Any concerns buying a CPO Stinger

[joshua05]

I'm in the market for a car and found a CPO 2023 GT2 in Ceramic Silver with 15k miles. I went to go see it yesterday and it drove really smooth on test drive. I didn't get it up to any consistent high speeds on the highway, just gave it a little gas on the city road. Seems great. I did pop the hood and noticed it had aftermarket strut tower bars, but everything else seemed normal. I asked the salesman why the car was returned and he told me that the original owner returned it for a larger family vehicle, but when I got inside to his office I met the sales manager and he told a story of the original owner "buying too much car" and had to downgrade to a Kia K5. Thought the conflicting stories was kind of funny, but chalked it up to salesmen being salesmen.

Anyway, I plan on going back there tomorrow to see the car, and would like to know if there are common things I should look for before going through with it. Also, does 15k miles sound high for one year of ownership? I'm just worried the car was wailed on for a year and the owner had his fun and returned it. Not saying that's a bad thing, but just want to be fully informed before making my decision. I'm excited and nervous!

 

[Snicklefritz]

'wailing on a car' won't hurt it as long as no accidents happen. you can't hurt these engines by high revving them. they have safety power cuts, ask me how I know. modding the engine, now that can mess them up. but a cpo won't happen if kia knows the drivetrain was modified and then wailed on. a cpo is a great insurance that your warranty is safe. 15,000 miles in a year isn't excessive in the least. I did that much my first year, but half of it was road trips.

check out the paint thoroughly, some vehicles get orange peel clear coat and a handful of other paint defects. the earlier model years had more complaints about paint but the occasional vehicle from late model years have not entirely moved on from paint quality issues. brakes should be smooth. 'shudder' means pad deposits, which means clean or turn rotors and get new pads, that should not be on your dime. listen for cabin noises, like the sunroof ticking / clicking / rattling or a persistent rattle / thunk from the hatch, the two most common irritating noise areas reported. make sure that the test drive or drives feel good in every way. don't talk yourself into buying a less than completely satisfying stinger. good hunting.