Buyers remorse and life with your Stinger: Did you consider any other cars?

[GenesisG70]

No regrets you can't get currently in the market a Sexy grand tourismo with such a big peformance for the money , I paid 46k on my GT2 you want more then they will charge u an arm or a leg like the Germans or go same price and get the americans but reliability could suffer big time.
Decission process:
-American muscle cars unreliable parked in every corner and driven by typical 20 obnoxious boys who harrass you and want to race you all the time.

-S5 E class 3series common and mundane you can see them quite frequently, they brake or ur out of warranty will become a money pit, maintenance cost is ridiculous you are paying for the badge

-G70 Awesome but like the sexy looks of the Stinger.

No regrets spectacular car regardless of the price and feels even more sweet knowingI paid cash 46k for a fully loaded GT2. Cheets!

 

[Chucky]

I drive 80% in Sport mode and the rest in Smart mode. I have a 40 mile mostly freeway commute each way and only use Smart when not in traffic. The car seems really dead to me in Comfort and Eco and it sounds much better in Sport.

My last car was a Genesis G80 and before that was a Genesis R Spec. I spent about a year researching cars, one main criteria is that my road bike had to fit without taking off both wheels. Looked at Infinity Q50 (frumpy. soft outdated, bike in back seat), BMW 440 Gran Coupe (nice but too common), Genesis G70 (fun but too small), used Porsche Cayenne GTS (beautiful but felt heavy and has expensive maintenance issues), Panamera ticked a lot of boxes but I hate the styling. I looked at a few others but it came down to Audi RS5 Sportback and the Stinger GT2; I know the RS5 is almost twice the price but it made the final list until I learned my bike would not fit without taking off both wheels, I then was looking for a used Audi RS7 (still one of my favorite cars of all time). Due to my company providing me a car instead of an allowance I ended up with the Stinger. Absolutely no regrets I love this car and it's even rarer than the Audi 7 series; I do still long for an RS7 and will have one one day

 

[eflyguy]

I chose to wait for the Stinger after being "this" close to buying a $100,000 AMG or BMW M3 or M4, and I am not sorry. It's not my primary vehicle, - I also have a recent Sorento and an '03 F150 as well. The Stinger is primarily my "fun in the mountains", road trip, and drag strip car. I do use it around town now and then, however.

 

[Redvoodoo55]

So here is my journey to the Stinger GT:

My weekend car is a 15' Porsche Cayman GTS and I was previously using a 12' VW GTI as my daily driver, until my wife and I recently gave the GTI to my 19 year old son. I have always had a passion for and owned German cars, so about 6 - 7 weeks ago the car shopping for a lightly used German daily driver began.

My goals for the new daily were, more comfort and luxury than the GTI without losing all the sportiness, fun, and function of the GTI for less than $35k and had at least some warranty left. So here were my initial suspects and I have added some thoughts/issues about each:

1. 16'/17' Audi S3 - Liked this option except it has a bit more turbo lag than the Stinger and no Audi dealer will CPO them right now because of a pending recall.
2. 16' BMW 340i w/ M Pkg & Track Handling Pkg - This option was closest to the Stinger but with less warranty and of course its a BMW, which means expensive maintenance and repairs to come.
3. 17' BMW 428i Coupe - This one was the most "economical" on paper and had the most warranty, but again BMW = expensive maintenance and repairs to come.
4. 17'/18' VW Golf R - Loved the way it drove, but wanted something a bit more stylish and more comfortable.

In the back of my mind I kept thinking that I should try the Stinger GT but the front of my mind would not allow it because it's a non-German Kia! I finally convinced myself that I should at least give it a test drive before pulling the trigger on one of the cars listed above. Needless to say I was impressed and convinced of the value proposition. I can get this level of performance, comfort, luxury, from a Kia? And icing on the cake, I get an amazing new car warranty, 0% financing, and all for less than $35k? I was hooked! So, I found a car fresh off the boat with 0 test drive miles that I will pick up Saturday 8/31 and can not be more excited or pleased!

