 87k, when purchased). It was already depreciated when I bought it for 5k in 2003, as it had some miles. They are not expensive to operate. Almost all the running gear is Cadillac and the parts are as cheap as any GM car of that period. They are small tanks. I found the entire experience to be great fun.
Yes, they have a few quirks and some of the specific Allante parts can be pricey, but rarely needed. They have a special brake system by Bosch (a pump with a pressure accumulator, like you see on a hybrid) and need good maintenance. If you want one, buy the best one you can find, as they are all relatively cheap.
Probably hard to go wrong if it’s rust free although I’ve had no experience with these cars. Love the “Cadillac” inscribed taillights. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a power driver’s seat with so many buttons. Seller touts the dash and then does not even include a pictue of it unless I missed it.
Looks like the seller updated the ad. He claims its rust free.
Cars like these can be great cars and not too expensive if they have good maintenance history. I was wondering if this was a Northstar; teh seller says it is not.
I have a 2001 Olds Aurora. it has been a great car – bought it in 2012 with 124k on it to drive when I was working 3.5 hours away. I only had a motorcycle at the time. Aurora now has 208K on it and has only needed a couple of sensors, a ground wire fixed, and the coily thing in the steering wheel fixed that I can remember. I have done normal maintenance things to it. Knock wood, it is a great car and falls into a category similar to the Allante – an unusual car that was pretty pricey ($40K) when new ( I think we paid 4300 for mine) and not a lot of them. Although the Allante is even more unusual. I would be interested in the Allante.
Northstar only were in the 1993 models
Been curious to look at an inexpensive Allante here in Vegas. Love the reviews everyone gave on this one!!
http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/cto/5788840598.html
Sketchy ad, beware
Is this a NorthStar V8? Saw a mechanic replacing a starter on one of those motors. It was mounted at the top of the motor in the valley. The whole top of the motor had to come off to do the work. He said it was well over $1000 to replace it. Great design.
Says in the ad, This one is the 4.5, not the Northstar. I had a deville with the 4.5 (but it looks different, maybe the Allante has different headers?) good power, not the best on gas, not as high powered as the Northstar, but won’t blow a head gasket either. My deville was cheap to maintain.
Had one years ago. The prospect of replacing the digital dashboard scared me. The hard top squeaked, rattled and leaked! The soft top did a better job of keeping the noise and weather out, but was the absolute biggest pain in the @$$ to put up! I think the Italian engineer who designed it was trying for the most awkward process possible! But it was a pleasure to set the cruise, and drive for hours on the interstate with the top down in good weather. I’m sure The General lost money on each one they built and continued to lose money for a number of years thereafter – they had ‘guaranteed’ the resale value to match the Mercedes SL but I forget the details now. Would I buy another??? Hmmm, sort of like a surviving Jensen-Healy or old Fiat I suppose – if it’s lasted this long, either it was one of the very rare good ones built, or more likely, a prior owner has spent a ton of money fixing all the faults inherent to the car, so – maybe, but then I am a risk-taker. The bodies were built on the same assembly line as the Ferrari Testa Rosa, for whatever that’s worth.
Hey, I am the seller.
I bought the car from an elderly couple who kept it in the garage and took pretty good care of it, it’s really a solid car.
You may have had an earlier Allante, this top requires no folding fabric like the 1987 and 88 models. They also solved the leaking issue around the windshield. With my hardtop on, it is quiet and won’t leak.
It does have a small list of few minor issues, but it’s really been a nice car. I haven’t done much to it other than enjoy it.
With the available Allante resources out there, it could be in showroom shape for not a ton of work.
If anyone has any questions, contact by at 270-769-8068, as also stated in the AD.
My 92′ Allante is my daily driver. I bought the car in 2002 in Las Vegas. I paid $12,000 for it in 02′. It was my daily driver for a few years then sat in the garage until the summer of 2015 when I pulled it out for what was intended to be a slow restoration. This past April my wife totaled her car and I gave her my Cadillac CTS to drive. I quickly finished the restoration of my Allante and it’s my daily driver again.
Allante specific parts are not hard to find. There Allante parts sources in New Jersey, Florida and California. In addition there always seem to be junkyards parting out Allantes and selling parts on ebay.
These are great cars. Mine is about to turn 140k. I put half of those miles on it. I’ve maintained the car and never had a major problem with it. I hope that this will be my daily driver for the rest of my life. I’m currently shopping for a low mileage engine for when that time comes. Unfortunately they’ve never caught on as a collector car and values are low. I’d never get near out of mine what I have in it. But then again it’s not for sale.
To answer the question above only the 93′ Allante had a Northstar.
My interior. I broke up the maroon a little on the seats. I’m going to add a little more white to the interior to continue to break it up.
Not built with any Ferraris. Built on the line at Pininfarina that previously built the Pininfarina Azura(previously the Fiat 2000 Spider). While Pininfarina has designed most Ferrari bodies, they are not built there.
Yeah, I’ve seen Allantes for sale claiming they were “built by Ferrari.” At least this seller knows that much.
Hey, I am the seller of this Allante.
The article above seems to go on about how my main selling point is the Pininfarina name.
That IS a neat feature! There certainly was a lot of marketing hype surrounding the Allante, they paid for movie and tv placement, (JR Ewing in Dallas, Lou Getz of Lethal Weapon 3, Married with Children).
Whenever GM tries to make a “European” car, it doesn’t always work out.
The CORVAIR was a pretty neat car, my brother owns a 62. Ralph Nader ruined the corvair.
What “ruined” the Allante was mostly the high price and, kind of like the Edsel, a little overhype.
It is a reliable, fun classic with a really interesting story.
And I personally love the look of it.
If you have any questions, text me at(270) 769-8068, as stated in the ad.
I worked in Muncie In. I remember when these first came on the market. Jim Davis, Muncie resident and creator of Garfield had one. His first wife bought it for him as a Christmas present,,,,,,,,,$50,000 Big bucks.
I have a ’93 with the Northstar, 130,000 miles, my daily driver once the salt is gone from the roads in NH. It is a great top down car, at less than 50 mph, and top up, soft or hard, 75 is fine, a few wind whistles, block some off on the hard top with electrical tape. NO RUST. Whoever had it before me did not use it in the winter either. Paid $3000 and another $3000 for hoses, some gaskets, rear brakes, radiator, and transmission solenoids. So $6000 for a running version is about right. The ’93’s have a “throttle body” which cracks and then the car does not run well. There are NO replacement parts and it was peculiar to the ’93 Allante, fixed with electrical tape and enema hose. But otherwise the parts are easy to find, both mechanical from GM, and used/reproduction body/interior parts from one of the three above mentioned sources. And, having had dozens of cars, it is one of the most pleasant to drive. Solid, no rattles, fast, holds the road well, stops well, and the digital dash is original and works well.
As the owner of a a Lotus Elan I chuckle at the above comment that the Allante “holds the road well” LOL.
I bet your lotus is a nice car. But I can attest that the Allante does handle and corner well. It has a great, responsive steering and suspension. Handles any roads I drive on well.
Drove a 90 Allante every summer for 15 years – no special quirks – no real problems that couldn’t be solved at a Cadillac dealer for normal prices – excellent highway cruiser – great around town car with the top down – the exotic looks got great comments and the Pearl Ivory paint was lustrous and striking. An under appreciated classic at realistic prices – buy the nicest one you can find.
Plenty of storage and a huge trunk made it an extremely comfortable 2 seater car for long trips.
Strong club support and very good forum help.
It is all relative. No Lotus or Corvette, but very fast and very comfortable.