Cadillac Is Marking Down The ATS-V By Up To $20,000

Does this mean that no one wants Cadillac's M3 fighter?

Last summer we heard that Cadillac was having a tough time selling its ATS sedan and coupe. Even though many reviews said that it was as good as its German rivals, GM was forced to slash prices and offer a free performance driving school to boost even the high-performance ATS-V. A new ATS-V sedan starts at around $61,000 (for a 2016 model), and the coupe is slightly more at around $63,000. This makes it less expensive than the M3 and M4 by around $2,000. However, these are just MSRP prices; the real world prices are very different.

We ran a search for new Cadillac ATS-Vs as well as for new BMW M3s and M4s. For both cars, there were both 2016 and 2017 model years available at dealerships, but we couldn't believe some of the markdowns on the Cadillacs. For the M3 and M4, the least expensive new models we saw were around $66,000 for an M4, or around $2,000 more for an M3. For the ATS-V, the least expensive car we found was around just $55,000 for a coupe and about $3,000 more for the sedan. Most of the cars in this $50,000 price range had MSRP prices of over $70,000. This means that Cadillac is now selling brand-new ATS-Vs with over $20,000 worth of discounts.

So maybe that just means Cadillac is trying to get rid of some old 2016 inventory to bring in the 2017s. That's why we also looked to see how the ATS-V is doing on the used market. The ATS-V has only been on sale since 2016, so we limited our search to 2016 models. We only found a few 2016 M3 and M4 used models that have dropped below $60,000. The least expensive one we found was a 2016 M4 with 27,000 miles and a manual transmission for $55,993. By comparison, the cheapest ATS-V we found was a 2016 coupe with 11,000 miles and a manual transmission for just $46,877. Does this mean that the ATS-V could eventually be a huge bargain on the used market?

We all know that BMW M cars notoriously lose their value on the used market and eventually become quite affordable. However, it looks like the Cadillac is going through this depreciation much faster. Even though the Cadillac is slightly less expensive than the M3, it really wouldn't be worth it to purchase one unless you receive at least some of the huge discounts we mentioned, or you take advantage of the insanely cheap used prices. We have a feeling we know why the ATS-V is having so much depreciation; it's all the second generation CTS-V's fault. When the ATS-V first came out, we couldn't keep it out of the back of our minds that they would not hold up on the used market compared to the old CTS-V.

We couldn't understand why Cadillac was suddenly offering a car with a 464 hp twin-turbo V6 for around the same price that it used to sell a larger car with a 556 hp supercharged V8. We think that the ATS-V is a pretty good car, but if we had the choice on the used market, we think that the more powerful CTS-V would be the better purchase. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if the ATS-V gets even cheaper. If the ATS-V starts to drop below $40,000, it could be a really nice bargain. As more tuning companies start to offer packages for the 3.6-liter V6, a used ATS-V could be a fantastic value. We will pay attention to ATS-V prices, because a good bargain seeker may want be on the lookout.

Cadillac Is Marking Down The ATS-V By Up To $20,000

Does this mean that no one wants Cadillac's M3 fighter?

Last summer we heard that Cadillac was having a tough time selling its ATS sedan and coupe. Even though many reviews said that it was as good as its German rivals, GM was forced to slash prices and offer a free performance driving school to boost even the high-performance ATS-V. A new ATS-V sedan starts at around $61,000 (for a 2016 model), and the coupe is slightly more at around $63,000. This makes it less expensive than the M3 and M4 by around $2,000. However, these are just MSRP prices; the real world prices are very different.

We ran a search for new Cadillac ATS-Vs as well as for new BMW M3s and M4s. For both cars, there were both 2016 and 2017 model years available at dealerships, but we couldn't believe some of the markdowns on the Cadillacs. For the M3 and M4, the least expensive new models we saw were around $66,000 for an M4, or around $2,000 more for an M3. For the ATS-V, the least expensive car we found was around just $55,000 for a coupe and about $3,000 more for the sedan. Most of the cars in this $50,000 price range had MSRP prices of over $70,000. This means that Cadillac is now selling brand-new ATS-Vs with over $20,000 worth of discounts.

