New Cadillac CTS Is Bigger and Better, But 20K Better from 1st Gen?

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Cadillac CTS is perfect example of what's wrong with the brand. First gen Cadillac CTS was a good car for a good price, but today's new CTS Cadillacs are very exepensive and GM may want to look into it.

When Torque News contributor Marc Dostie covered "Why Cadillac So Often Fails" we received number of good comments after that, but one comment that was sent to us today, stood out. In that comment a Cadillac CTS owners Matt Evans writes why in his opinion Cadillac fails and points to the price of the current generation CTS, which is drastically different from the first Gen CTS.

Is 3rd Gen Cadillac CTS $20K Better Than 1st and 2nd Gen?

Matt writes that he is a current Cadillac owner. He owns a 2008 CTS.

"The CTS is the perfect example of what is wrong with the brand. For example, the first two generation of Cadillac CTS were what I consider to be of good value. The vehicle was not as good as the German cars, but sold well because you got a nice car for a good price. Now the 3rd generation CTS no longer represents a good value. The price increase was supposed to be because you were getting a bigger and better car. True, the car is bigger and better, but not 20k better. Cadillac is trying to be something it isn't... And that's killing the sales on the CTS. The GM dealer in my town wants 65k for a fully loaded CTS! This vehicle no longer represents a good value at that price. If Cadillac wants sales to pick up again it needs to be honest with itself and accept who its real customers are," Evans write to Torque News.

"Who are Cadillac's customers? The people that cant afford a BMW or Mercedes," Evans conduced in his comment.

Indeed, I checked and the fully loaded V-Sport Premium Luxury can even reach 71,790 dollars on Cadillac's website. That's kind of expensive, considering there are good value Lexus vehicles, Mercedes and BMW cars it has to compete with.

I asked other Cadillac owners at Cadillac CTS/CTS-V Owners/Admirers group on Facebook about this perspective and many agreed that the 1st Generation and 2nd Generation Cadillac CST were better values than the 3rd gen CST. In fact, they say the first gen CTS-V vehicles hold their value pretty well. The starting price of CST is $46,990.

Yet, Cadillac is a great car with a great heritage. If you are a Cadillac owner or a fan we would like to hear your voice in the comments section below for discussion. Let us know what you think about the value. If you liked this article and think it may help your friends, consider sharing or tweeting it to your followers.

Submitted by Nick (not verified) on November 28, 2017 - 8:37PM

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People who complain about the price of the CTS just don't get it, plain and simple. It's a great car, hands down the best in its class in terms of performance and driving dynamics. I'm not just talking about the V, all trim levels of the CTS are better performers than equal trim levels of competing cars. Not to mention that a similarly equipped 5 series or e class is still more expensive.

Nick I totally agree with your comment on the CTS driving dynamics. Pretty much no other sedan handles and drives as well as the CTS in the class for the price. The problem for the CTS is image. When a person pays $77,000 for a luxury car they want more than great driving dynamics, they want cachet. And yes $77,000 is what a full load 2018 CTS goes for in my city, and no it doesn't have the image or cachet that a German car has. Cadillac built garbage for 30 years and is way better now, but not better enough to make a BMW guy spend his cash on a car that doesn't fit the image he wants to portray.

Submitted by Vince (not verified) on November 28, 2017 - 10:30PM

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Resale is what kills me from buying one new. Wait 1 yr and u can get one with 15k miles or less for half the price.

Submitted by Robert (not verified) on November 28, 2017 - 10:32PM

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The pricing of the new Cadillac CTS is higher on the latest generation, but it still undercuts the competition, even while offering what I believe is a better overall product. Cadillac has earned the right to charge a premium. Oh and the CTS is not selling poorly in comparison to the competition. In fact, it's pretty much middle of the pack in the US premium large car segment.

Submitted by Gerardo Cuautle (not verified) on November 29, 2017 - 4:43AM

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I am a current owner of a 2014 Cadillac CTS 2.0T I can agree that this car is not worth it’s msrp starting price of $47k in fact I waited until cadillac realized this as well and started offering incentives of several thousands of dollars. In my case I bought it in March 2015 and the dealer sold it to me for $35k which is just a few thousand above the compact size ATS msrp which at the time with current insentives although not as much as the CTS Was going for $31k .
The difference between them that stands out is the size and the led backlights and DRL and nicer grill. Inside it is the same as a 2.0T ATS . I don’t know what Cadillac was thinking that justifies their asking price of $47k since at this price you’re not getting a moonroof/sunroof , blind spot alert, navigation, reverse camera which for the $47k price point should have been standard in which i don’t have to dish out several thousand dollars more to add them on. I’m ok without all those features though and I’m very happy with my Cadillac CTS and the price I paid for of $35k the appearance, mph, and horsepower is what stands out from the rest of the competition at the price point I paid for. Cadillac makes great vehicles, but not the value it used to be

Submitted by Peter (not verified) on November 29, 2017 - 9:11AM

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It's probably better to buy them used. The price has already dropped and you may get a good value for the lower price.

Submitted by DEL (not verified) on November 29, 2017 - 6:45PM

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A new Caddy car is worth about one half what you pay as soon as you drive it off the lot. This is fine if you have money to burn. Otherwise it is one of the reasons they are not selling well.