captain vette

I would like to hear from guys who have or had owned a XLR knowing they were built in Bowling Green on a Vette chassis how they compare and also if the Northstar engine is as reliable as a LS engine. Thank you for any advice

LDB

Can't comment on XLR, but contrary to some horror stories, I had good experience with Northstar Caddys. My wife had two of them and my Dad had one, and none had engine or transmission issues. All three were smooth, powerful, and reliable, with mileage at sale ranging from 50-80,000 miles. As far as I understand things, while they are not unusually unreliable, if they do have problems serious enough to require head removal, you might as well write them off, as it's virtually impossible to get a replacement head gasket on a used Northstar to seat properly.

ssg10587

I've never owned one but heard nothing good regarding the XLR or its engine. It seemed to be like an inferior Corvette in every way. It is going to be difficult to beat the track record of the LS engine. Also corvette parts are everywhere and dirt cheap to replace, which is another nice perk.

Regular car did a good review. He is way offbeat but also adds a lot of interesting information:

Patsgarage

IIRC, there is a member (Zeek) in OT, who had one. Maybe shoot him a PM for his opinions.

FAUEE

The XLR was a neat hybrid of c5 and c6. The powered hardtop was really cool at the time. I think the real issue was people didnt want to spend more for a less powerful car. Plus its styling was too busy, and it got dated quick.

I think it was a good idea to try to take on the Mercedes SL, but poorly executed. When the c6 came out, it was all over for the xlr.

GRCTampa

That was entertaining, thanks!

klwehunt

Ant thoughys on the XLR-V?

LVXLR8N

Hello
I owned a 2005 XLR and now own a 2008 M coupe. I love the looks of the XLR, one of a very few cars that looked good with the top both up and down and very few around. GM through ever trick in their idea chest in that baby for a betta test. The thing is they had many issues and gm did not want to deal with them properly. I had every issue listed on the site and had it in every spring for issues related to the top. I sold in with 20 k miles as soon as my extended warranty ended. It was a great car when it worked. I also had a number of coolant leaks in the underpowered northstar. Love my Vette and prefer it other than the fact I have to lift my roof in and out. Small price to pay for a much stronger car.

1Willy1

The XLR-V would be a nice machine to own , but as far as I know they don't come in manual and the prices were way too high for what they are .

I would pick an XLR over a CTS hands down

they made a big mistake not putting an LS engine in the XLR, then they would of been a real player

BadAV

I considered buying one before I bought my previous 07 coupe. I ultimately decided the long term risk of problems with the complicated top design was not worth taking. There were few good qualified technicians to work on the top mechanism, and trying to find one today would not be fun. And expensive.

captain vette

thank you for your advice, how do you like your M coupe S54

irok

Northstar engines and reliable should never be used in same sentence

Ericm1949

I have owned 2. A used ‘05 & a ’08 I bought new. The ‘08 I kept for 8 years & about 32000 miles. I sold it due to lack of GM parts to support it & a concern that Cadillac shop technicians were not any longer up to speed to maintain it. The power folding top will be an issue soon , most likely for lack of parts. The XLR’s were all built on the Corvette assembly lines using a number of C6 parts. However they used the 4.6 lt. Northstar motor of 320hp. It was never meant to compete with Corvette by performance or customer base. About 10 Corvettes were built for every XLR for the same model year. The ‘09 XLRV should become a collectible due to the fact it is a one year only body style & the last year of production.

Oh Boy

Totally untrue. I know a lot of people who had their Northstars done my self included. I had my 2000 Deville done two years ago by a Northstar expert (thread holes in the block redrilled, new gm time serts and head gaskets) and it runs perfect. In 2005 the problem was corrected for good when GM went to longer head bolts and course threads.

jimijam

The N* in my 2008 STS is bullet proof. But thanks for playin.

FAUEE

Whats wild is the money they go for. Theres really nothing better about an xlrv than a 3lt base except that top... theyre like 30k plus with 100k miles. And people here are like "20k is too mu h for a super clean 07 3lt with 25k miles". Its nuts. Tbh, the people buying these XLRs must be pretty nuts. A base xlr with 100k miles is still 20k plus, its insane.

BLUDICE

The OP should get on CadillacOwners.com forum - lots of info on there.

pure zen

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Owned a '05 XLR,,,,best road trip car I've ever owned....very smooth ride. Bought it from a lady who put 23K miles on it,,,paid mid-20's back in 2014. Didn't even have one rock chip on it....beautiful car. NEVER had any issues, engine, transmission, or body works....did put new Bridgestone run-flats on it @32K. Sold it when it reached 37+K miles. Reason for selling: 1. My lady passed away, who was a car detail expert, and I was heartbroken 2. Owned too many other cars and a boat to care for 3. GM parts didn't have 'any' headlight or tail-light assemblies left to offer owners incase you got in a accident or bumped in a parking lot 4. Then,,the reporting of the folding roof-panel tops coming unglued and flying back off the cars at higher speeds > I didn't have that issue, but living in hi-temp/low humidity area it was a concern for the future. At first, GM/Cad denied responsibility and NO roof-panels in inventory to replace with.... Now hear that Cad is starting to help with supply of roof-panel problems,,, probably due to NHTSA jumping in to bitch-slap GM for neglect/denial in a 'safety situation'? 5. Minus the cost of the tire replacement,,,got exactly what we paid for the car in selling it to another fine couple. IMO, they got a great XLR!

Really hated to sell that XLR, but it had too many features that I never use > navigation, climate controlled seats, heated outside mirrors, poor quality CD player, etc. My C6 Z51, which only had 22K miles on it at the time of selling the XLR, was more to what I needed in a car.

**BTW, XLR's were not built on the Corvette/BG assembly line.....they were hand assembled in separate rooms within the BG assembly plant facility....as I seen when going through the BG plant in 2006.

Ericm1949

Pure Zen is correct in his statement that XLR was built on a separate assembly line within the Bowling Green assembly plant.
I had to pull out my book XLR by John McCormick & on page 106 he goes into detail about assembly. They used a modified C5 frame not C6 as I miss-remembered. Will Cooksey was plant manager for the XLR project, later to be involved in the Corvette C6. A lot of interesting information in that book about development of XLR for anyone interested in owning one of those cars.

Kevova

Northstars can be alot of fun. XLRs downfall is no parts. Headlamps have been discontinued for years. GM's bankruptcy ended the supply chain of XLR specific replacement parts.