Wisdom for Potential Buyer?

[cwatt79]

Hey guys!

I'm new here, and I'm close to pulling the trigger on a new Stinger GT1. I have some questions and I'm hoping for some general advice/wisdom.

For some background.. I had a 2011 Mustang GT for five years and I loved that car, but a year ago I decided it was time to get something a little more practical for holding stuff and people, and more comfortable and with some modern features like the active driving assist (I do some full-day drives quite often). I traded the Mustang for a 2018 Honda Accord Touring 2.0T. I have loved the comfort and feature content of that car, and thought I was content with the decent performance out of the 2.0T and 10-speed automatic. 0-60 in 5.3 seconds in an Accord! Alas, I have the itch for something a little more special. Something that looks more aggressive and distinguished (I'm a car guy after all!), and something with a little more performance capability, both in speed and handling. However, I have come to really enjoy and depend on the added practicality of the Accord, for its comfort on long trips and its ability to swallow surprising amounts of cargo. Therefore, I need something that can outperform it while matching its practicality and feature set, all at a reasonably affordable price.

Then I discovered the Stinger. It was like a revelation when I realized there exists a car that matches the performance of my 2011 'Stang while exceeding the practicality/comfort of my '18 Accord, all at a price I can actually afford/justify.
I'm currently in discussion with a couple dealers...

So, any advice on what I can expect in moving from an Accord to a Stinger?

I'd be trading a car I bought new only one year ago, so I'm taking a big hit to do this. Is it worth it?

Will I be just as comfortable on a 400 mile trip?
Is the drive just as engaging and thrilling a year or two later? Does looking at it (inside and out) ever get old?

I know I can expect a higher cost of ownership. There's the obvious hit in fuel economy and the requirement for premium fuel. My insurance will also be higher.
What about maintenance cost? How much more maintenance am I looking at?
And tires.. how long will I get out of a set of tires? I know I won't be able to rotate with the staggered setup, and the tires themselves will be a lot more expensive.
I know the Stinger doesn't have a shiny record for quality, but honestly I'm not afraid of dealing with an occasional issue for a car this special. I had occasional issues with my Mustang. Kia's excellent warranty brings peace of mind on this front as well, and there's a dealer only 10 minutes from my house.

I appreciate any feedback you guys have for me, and I welcome all opinions.

Thanks!!

 

[Gbala]

Welcome!

For me I had an 2013 A6 that I put 110000 miles on it and it treated me great but I was looking for something that more like the sportback body style. Before the A6 I had an Accord which I had for 8 years with few problems. So I also checked out the new accords, great cars checked most of the boxes I was looking to fill but just didn't feel sporty enough in the look and feel, and I saw so many on the road. Then I stumbled upon the Stinger, its a head turner. I have to say it really fills the boxes I was looking for. great comfort features and ride, Also sporty enough and looks great. I picked up the GT1 2019. I can't answer to long term review since I have only had mine a month, but having been an Accord owner in the past and also having an Audi, it fills the creature comforts nicely but has and edge to it. I do a lot of driving in the summers so I haven't had it on the road for any long drives yet but the seats feel comfortable enough. It also has the safety features that can be switched on for those long drives.

 

[MerlintheMad]

That was quite an intro post! Welcome to the forum. I love answering questions about this car. I am not a car guy, but I am a Stinger Guy.

I've had mine just short of 23 months and over 32K miles. Even as I write, mine is over at the dealer for its 30K miles (Service 4) "checkup". The expensive one: $700. Yeah, but they check everything and swap out a lot of fluids and filters, etc. It takes four to five hours.

Price point: the Stinger wins everything.

Practicality: the Stinger wins again. 23.3 cubic feet cargo space: back seats down, hatch cover removed, 40.9 cubic feet! That's like two refrigerators! That's SUV capacity, in a fastback hatchback. Style! Practicality! 114.4" wheelbase. Seriously, this car has it.

Performance: wins again. Torque Monster. More top speed than you'll ever need or probably ever use. You can track this car and push the potential that way. (Or find yourself in the perfect scenario with nobody around; has happened to me once; the most fun I've ever had in any car.)

Rarified ownership: I've seen 26 Stingers "in the wild" in the time I've had this car; and I've taken six road trips and only seen two of those 26 on the last two roads trips; none at all before that.

