Buying a used Stinger, looking for advice.

[Robilar]

I've had an opportunity to buy a 2019 Stinger, GT Limited (A8), AWD here in Canada.

It was leased by a company that I have a contact at, they had bought it for an employee that they released almost immediately. As such, they have had the car stored in underground parking for about 15 months. They have someone drive it bi-weekly to keep the battery charged.

It has just under 2000km on it. It was bought new in December of 2019.

It's Thunder grey

And yes I am getting a ridiculous deal on it (as in mid 20's...) I'll be picking it up within the next week and a half.

It does qualify for the fuse recall, spoke to local Kia dealership and i can get it done without issue.

So my questions:

- The car has been sitting for a year and a half, obviously it will need a full service, fluids etc. It's been stored indoors underground but is there anything else I should be concerned about?

- Are there any maintenance items that I should be particularly concerned about that are specific to the Stinger? I had read that the brakes can be wonky and that the paint is thin. I'm planning on wrapping the car in clear wrap once I have it serviced as Canadian winters are unkind to cars.

- Are there any add-ons or accessories that I should consider? I plan to get the usual stuff, fitted rubber floor mats, etc but I do know there are some performance related accessories available and curious if there is anything on the must have list. The guy they bought it for did buy a full set of winter tires and rims that are included with the car (haven't seen them yet, hoping they are better than the standard ugly metal rims but not too picky as they are free).


Thanks!

 

[MerlintheMad]

She's a garage queen! Nothing will preserve a car better than being run a couple of times a week and then stored away in the dimness and dark. The fluids are all still brand new (oil and trans fluid and brake fluid do not deteriorate just being run very low miles in just over two years). The paint on the Stinger is not thin by industry standards. Paint is not as tough as it used to be before the Greenies messed with the formulas. That said, your decision to PPF is essential to preserving the looks of (especially) the front end. Just make sure you keep the undercarriage sprayed out during road salt season.

 

[Robilar]

Good points, i was thinking about an undercarriage rust treatment as well (The wrap company I talked to does both)

 

[SafetyPilotCal]

- The car has been sitting for a year and a half, obviously it will need a full service, fluids etc. It's been stored indoors underground but is there anything else I should be concerned about?

- Are there any maintenance items that I should be particularly concerned about that are specific to the Stinger? I had read that the brakes can be wonky and that the paint is thin. I'm planning on wrapping the car in clear wrap once I have it serviced as Canadian winters are unkind to cars.

- Are there any add-ons or accessories that I should consider? I plan to get the usual stuff, fitted rubber floor mats, etc but I do know there are some performance related accessories available and curious if there is anything on the must have list. The guy they bought it for did buy a full set of winter tires and rims that are included with the car (haven't seen them yet, hoping they are better than the standard ugly metal rims but not too picky as they are free).


Thanks!

I wouldn't even bother with a full fluid flush, there's really no need. I'd just change the oil and filter.

There's nothing really particular about Stinger maintenance, but the brakes can shudder if you don't "re-bed" the pads every now and then. The pads are garbage and leave deposits behind on the rotor. If you get brake shudder, do a couple of hard stops from 60-0, which should re-bed the pads and clear off any deposits. The paint on the Stinger sucks, maybe this is just how all new cars are, but I've never had a car chip, scratch, or swirl as easy as the Stinger. PPF is a must in a place like Canada.

If I lived in an area with salt and snow, I would definitely get really good floor mats and get the car Krown coated (this is the only rust treatment worth money, IMO).

 

[Robilar]

Thanks. I'd thought rust proofing was a scam but my last couple of vehicles took a real pounding on their undercarriage. This car is pretty much new and for the minimal cost I'd like to keep it as pristine as possible.

 

[Robilar]

Also thinking about getting all black rims. The kia stock ones are fine but I prefer black out. Any recommendations that can use the stock tires? The rubber on the car I am buying is practically new, no point in changing tires if I don't have to.

These are the ones I was looking at.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Also thinking about getting all black rims. The kia stock ones are fine but I prefer black out. Any recommendations that can use the stock tires? The rubber on the car I am buying is practically new, no point in changing tires if I don't have to.

These are the ones I was looking at.

Well, a bunch of us have powder coated the OE wheels. I use them in winter (and like them well enough that I'm not in a big hurry to change them).

That offset is pretty aggressive. You'll want a 40 or less I'm thinking.

 

[Robilar]

Well, a bunch of us have powder coated the OE wheels. I use them in winter (and like them well enough that I'm not in a big hurry to change them).

That offset is pretty aggressive. You'll want a 40 or less I'm thinking.

I hadn't thought about powder coating the stock wheels, that's actually a pretty good idea. I have a full set of winter rims and tires coming with the car as well.

If you don't mind my asking what did you pay and do you have pics? I'd expect it would be a lot cheaper than new rims.

 

[MerlintheMad]

If you don't mind my asking what did you pay and do you have pics? I'd expect it would be a lot cheaper than new rims.

I think that the $150 per wheel (plus $25 per wheel cap to paint them) these guys charge is pretty typical.

 

[Robilar]

Wow those look great and that's less that half the price of a new set of rims. Excellent suggestion thanks

Just talked to a couple of different powder coating companies. The one guy I spoke to actually has done stinger rims for the kia dealership beside him.

$600 CAD to do them. He did say they could paint the caps but matching is hard because of the material being plastic and recommended I try to find black aftermarket ones online.

this is what it would look like without the caps painted. Do they make black versions of these anywhere?