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

Am I the only one that finds this thread interesting but not committed enough to read these thesis length posts lol. It eems like we all considered the same cars and came to the same conclusion. For under 50k there's really no competition for us. We all like different. We all like making a statement.

I read police reports, legal docs and other long wordy crap, hence my lack of commitment.

 

[eflyguy]

If you're not interested in others opinions/experiences, you're free to ignore it.

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

It was a joke guy, did you not see the lol AT THE BEGINNING? Grab a midol.

 

[soulvengeace]

I considered a used Q50, new V6 Challenger, and new V6 300. I also briefly considered a Mustang and Camaro, but really needed a 4 door to drop the kid off at school. The blue color is really what sealed it for me, plus the amount of room. I really liked the Q50, but it felt tiny inside. The FiatChrysler twins weren't too bad, but the interior just didn't do it for me, although the 300 was marginally better in that department. No regrets so far.

 

[Flameangel]

Kia Sorrento. I bet you are glad you got the STINGER instead. At least you are one of a kind rather than one of the many SUVs on the road now. I also considered a Mustang GT but was not impressed with the ANCAP rating of 3 stars for the second generation especially when my kids would be travelling in the back. Also Ford sales have dropped off a cliff recently with only the Ranger and Mustang sales keeping their head above the water. Kia is killing them at the moment. Not sure you can trust Ford either. Look at what happened with the dodgy gearboxes in the Ford focus of a few years back and Fords refusal to replace or fix them. There was no choice in the end for me.
Plus Stinger is way sexier than Sorrento.

Yep, way sexier. The Mustang being 2 door aren't practical family cars IMHO so another reason Stinger won out. Our other cars were Kia's , still got the faithful little Cerato hatch that has done over 170,000 kms and never missed a beat. Our Kia's have proven to be very reliable and you just can't go wrong with the long warranty

 

[turboAWD]

I think that for many people, including myself, the answer comes down to: best compromise between sporty, reliable, safe, modern and roomy for this point in our lives.

 

[Rynil2000]

I considered a used Q50, new V6 Challenger, and new V6 300. I also briefly considered a Mustang and Camaro, but really needed a 4 door to drop the kid off at school. The blue color is really what sealed it for me, plus the amount of room. I really liked the Q50, but it felt tiny inside. The FiatChrysler twins weren't too bad, but the interior just didn't do it for me, although the 300 was marginally better in that department. No regrets so far.

Oh, man. I drove a V6 300 when my Stinger has to be in the shop. What a pig! Like driving a Lazy Boy sofa. Hands down would have picked it to drive Uber though. Short acceleration was decent and the back seats were plush.

 

[Dan1028]

Am I the only one that finds this thread interesting but not committed enough to read these thesis length posts lol. It eems like we all considered the same cars and came to the same conclusion. For under 50k there's really no competition for us. We all like different. We all like making a statement.

I read police reports, legal docs and other long wordy crap, hence my lack of commitment.

TL;DR

 

[Chark]

I'm lucky in that I have a Challenger Hellcat as well as a Stinger GT2 for my DD. I considered the G70, but it's too small and generic-looking compared to the Stinger, IMO.

How do the Stinger and Hellcat compare for you from an insurance standpoint?

 

[Pnbnationsbest]

TL;DR

If you don't care about my opinion of experience don't read it!

 

[MerlintheMad]

A shortened version of why I have the first new car in my life: A friend dropped the Stinger promo book on me as a joke (here's your next new car; I've never had a new car). I read it all through the winter whenever I was sitting on the pot ; my car magazines are there (the same friend gives me his old car mags when he's through with them, had been doing that for years). I'm not a car guy. But something about the Stinger story reached me. A Kia? Inconceivable. That alone piqued my interest: because the concept of the Gran Turismo is: fun driving and practicality and style when executed right: and the Stinger has all of that. When I returned from visiting our terminally ill daughter-in-law (a two day road trip to TX in a mini van, caravanning with my son's family in their mini van), I was changed in outlook: I wanted to see a Stinger and drive one, so I did. And three days later I drove away with mine. Simple as that. Not an impulse buy; rather a considered decision to start traveling before it is too late.

