Cost of ownership as Kia’s new era of performance oriented

[regnitStinger]

With the old Kia we know it’s less expensive to maintain and repair. As we are entering a new era of the brand being sporty/performance oriented ...starting out with the Stinger. Is the privilege of less expensive cost of ownership gonna still be around? Yes, here in the US we still get the longest powertrain warranty. What about unwarrantable items? Say, break pads on the bright red Brembos? Yes, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are one of the best/stickiest high performance tires and they come with a premium price tag. Higher fuel consumption is also an icing on the cake here too. Naturally, the wear and tear on parts of high performance vehicles are higher. I’m sure there are more I haven’t mentioned. Can we just stop kidding ourselves it’s cheaper to own Kia from now on?

 

[Chris]

With the old Kia we know it’s less expensive to maintain and repair. As we are entering a new era of the brand being sporty/performance oriented ...starting out with the Stinger. Is the privilege of less expensive cost of ownership gonna still be around? Yes, here in the US we still get the longest powertrain warranty. What about unwarrantable items? Say, break pads on the bright red Brembos? Yes, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S are one of the best/stickiest high performance tires and they come with a premium price tag. Higher fuel consumption is also an icing on the cake here too. Naturally, the wear and tear on parts of high performance vehicles are higher. I’m sure there are more I haven’t mentioned. Can we just stop kidding ourselves it’s cheaper to own Kia from now on?

Agreed. I think the cost of ownership is not near as good as most people think it is. I did some research and compared a Jag and a Genesis the 5 year maintenance cost was only 500 more for the Jag and the actual cost of ownership was less on the Jag as the Genesis had far worse depreciation. There are a lot of banks that will not even give a loan on a new Kia at MSRP because they know the car is not worth the money. Kia has a big problem in this regard. They have spent too many years luring customers in with large discounts. Now everyone including banks expect it. I'm not sure how they change at this point, other than to drop the MSRP on all their cars and quit discounting them. The problem with that is they will lose a lot of sales because no one buys a Kia without a discount.

 

[regnitStinger]

I like rooting for the underdog especially when it has so much potential like the Stinger but this seems like a catch 22 of perceived and actual values.

 

[Kia Stinger]

I don't think any automobile manufacturer wants to be known as a "discount brand" forever.