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Pre-purchase question: Cadenza or not? Premium or Limited?

4360 Views 8 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  SimpsonTide985
Hey Cadenza owners

I'm close to buying one - but want to be sure.

1. If you could start over, would you still buy Cadenza - or something else? Why?
2. The forum is full of threads about problems people have with Cadenza. Does it seem to have more issues than your average new car?
3. Is Limited worth the extra money? Or will Premium suffice? I understand it depends on what your needs are, but would be interested to hearing comments from Limited owners to hear if they're using the added benefits etc

Thanks!
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yes, I'd buy again. Definitely the SXL for the extra features; lots of them for the $ difference. Time has shown you can likely negotiate a price close to 8 to 9 thousand off of sticker; no other comparable car for that price point yet.
I've owned my SXL (Limited) about 5 months now and still enjoy it. I would recommend the Limited for the extras if you can swing it. You should be able to get some great deals with the 2015s just around the corner. I find the extra touches/features of the SXL useful.
No problems for me, but I'm only at 5,300 miles. I do get questions regularly from strangers wanting to know more about it and how I like it.
Hey Cadenza owners

I'm close to buying one - but want to be sure.

1. If you could start over, would you still buy Cadenza - or something else? Why?
2. The forum is full of threads about problems people have with Cadenza. Does it seem to have more issues than your average new car?
3. Is Limited worth the extra money? Or will Premium suffice? I understand it depends on what your needs are, but would be interested to hearing comments from Limited owners to hear if they're using the added benefits etc

Thanks!
1. I'd still buy a Cadenza. Everyday I keep on finding another reason why I love the car. I went cruising yesterday and got so many looks, and people asking what kind of car is that. The reaction on their faces when I told them it is a Kia was priceless!
2. Every car model has a few that are bad. My car has 20k miles on it, no issues so far.
3. The more features your car has, the more whoa's you're going to get. I would look at the features and see if you really need those features. Are you going to need a feature that beeps at you when you're going out of lane? Probably not. But it's all up to your likings and choosings. I myself will never use the lane warning feature, it just annoyed the crap out of me.
**** yeah! I love this freaking car! I have the SX-L Limited and it has all the features the BMW and Mercedes has and plus some. As everyone has said, they can't believe its a Kia!!! I'm going on 10k and its still drives like the 1st day I got it...
I would buy my Premium again. I think I am a rare one here that actually leased mine and got a great deal on the Premium lease. I honestly didn't want the other features that were added with the Limited except maybe the adaptive cruise, the others just seem annoying to me personally. I think the fogs are also LED on the limited, but that is a $50 swap. I got the tech package with mine though so I have everything but a few upgrades. I still have the panoramic roof (1 of the big things I wanted on my new car), cooled/vented seat (only driver, pre-October '13 build), driver leg extension, all heated seats, articulating headlights, rear sunshade, etc... I only have about 4500 miles on my car but still love it. Runs great and it does change people's mind about Kia when I tell them and they see it. I have only ever seen 1 other Cadenza once in Indianapolis, it was white and looked nice, but I've never seen it or another again. It looks like a beefier Optima and I like that. I haven't had any problems with mine and see a few people on here who have had problems and I hope that I don't have any problems either. The thing that strikes me is hearing problems about a car that has sold in relatively low volume, the flip side being it's still in its 1st year here in the states. The 2 things I wish we had were LED DRLs... and DRLs in general. If you do purchase this be aware that we don't have any type of DRL, not a huge deal but be aware. Some people have rewired some of their lights to be DRLs, others have bought kits and wired them to what looks like an open area where they can go, just browse the forums. Also, take 1 for a test drive, won't hurt anything. If your dealer will let you take it on the highway, some people think the steering takes too much input to keep straight at higher speeds like that. I notice a tiny bit more input sometimes but not much, not annoying either.
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I love my car but I am very concerned about the value of it. I believe I am now stuck with the car. If I wanted to get out of it after two or three years, I would take a bath on the decline in value. Want to test my theory? Do a search for used Cadenza's and check out the pricing. My Cadenza stickered at $42k and I think I got discounted down to $36k. I am seeing used Cadenza's on the street for $30k.....Not a good sign in my eyes. With that in mind, I better enjoy the heck out of it because it ain't going nowhere........
1) Yes, I would still buy it. 7 months, 6500 miles, two long trips (one 800 miles round trip, the other 1000 miles round trip.

2) The only "issue" I've had with mine was a flat on rear driver's side on one of the aforementioned trips. Not really a fault of the car, obviously. So far it has had fewer issues (zero) than my last car in the same initial time of ownership, and that car was also new.

3) I'm one of the few people who bought the base trim level, and I regret it. Yeah, it will save me a little money over the life of the loan, but I miss having a sunroof, and in south Louisiana vented seats would be awesome. Also would like the lane change assist for when I'm merging on the interstate, which is multiple times a day.

I only have a few complaints:
- the car's handling isn't full-on boat, but you can definitely tell you're driving a big sedan. I would have liked for the handling to be a touch more nimble.
- the transmission can sometimes be sluggish when choosing a gear, e.g. when you punch it looking for more power or when you've let off the accelerator to slow down then press it again
- as stated here and in reviews, the front wheels and steering take a lot of input from the road and at higher speeds you will find yourself correcting the car more often than you may be accustomed to. Doesn't bug me necessarily but it is noticeable.

Other high points:
- my dealership (Kia of Baton Rouge) is awesome and has so far treated me really well, but YMMV
- the car really does look great
- minor quibbles aside, the mapping software works really well, gives me better routing information than Google Maps and is especially effective if you pay for the traffic data from Xm

Bottom line:
If you're not hung up on brand name snobbery, I think this car is a good buy assuming that either you lease it or plan on owning it long enough to pay it off. If you're a "trade every 3 years" person, then I'd think twice. As much as many of us love our Cadenzas, it is a Kia, and luxury car or not, that name will have a negative effect on secondary market/trade-in values. Not saying stay away, but definitely know that you can afford the hit you're going to take if you want to sell/trade that soon.
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I don't have a Cadenza, but older threads like these really do help someone like me, who is looking into possibly getting one---whether it means getting a CPO 2015/2016 model in a few months or possibly waiting until early next year to get a good deal on a 2017. I used to have a Sorento that was really good to me and I'd love to increase Kia's visibility and longevity as they enter this premium space.

My two cents on the Limited is that, I'd actually prefer the Premium w/ Technology over the Limited. I think the high profile chrome wheels seem to push the car a bit over the edge, style-wise for me.
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