XLR Advice

I am going to look at a 2004 Neiman Marcus XLR for the wife.

It has 61K miles and the pictures look good. The seller was asking 17 but I talked him down to 14 on the phone.

I have experience evaluating used cars, but want to know anything specific I should watch for on an XLR.

Thanks in advance

 

Make sure the hard top convertible works properly. That was an issue when they were new. The Neiman Marcus edition was rare when introduced. Not sure about the price but a look at other cars with similar mileage as that will give you an indication of the correct price range. I don't recall seeing a used Neiman Marcus edition for sale so I suppose there is some premium if you like the color.
There is an XLR owners web site www. xlr-net.com

 

A unique car and later years could very well become collector items due to very low production numbers (Wikipedia has the stats). I've had my on eye them for a while now, too.

Agree with the comment above about the top, but it can at least be raised and lowered by hand. Another concern would be electrical as it seems to touch nearly every item on this car and is computer controlled. Be suspicious of any warning lights that are burning. In fact, I would suggest starting and stopping the car several times in case any of them have been temporarily reset. Also, look for service records. From the XLR owners forum, they seem to contend that if electrical repairs are not made promptly, other electrical problems can emerge and cascade. Apparently if there are enough electrical problems, the car will go into limp mode, and if ignored, will then go into no-start mode.

Just do your research and due diligence. Hope it turns out to be a good car for your wife.

 

I don't know much about them, but I have always loved them. One of the coolest looking cars ever made, at least IMHO. I'm surprised they can be had for that kind of money.

Good luck!

 

Owned a 2005 that I bought used for about a year till I ordered a 2007 XLR-V which I owned until 2013. The only issues I had were with the 2005 and they were top related. Dealer adjusted the proximity switches on the top and all was well. I had absolutely no issues with the 2007. The cars were built on the C5 Corvette chassis so they are pretty well built and parts common to both vehicles should be available for some time to come. There Is a forum on Cadillac forums that you can use as a resource.

 

The V-series XLR is on my wish list for sure. Looking forward, I heard that the tail light lenses are NLA.

 

Actually, the XLR was built on the C6 chassis.

 

Exactly! That is why it can be an attractive car to enthusiasts.

 

Production-wise, it's the other way around. XLR in 2003 and the C6 in 2005.

 

Brief, but interesting discussion on the XLR Forum.

https://www.xlr-net.com/forums/cadillac-xlr-technical-discussion/8247-xlr-c5-or-c6-corvette.html

 

Ah hah! So the XLR was really a sort of "test mule" for the C6. Thanks for posting.

 

Sweet!

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2008-cadillac-xlr-3/