April Sales Announced , Stinger - 939 units

[only1harry]

Sorry duplicate.

 

[only1harry]

Doesn't a low # of cars sold, or decreasing sales mean less resale value? I mean the Stinger is not a 911 Turbo, Lotus or Ferrari which are expected to sell a few units a month. It's supposed to be a mass produced car.

Everyone likes exclusivity, but more often than not non-exotic cars need strong sales numbers to maintain a good resale value. Cars have to be sought after to get a good buck when it's time to sell it or trade in.

I was looking at the Golf R about 1.5 years ago and was surprised to see their resale value was not good at all, even though most dealers would not let them go for anything less than MSRP. They were even hard to find because they don't make a lot of them. But their resale value suffered a lot. It was almost comparable to Bimmers, MB, etc. which lose half their value in 2.5 to 3 years. I am not comparing the Golf R to the Stinger or claim it to have the same reliability, but it just goes to show you that exclusivity or low sales is not always good.

 

[JustThatPenguin]

The K900 sells like in the literal dozens and Kia not only keeps bringing it here, they just refreshed it. Also remember that Genesis is getting off the ground now and starting to move G70s which can cannibalize Stinger sales some. And Kia seems to still be updating the Stinger and making limited editions... I don't see it going anywhere.

The k900 sells tons in Asia and middle east. It made sense for the company to refresh it. People in America though, can't seem to get rid of the brand stigma.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Doesn't a low # of cars sold, or decreasing sales mean less resale value?

Does that matter? If you are enthused about the Stinger, you want the car to have FUN with, not sell. If fate later decrees crap resale value, you will have had your fun regardless. This is not an investment! But, again fate, could decree otherwise. After all, who would ever have guessed that one of the 38 Ferrari 250 GTOs would sell privately for c. $75 million!?!?

 

[Audible Silence]

We left out the punches!

Blasphemy!!

 

[Kamauxx]

Doesn't a low # of cars sold, or decreasing sales mean less resale value? I mean the Stinger is not a 911 Turbo, Lotus or Ferrari which are expected to sell a few units a month. It's supposed to be a mass produced car.

Everyone likes exclusivity, but more often than not non-exotic cars need strong sales numbers to maintain a good resale value. Cars have to be sought after to get a good buck when it's time to sell it or trade in.

I was looking at the Golf R about 1.5 years ago and was surprised to see their resale value was not good at all, even though most dealers would not let them go for anything less than MSRP. They were even hard to find because they don't make a lot of them. But their resale value suffered a lot. It was almost comparable to Bimmers, MB, etc. which lose half their value in 2.5 to 3 years. I am not comparing the Golf R to the Stinger or claim it to have the same reliability, but it just goes to show you that exclusivity or low sales is not always good.

*Meh*

My car is paid for and I'm not looking to sell it. If I were concerned about trade in/resale value I would be in a Toyota Tacoma/4runner or Jeep Wrangler.

 

[MisterMac]

Does that matter? If you are enthused about the Stinger, you want the car to have FUN with, not sell. If fate later decrees crap resale value, you will have had your fun regardless. This is not an investment! But, again fate, could decree otherwise. After all, who would ever have guessed that one of the 38 Ferrari 250 GTOs would sell privately for c. $75 million!?!?

GAP coverage is your badly needed friend.

 

[TODDK]

Stinger lacks the marketing that the Telluride is getting.

Stinger is in a mid market and most people (not us) don't want to spend $40K+ on a car.

 

[MerlintheMad]

GAP coverage is your badly needed friend.

What would the GAP on a Ferrari 250 GTO even be??

 

[MisterMac]

What would the GAP on a Ferrari 250 GTO even be??

That's a fair question. I've never seen one financed. Mostly cash purchases there!

However, GAP coverage is usual limited to 25%.

 

[mldavis2]

Of course UVs (they are not "sport" UVs -- nothing "sporty" about them) are the station wagons of today's market and the single most popular vehicle format in the U.S. On my recent trips to Europe, UVs are a much smaller percentage of the market, likely because of fuel consumption and narrow streets. So it is not unexpected that Kia spends quite a bit on the Telluride.

But the Stinger is the flagship and it is interesting that they have not invested in yet more advertising after the initial run at introduction. Perhaps Kia uses the Stinger as a "loss leader" in which there is little profit and doesn't really want to sell 5,000 units a month.