So maybe that just means Cadillac is trying to get rid of some old 2016 inventory to bring in the 2017s. That's why we also looked to see how the ATS-V is doing on the used market. The ATS-V has only been on sale since 2016, so we limited our search to 2016 models. We only found a few 2016 M3 and M4 used models that have dropped below $60,000. The least expensive one we found was a 2016 M4 with 27,000 miles and a manual transmission for $55,993. By comparison, the cheapest ATS-V we found was a 2016 coupe with 11,000 miles and a manual transmission for just $46,877. Does this mean that the ATS-V could eventually be a huge bargain on the used market?

We all know that BMW M cars notoriously lose their value on the used market and eventually become quite affordable. However, it looks like the Cadillac is going through this depreciation much faster. Even though the Cadillac is slightly less expensive than the M3, it really wouldn't be worth it to purchase one unless you receive at least some of the huge discounts we mentioned, or you take advantage of the insanely cheap used prices. We have a feeling we know why the ATS-V is having so much depreciation; it's all the second generation CTS-V's fault. When the ATS-V first came out, we couldn't keep it out of the back of our minds that they would not hold up on the used market compared to the old CTS-V.

We couldn't understand why Cadillac was suddenly offering a car with a 464 hp twin-turbo V6 for around the same price that it used to sell a larger car with a 556 hp supercharged V8. We think that the ATS-V is a pretty good car, but if we had the choice on the used market, we think that the more powerful CTS-V would be the better purchase. In fact, we wouldn't be surprised if the ATS-V gets even cheaper. If the ATS-V starts to drop below $40,000, it could be a really nice bargain. As more tuning companies start to offer packages for the 3.6-liter V6, a used ATS-V could be a fantastic value. We will pay attention to ATS-V prices, because a good bargain seeker may want be on the lookout.

Fun Cars On A $20,000 Budget: America’s Original BMW M3 Killer

How does the original CTS-V hold up after over a decade?

At the turn of the century, it seemed like the US car industry was heading in a very different direction than the European car industry. In the US, a luxury car was just a normal car with a different badge, some hard leather, fake wood, and let’s not forget the chrome. In 2001, BMW gave us the E46, which to this day remains one of the greatest sports saloons of all time. The US had received the previous E36 M3, but it was a watered down version of what Europe got. The E46 was practically perfect, and it was going to be tough to beat.

The E46 M3 didn’t have much competition at first. Sure there were a few cars from AMG, but they were more focused on burning rubber at a set of lights than setting fast lap times. The E46 M3 had a 3.2-liter inline-six, which produced 333 hp. This gave it a blistering 0-60 mph time of 4.8 seconds. That was almost as fast as a Corvette at the time. It seemed unlikely that any automaker could conquer the M3, but that didn’t stop Cadillac from taking one hell of a swing at it. The result from Cadillac’s hard work was the original CTS-V. Basically, Cadillac took its midsize sedan, and stuffed in the Z06’s 5.7-liter LS6 V8, which gave the CTS-V 400 hp and 395 lb-ft of torque. America was ready to smash the Germans with V8 power.

The CTS-V was astonishingly good value because a base M3 Coupe cost $47,100 in 2004, whereas the much more powerful CTS-V was $51,500, just $4,400 more. But how do these two cars fair now that both have been out of production for over ten years? Both cars can be purchased for under $20,000, but which one is the better value? As we said, the CTS-V was the much more powerful car, but this only helped it get to 60 mph in just 0.2 of a second faster at 4.6 seconds. This may be due to the Cadillac hauling around an extra 400 pounds of curb weight. Whereas the E46 has a growing collector circle around it, people seem to have forgotten about the CTS-V.

Everyone wants the much more powerful second generation CTS-V, which means that the first gen cars have often been overlooked. Even though we found plenty of M3s and CTS-Vs under $20,000, the price range was much smaller for the Cadillac. Even the most expensive CTS-V that we found was only $30,000, but a pristine M3 can command over $70,000. Anyone looking for a sound investment should probably stick with the M3, but that doesn’t mean that the Cadillac doesn’t have its advantages. Maintaining an old BMW M car is very expensive and can be a big undertaking. The Cadillac on the other hand is all GM parts so it can be much cheaper and easier to maintain.

In 2006, the Cadillac replaced the LS6 with the more modern LS2, which offered a broader torque curve with the higher displacement of 6.0 liters. It didn't help performance much, but the LS2 does have a very big aftermarket.