Overcharging has reached every corner of the car market. From new to used, cars are going for ridiculous prices for everywhere, with some unexpected models commanding prices that’ll make you laugh in the seller’s face. But there’s always someone out there to pay those insane prices for things that aren’t worth it that — enabling all of this to continue. Take these two Cadillac XLR-Vs I found going for over $70,000.
First, a little background on the XLR. If you ever thought to yourself “Cadillac should’ve made its own version of the Corvette,” look no further because that’s damn near what the XLR was. The XLR rode on GM’s Y platform, which is to say that it was based on the C6 Corvette. They were even manufactured together at Corvette’s Bowling Green facility.
The XLR was more than just a Vette clone though. It was a GT that had its sights set squarely on cars like the Mercedes SL and Lexus SC430. It was Cadillac’s tech-laden, Art & Science designed flagship. Power came from Cadillac’s 4.6-liter Northstar V8 with 320 horsepower. That engine was paired with a five-speed automatic. There was a folding metal hardtop, full led lights, radar based cruise control (which was a big deal back then) and heated and cooled seats.
The inside was much less impressive. This was mid-00s GM of course, but hey, there was a speedo and clock that were designed by Bulgari!
When Cadillac decided it wanted to chase the Germans and created the V performance brand in 2005, the XLR was one of the first cars to get the performance treatment. Cadillac’s V engineers threw a supercharger on the Northstar, which gave it 443 horsepower. A heavy-duty six-speed automatic was paired with the engine to handle the 414 lb-ft of torque. It also received chrome 19-inch wheels, a mesh grille, and larger brakes lifted from the Corvette’s Z51 package. It was quick, with a 0-60 time of 4.7 seconds, down from the nearly 6.0 second run the regular XLR had. But it wasn’t cheap. Cadillac wanted buyers to drop $100,000 for one, which is probably why only 2,188 were ever sold from 2006 to 2009.
This brings me to the two XLR-Vs for sale a Jessup Auto Plaza in Palm Springs, California. There are two for sale; one 2007 and one 2009. Both have low miles, and with this being Palm Springs I’m sure they were driven by some AARP member locally. Their Carfax histories show they were barely driven though. Both have had three owners: the 2007’s first owner drove just 782 miles a year in his five years of ownership; owner number two did just 886 a year in eight years; owner three only had the car for eight months. The 2009 is the same more or less: owner one put just 1,060 miles a year in seven years; owner two 175 miles in their year of ownership and owner three doing just 270 per year in three years of ownership.
The dealer’s asking price? They want $76,000 for the ‘07 XLR-V and $78,000 for the ‘09. Are they worth this much? Maybe to the right buyer, which isn’t me, nor anyone else I know. Kelly Blue Book says that both are worth nearly half that: just over $40,000 for the 2009 and just over $32,000 for the 2007.
Some might look at this and think a high asking price is worth it because the cars have been garaged and well maintained. But these are 10-year-old+ Cadillacs with equally old tech that can be expensive to repair, like the folding metal roof, which was made for GM by a company that doesn’t even exist anymore. (They were bought by Magna International in 2005.)
While we may never see something like the XLR from Cadillac again, there are plenty of other cars I’d be willing to drop nearly $80,000 and a low mileage XLR-V isn’t one of them. I’ll give them $25,000 and not a penny more.