FUN: the Stinger wins again. I enjoy this car as much as the day I drove away with it. No exaggeration. I gave it a bath on Friday morning down in Huntington Beach, and again yesterday afternoon, preparing for today's service (didn't want road grime getting rubbed up against in the service center, heh!). I wash my car every time it rains or just because I have fun doing it. Inconceivable! I used to HATE washing any of my cars. Not anymore.

Comfort and luxury: wins again (price point really compares here; Stinger has slightly less quality materials than cars costing ten, twenty thousand more).

Quality: the Stinger is a winner. Kia has upped their game Big Time. I spent two winters ago reading about the Stinger, unbelieving that Kia was for real with this car, with the hype they were selling. The test drive at the end of March was "fatal". Three days later I bought my GT1.

(edit slightly off cubic feet figures, and to add: Tires: I am on my second set of Michelins (currently in the shed till winter is over). I got c. 18K miles out of the rears and c. 22K miles out of the fronts.)

 

[namja]

I'd be trading a car I bought new only one year ago, so I'm taking a big hit to do this. Is it worth it?

Are you upside down on loan at this point? Or if you paid cash, does the average payment per month from total cash paid exceed the value of the car? Try taking the car into some places for a valuation. Emotionally, it's definitely worth it

Will I be just as comfortable on a 400 mile trip?

Just FYI, unlikely you'll even get to 400 miles in a tank. So if anything you get to stretch each fill up lol.

And tires.. how long will I get out of a set of tires? I know I won't be able to rotate with the staggered setup, and the tires themselves will be a lot more expensive.

Just check the tread depth every so often. Not exactly sure but I thought I read someone saying they only got 6K miles out of a car (bad case scenario).

Also FWIW, check the reviews on Yelp for this 10 mile away dealership to make sure they aren't scumbags. Read: The Stinger Dealership Experience

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

You will not regret owning this car. From what I read from your post you will LOVE THIS CAR. I'm about 6 months in myself. Every single time I walk up to my car I think it looks so damn amazing. You will get other people that think the same. Be prepared to talk about the car and answer the "what is this?" question. Also work on your "It's a KIA" answer. I have had no mechanical issues with the car. Some squeaks here and there but that is so easy to just look past. This car is MAGNIFICENT. I am coming from a 2007 Honda Accord. Over twice the horsepower and nearly 3 times the torque with my JB4.

The biggest complaint I have with this car is I PUT TO MANY DAMN MILES ON IT BECAUSE I LOVE THIS CAR. If I was making twice as much money as I am now I would still buy a stinger. The fact that the car is rare and you don't see many is what I really love. It's an experience if you ever get to pull up to someone in a stinger next to you. After my first test drive of this car(I took 3 of them all in the same car) I knew I had to have it.

This car is a mileage monster. I have been on a couple long road trips. One was about 1600 round trip and another about 1000. Easy mileage. I'm not sure about the GT1 and the features but I have the GT2 and the features there make the long trips easy. Stop and Go cruise control, lane keep assist, comfy seats. This car is a winner.

I already have plans to upgrade to the 2021 as soon as it comes out if they have made some decent changes.

This car looks like it ticks all your check boxes. Welcome to the forums and hopefully you can stick around after you make your purchase that I guarantee you will not regret.

 

[cwatt79]

Are you upside down on loan at this point? Or if you paid cash, does the average payment per month from total cash paid exceed the value of the car? Try taking the car into some places for a valuation. Emotionally, it's definitely worth it

Just FYI, unlikely you'll even get to 400 miles in a tank. So if anything you get to stretch each fill up lol.

Just check the tread depth every so often. Not exactly sure but I thought I read someone saying they only got 6K miles out of a car (bad case scenario).

Also FWIW, check the reviews on Yelp for this 10 mile away dealership to make sure they aren't scumbags.

Thank you all for the responses!

I put a very large chunk down on the Accord, so I'm not upside down and I'll get a nice chunk out of the Stinger with the trade. I'm talking with a particular dealer a few hours away that has a phenomenal deal on the exact car I want, and they offered what I consider top dollar on my trade. Considering the tax advantage of trading, I don't think I can beat it selling privately.

I've read so many reviews on this car. I read the series of long-term test reviews on Motor Trend and Autoblog. One of them mentioned needing new tires after 12,000 miles with the caveat of lots of track miles on the tires and lots of very aggressive driving. My car won't see a track, and while I do drive aggressively sometimes, 95% of the time I'm doing relaxed commuting or road tripping. I would get ~20k miles on a set on my Mustang. Surely I can achieve that on the Stinger.

