The Kia Stinger Will Be One Hell Of A Used Car

The Kia Stinger finally debuted and I cannot wait for it to hit the used car market. The Korean brand’s first attempt to crack into the midsize sports sedan segment is good for every member of society. Even if you can’t afford a new one, the cruel mistress of depreciation will soon have her way with the Stinger and that’s very good news.

See, Kia may offer some great cars, but one thing the brand can’t escape is its poor resale value. Once a Stinger leaves the showroom floor, the owner can watch as a third of the car’s value melts away. Even though the price of the Stinger hasn’t been officially announced, we expect it to slot between the Cadenza and K900. This means a starting price in the low-30s for the base model and mid-30s for the GT trim. You’re going to want the GT trim so you can experience the full potential of this Korean sports sedan.

The twin turbo GT puts up respectable numbers pumping out 365 horsepower and sprinting to 60 in 5 seconds. But my favorite statistic is the depreciation suffered by Kia’s products. If we look at the trends currently in play with Kia’s other premium products, they tell quite an exciting tale. The Kia Cadenza Premium currently starts at $31,990 with no additional options. However, if you check out used examples with only 25,000 miles you can expect to spend only $20,000. When I first saw this I was pretty astonished, but even Kelley Blue Book had this to say:

Just to compare the depreciation of semi luxurious sedans I ran a similar report of the Acura TLX. Both of these cars are front wheel drive and come from companies that aren’t the first names in luxury. The Acura TLX starts at $32,000 and seems to retain quite a bit more value than its rival from Kia.

With the same mileage on a base Acura TLX, the car only loses 27% of its value. That’s still a huge loss in value but when you compare that to the plummeting value of Kia’s it doesn’t seem that bad. A 38% loss in value means that if the new Kia Stinger GT is sold for $35,000 you can expect to pick one up on the used market for only $21,700. That’s the steal of the century and I can’t wait.

So people of the world, I beg you, please buy the new Stinger from Kia. Please give everyone the opportunity to buy a used twin turbo sports sedan for the price of a new Honda Civic. Tell your friends, family, dog, or anyone with $30,000 to spend on a new car because in a few years the world will be rewarded with affordable sports sedans that are affordable to own.