And everything about the "hype" by Kia has proven to be true. My car is as close to perfect for me as I can imagine. I wouldn't change anything, not even the color (my wife's one input/insistence ). I love every chance to get behind the wheel. And I use the performance capabilities often. On this trip down here (SLC to Atlanta) I "did some things" I never would have experienced in a lifetime of continued sedate, boring, yet practical to the max, rides. I am a changed man child.

 

[Rob M]

I was basically looking at 3 vehicles -Malibu Premium, Stinger GT2 and used 2014 - 2015 DB9. I wasn't sure any of them would be as good as my 2004 2.2L Olds Alero, but ultimately I settled for the Stinger.

 

[turboAWD]

I was basically looking at 3 vehicles -Malibu Premium, Stinger GT2 and used 2014 - 2015 DB9. I wasn't sure any of them would be as good as my 2004 2.2L Olds Alero, but ultimately I settled for the Stinger.

I feel like I'm being trolled...

 

[Jacques]

I was getting tired of my 2013 Optima SX as a daily, so I was looking for an upgrade. I had narrowed it down to the Q50 Red Sport, GS 350 F Sport, TLX A-Spec, G70, and the Stinger. I briefly thought of the Charger R/T, but seeing that they're everywhere, and I didn't care for the interior, I took that off my list. I also did briefly consider the Accord 2.0T Sport (with manual gearbox), but it felt like more a lateral move. I had test drove a Stinger GT a year prior (when my Optima was in for a recall), and had already felt at that point that was the next direction I was going. Fast forward to this past May, the night before I bought mine, I went with my daughter to the dealership while it was closed, just to look at the Stingers on the lot. We looked at both a black and red GT2, but she stopped in particular to the Ceramic Silver GT1 and wanted to have a pic in front of it.


The next day, I went to the dealership to test drive that CS GT1, and was planning to go to another dealership to look at a 2018 HiChroma Red GT2 later that night. Let's just say I never made it to that other dealership...
Pic above is my Stinger and the Optima I traded in. This was sitting in the lot all of 2 days before I got it. Sales manager had his eye on it, but I beat him to it. Looking back, I'm blaming my daughter.

I will add that the Stinger ticks all the boxes I wanted in a sports sedan. If and when I get the Prelude running again (rebuilding motor), that one serves as my autocross/roadcourse "other fun" car.

 

[Rob M]

I feel like I'm being trolled...

Lol, just a little. But those were 3 cars that i was researching. DB9 would be neat to have but i don't have a garage, and stinger is my daily driver subjected to I95 perils on a daily basis. The 2004 olds alero was actually quite reliable and incredibly affordable. Bought it for $11K with 28K miles sold it for $600 with 207K miles after 14 years. It didnt grip the road like a sports car but it was well balanced and predictable. Did most of the maint and repairs myself. Part of the reason i am able to own stinger outright.

 

[blanconegro2019]

I've been driving big cars over the last several years. 2007 A8L with almost 200K miles, 2017 Yukon Denali XL, and a 2018 VW Passat-4th Passat I've owned. I've been following the Stinger since 2017. I'm always leery about new cars coming into the market. So I've waited a couple years, lurking, watching, reading everything I could get my hands on about the Stinger. My mind was made up this year, it was going to happen. My daughter was going to need a car this year, and since we gave her the Passat, it was time for me to get a new car. The Yukon belongs to my wife and the Audi is nickel and diming me every other month, which made my decision even easier. Ever since we brought the car home there has been no regret what so ever. The only minor issue was paying insurance on another vehicle. Other than that I have ZERO regrets so far. Even the wife who was totally against the Stinger now says the car is very impressive and wants to drive it all the time.