 

[cwatt79]

Another area of concern is maintenance. Anyone here do their own maintenance on the Stinger?

I typically do all the basic maintenance like fluid changes, brake jobs, belts, etc. I'm assuming the Stinger, like any modern vehicle, has an on-board maintenance computer system. How long are the average oil change intervals?

I've been searching the forums to try to find more about this, but I haven't so far.

 

[CeramicGT001]

Thank you all for the responses!

I put a very large chunk down on the Accord, so I'm not upside down and I'll get a nice chunk out of the Stinger with the trade. I'm talking with a particular dealer a few hours away that has a phenomenal deal on the exact car I want, and they offered what I consider top dollar on my trade. Considering the tax advantage of trading, I don't think I can beat it selling privately.

I've read so many reviews on this car. I read the series of long-term test reviews on Motor Trend and Autoblog. One of them mentioned needing new tires after 12,000 miles with the caveat of lots of track miles on the tires and lots of very aggressive driving. My car won't see a track, and while I do drive aggressively sometimes, 95% of the time I'm doing relaxed commuting or road tripping. I would get ~20k miles on a set on my Mustang. Surely I can achieve that on the Stinger.

I’m at 19,000 miles (AWD) on my original tires & wheels (pilot sport 4 & 19” GT wheels) and just checked the tread yesterday and it felt/looked like I have a good amount of tread left. Will probably ride these out for a few more thousand miles until I’m ready to buy some aftermarket 20”s.

 

[General_Vodka]

Depends on the tires. Also RWD vs AWD. I think you will like the car. Glad you are considering the v6. My current daily is a 2.4 NA Honda Wagon. So it was a pretty big upgrade to a 2018 GT2 RWD lol. The stinger is salvage, smashed, dirty and doesn't even drive properly but am I enjoying it? You bet. I have the rebuild thread on this forum.

 

[cwatt79]

I’m at 19,000 miles on my original tires & wheels (pilot sport 4 & 19” GT wheels and I just checked the tread yesterday and “it felt” like I have a good amount of tread left. Will probably ride these out for a few more thousand miles until I’m ready to buy some aftermarket 20”s.

Great to hear!

I found a PDF of the owner's manual, so I am able to look at the maintenance schedule now. 6,000 mile oil changer interval isn't too bad. 7 quarts of 10W-30! That's some thick oil. Nice.

I'd still like to hear some thoughts on DIY maintenance.

 

[Todd Piefer]

"...0-60 in 5.3 seconds..."

Going downhill maybe. Car And Driver got it down to 5.5. Motortrend had it at 5.7. The Accord is lighter than a Stinger but you're still going to feel a significant difference thanks to all of Stinger's torque.

 

[CeramicGT001]

Great to hear!

I found a PDF of the owner's manual, so I am able to look at the maintenance schedule now. 6,000 mile oil changer interval isn't too bad. 7 quarts of 10W-30! That's some thick oil. Nice.

I'd still like to hear some thoughts on DIY maintenance.

Both dealers I’ve been to used full synthetic 5w30 oil for mine and I’ve had 4 oil changes so far. So yes every 6,000 miles except for my first oil change I had done at 2,000 (Personal choice).

 

[CeramicGT001]

"...0-60 in 5.3 seconds..."

Going downhill maybe. Car And Driver got it down to 5.5. Motortrend had it at 5.7. The Accord is lighter than a Stinger but you're still going to feel a significant difference thanks to all of Stinger's torque.

And the fact that the stinger isn’t failwheeldrive

 

[Ulikefishsticks]

There are a lot of DIY's on the forum here of oil changes and other maintenance items. I like to go do it at a dealership because I am not that mechanically inclined and I want to be on good graces with KIA if I need to call in the warranty for anything big down the road. I am at nearly 16k miles on the original set of summers. Still plenty of tread to go. I can easily make it to 20k if not more. I also have a set of winters I keep on for 1 or 2 months in anticipation of bad weather or any trips to areas with snow. If you are a lead foot and like to have tires last then AWD will prevent you from doing any rubber dumps in the form of wheel spin.

Do you plan on modding the car?