Despite the usual list of complaints, the Stinger overall is still getting outstanding reviews from the pros and reviewers. And it is still a stylish bargain for car gurus and fans of a bargain in performance.

 

[Ruturaj]

Of course UVs (they are not "sport" UVs -- nothing "sporty" about them) are the station wagons of today's market and the single most popular vehicle format in the U.S. On my recent trips to Europe, UVs are a much smaller percentage of the market, likely because of fuel consumption and narrow streets. So it is not unexpected that Kia spends quite a bit on the Telluride.

But the Stinger is the flagship and it is interesting that they have not invested in yet more advertising after the initial run at introduction. Perhaps Kia uses the Stinger as a "loss leader" in which there is little profit and doesn't really want to sell 5,000 units a month.

Despite the usual list of complaints, the Stinger overall is still getting outstanding reviews from the pros and reviewers. And it is still a stylish bargain for car gurus and fans of a bargain in performance.

They are utility vehicles for sports (carrying skis etc). I think that's what they mean by sport utility not sport as in off-roading or track.

 

[Peeso33]

Stinger lacks the marketing that the Telluride is getting.

Stinger is in a mid market and most people (not us) don't want to spend $40K+ on a car.

What's a mid market? By size, price or performance? Really wish they did more marketing for the Stinger though.

 

[Ozstung]

What's a mid market? By size, price or performance? Really wish they did more marketing for the Stinger though.

I don't the rarer the better imo, more exclusive.

 

[MisterMac]

The Stinger is "Engineered by Excellence.' It is meant to be "Exclusive, Exquisite, and Evolutionary."

We are part of a group intended to be small. Set apart, so to speak. Enjoy!

 

[Capecod]

I've only seen 1 on the road, the only people I know who know what it is or even heard of it are my brother and nephew, both in the car business, one is a service manager of a Genesis dealer.

 

[MerlintheMad]

The Ceramic Gray was parked in its usual spot this morning as I went to spray my car off in the hand car wash across the street. That is the fourth or fifth time I've seen it. I can reasonably call it "the neighborhood". So, there are two of them, his and mine, that I know of. I think I like it this way. If I start seeing them more often, that will make me look back on my first year of "exclusive" ownership with nostalgia.

 

[Fred Pahlke]

I know I'm in the minority but I actually don't want Kia to sell a ton of Stingers. I enjoy the exclusivity. I loved being the first in my old town to have one. I loved that I never saw any when I moved to my current location. I hate that I see a blue, red, and ceramic silver around my house a couple of times a month.

I know it's a selfish view, but as far as I'm concerned the less the better.

I too have no interest in seeing the car all over the place. Here in Edmond OK, I have viewed only one other Stinger in 13 months on the streets and in the greater OKC area, only twice I have seen one on the road. Edmond is approx. 100k and OKC way over 1.2K in population. When I bought my Yellow GT2 there were only two yellows in the OKC market and I don't think I would ever see on here in Central Oklahoma.....so I get a great many looks as my yellow is stunning. Just saying.

 

[M'Kehyah]

The comments as people approach my car are changing - it used to be 99% "What is it?" and now it is 30/70 "How do you like your Stinger? I'm thinking of getting one..."

Word is getting around... just slowly

And I love the attention she gets

 

[Capecod]

I've only had 1 young kid at a DD drive thru say Nice car! Its rained everyday since I picked it up 2 weeks ago so that may have something to do with the lack of compliments.....LOL

 

[GRStinger]

It looks like cars themselves are down 7.9% this month across the board vs. a slight gain for trucks. Also compared to last year it has to compete against the G70 which probably brings down the numbers a fair amount.

Another interesting thing to compare it against is the Chevy SS. The Stinger total sales have already far surpassed the total sales of the Chevy SS over its whole run in the US.

Still I wish it sold more to better reward Kia for making fun cars like this.

Agreed re: the G70. When introduced, I was a bit curious why Hyundai/Kia would put out the G70 right behind the Stinger, and it has to be cannibalizing some of the Stinger sales. As I've said elsewhere here, I never thought that Kia would sell a lot of Stingers. It's definitely special - it has a niche... and that's perfectly fine with me.