 

[Crisis]

Hi Rolibar. Congrats on what appears to be a smokin' deal on your Stinger.

Before you pull the trigger on anything with the wheels, it's probably worth checking out the Suspension, Brakes, Wheels & Tires section of this forum. They have a few threads on the subject, including the Snowshoes thread, that happens to show my winter rims & tires, notable for the similarity of my rims to what you'd first suggested for black rims. With those, I can honestly say, my car looks just as good in the winter as in the summer (other than all the slush & crap frozen on the car).

 

[Robilar]

Hi Rolibar. Congrats on what appears to be a smokin' deal on your Stinger.

Before you pull the trigger on anything with the wheels, it's probably worth checking out the Suspension, Brakes, Wheels & Tires section of this forum. They have a few threads on the subject, including the Snowshoes thread, that happens to show my winter rims & tires, notable for the similarity of my rims to what you'd first suggested for black rims. With those, I can honestly say, my car looks just as good in the winter as in the summer (other than all the slush & crap frozen on the car).

Thanks mate.

I think I'm going to get the stock rims powder coated as per another member comment here. For $600 I can get them powder coated, mounted and balanced.

I haven't seen the included winter rims and tires, not sure what they look like but I assume they are stock winter rims. I'm going to throw them on the car when I pick it up and drop off the summer rims and tires, and let them do what they need to (Apparently it will take a couple of days).

I got a copy of the feature sheet and it lists summer performance tires were ordered, I assume those are standard?

 

[Crisis]

Yup, they should be Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. Pretty soft compound - I only got about 25,000 km from mine.

 

[Robilar]

Picking up the vehicle on Monday. The company I am buying it from is not only paying for the safety but they also told me whatever maintenance costs I have when I take it to dealership they will reimburse me in full. As such I'll have Kia go over it with a fine tooth comb...

 

[Robilar]

Found out some interesting news on car today that has delayed my pick up.

Because of COVID, the office that the vehicle was parked at has been shut down since last March and the vehicle has not been driven since then...

The battery is dead (obviously) and its stored in underground parking so it will be tricky to get at it.

The good news is that the underground parking is climate and humidity controlled so the vehicle is in as good a shape as it could be. I'm going to head down tomorrow and jump it and see if it runs without issue.

The company has agreed to pay for any repairs or service required (plus safety etc) so if there are any issues, I won't be out of pocket. They also took more off the final price so the deal is even better.

Apparently the guy that ordered the car got full rims and tires from kia that were 2k+ in cost total. Does anyone know what alloy winter rims look like from Kia as these are not plain steel bangers apparently.

 

[Robilar]

Finally got everything sorted out. Couriered a certified check to the leasing company today. I'll have one of the keys tomorrow and the other key next week. Going Saturday morning downtown to jump start the car and get it moved to the Kia dealership.

They are going to service and safety it Monday and fix anything that may need it on the companies dime.

In terms of mods, I've ordered the Eibach coils and sway bars from Kia, they are going to install them. also ordered the stinger branded rubber floor mats (I hate carpet mats) and the boot liner.

I'm getting the summer rims powder coated gloss black. I haven't seen the winter rims that come with the car but apparently they weren't cheap and are some kind of alloys, going to have them on the car until the powdercoating is done on the summer rims.

I have the reflector delete parts coming from the KDM store at some point (they are still listed as in the US for transit) as well.

The last thing I am going to do is get a good rust treatment on the under carriage and get the front end clear wrapped.

My final price on the car was 24k CAD plus taxes. Any other incurred service costs (including safety) are being covered by the company.

Reflector Delete $200
Rubber Mats $250
Powder coating $600
Anti roll kit $800 plus installation (probably 150)
Eibach Coils $480 plus install (at least 400 for install)

Still looking for a good place to do rust and wrap

 

[MerlintheMad]

I noticed from your earlier posts that you were buying a Stinger back in October '18. What happened?

Finally got everything sorted out. Couriered a certified check to the leasing company today. I'll have one of the keys tomorrow and the other key next week. Going Saturday morning downtown to jump start the car and get it moved to the Kia dealership.

They are going to service and safety it Monday and fix anything that may need it on the companies dime.

In terms of mods, I've ordered the Eibach coils and sway bars from Kia, they are going to install them. also ordered the stinger branded rubber floor mats (I hate carpet mats) and the boot liner.

I'm getting the summer rims powder coated gloss black. I haven't seen the winter rims that come with the car but apparently they weren't cheap and are some kind of alloys, going to have them on the car until the powdercoating is done on the summer rims.

I have the reflector delete parts coming from the KDM store at some point (they are still listed as in the US for transit) as well.

The last thing I am going to do is get a good rust treatment on the under carriage and get the front end clear wrapped.

My final price on the car was 24k CAD plus taxes. Any other incurred service costs (including safety) are being covered by the company.

Reflector Delete $200
Rubber Mats $250
Powder coating $600
Anti roll kit $800 plus installation (probably 150)
Eibach Coils $480 plus install (at least 400 for install)

Still looking for a good place to do rust and wrap

 

[Robilar]

I noticed from your earlier posts that you were buying a Stinger back in October '18. What happened?

I was planning to but ended up in an SUV instead.

Still had a large dog at the time and the Stinger just doesn't suit big pets

 

[MerlintheMad]

Stinger just doesn't suit big pets

Have you looked at @Legendsk 's avatar? But I agree; and would add "NO PETS!" to that short list.

 

[Robilar]

Got the key couriered today. Tomorrow I'm off to see if I can get it started or need to have it towed to Kia...