 

[cwatt79]

There are a lot of DIY's on the forum here of oil changes and other maintenance items. I like to go do it at a dealership because I am not that mechanically inclined and I want to be on good graces with KIA if I need to call in the warranty for anything big down the road. I am at nearly 16k miles on the original set of summers. Still plenty of tread to go. I can easily make it to 20k if not more. I also have a set of winters I keep on for 1 or 2 months in anticipation of bad weather or any trips to areas with snow. If you are a lead foot and like to have tires last then AWD will prevent you from doing any rubber dumps in the form of wheel spin.

Do you plan on modding the car?

Cool, I'll spend some more time browsing the maintenance & DIY forum.

Good to hear about the tires. I like to "enjoy" my car to its fullest capability occasionally, but I want to stick with RWD for the driving dynamics and fun factor. I'm not that worried about the tires!

I do not plan to mod the car. My modding days are over and the standard capabilities are plenty enough for me.

 

[cwatt79]

And the fact that the stinger isn’t failwheeldrive

THIS!! This may have been the biggest factor for me. When I came out of a slow turn and pressed the pedal and felt the rear end push and rotate the car around, and even fish tail ever-so-slightly, it lit a fire inside me that I haven't felt since the Mustang. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

 

[87and66]

Another area of concern is maintenance. Anyone here do their own maintenance on the Stinger?

I typically do all the basic maintenance like fluid changes, brake jobs, belts, etc. I'm assuming the Stinger, like any modern vehicle, has an on-board maintenance computer system. How long are the average oil change intervals?

I've been searching the forums to try to find more about this, but I haven't so far.

Maybe i'm just forgetting, but I don't remember ever getting alerted to change my oil in my nearly 20k miles of driving the stinger. Maybe it knows when you change it and I've never hit the marker for alert? Anyway, I do it every 6000 miles as suggested in the manual. Mobil 1 full synthetic and a genuine kia filter kit which comes with a filter gasket and a crush washer for the drain plug. the oil isn't cheap. about $45 for a 5 quart jug, but its good stuff and worth it. Change at the dealership is just over $100 for the stinger. So you may pay almost the same, but you know its being done right with good oil when you do it yourself.

The oil change is pretty easy also if you're thin like me and put the front on ramps. You'll need a shallow 27mm socket to remove the filter housing. has to be shallow to fit in the hole in the cover under the car, or you'll have to remove the whole cover.

I don't trust anyone with my car, so I do everything myself that I possibly can. and so far, it hasn't been difficult at all to do anything I've done. Installed exhaust, intakes, catch can, dash cam, and more. tire rotations are ANNOYING with this car though. It has pinch welds for a scissor jack. You can get an adapter for a floor jack, but there's still nowhere to put a jack stand and no jack point in the middle to lift up 2 wheels at a time. So i end up using the spare as a place holder while I'm rotating them.

I got 15,000 miles out of my stock tires (18" bridgestone potenzas on AWD) but I drive pretty aggressively and may have done a fair amount of peeling out and donuts. Yup, even the AWD version can do that

looks like everyone else covered the other stuff. its a great car as we all agree. Definitely buy one!

 

[General_Vodka]

THIS!! This may have been the biggest factor for me. When I came out of a slow turn and pressed the pedal and felt the rear end push and rotate the car around, and even fish tail ever-so-slightly, it lit a fire inside me that I haven't felt since the Mustang. I didn't realize how much I missed it.

When I went for a test drive the guy with me said "this is the spot where I take all the real drivers so they can really test the car" traction off, stability off and Did a donut. From that moment I knew I would love RWD. This was my first RWD drive ever too. I also drove a 2016 g37x. It's fast but also AWD. So can't really do some rear action. Now the stinger however...

 

[CeramicGT001]

Cool, I'll spend some more time browsing the maintenance & DIY forum.

Good to hear about the tires. I like to "enjoy" my car to its fullest capability occasionally, but I want to stick with RWD for the driving dynamics and fun factor. I'm not that worried about the tires!

I do not plan to mod the car. My modding days are over and the standard capabilities are plenty enough for me.

You say that now haha but aftermarket intakes make the car twice as fun to drive. Hearing “whooosh” everytime you let off after flooring it is priceless (I’m immature) and at a minimum you’ll want to consider a catch can for longevity and peace of mind.
The funny thing about my test drive is that the salesman said I was the most tame driver he’s had, I guess subconsciously I didn’t want to rag on my new car before the break in period.

 

[General_Vodka]

minimum you’ll want to consider a catch can for longevity and peace of mind.

This right here is pure gold. You won't believe the gunk that it catches. Will be getting one for mine once I can drive it.