Can the Stinger actually be ordered?

[StingerGT68]

I swear, I'm dealing with some of the worst Kia dealers around. I'm trying to find out if I can walk in and order a base GT in Panthera Metal and some say "Oh sure" and others say "Nope, Kia doesn't let us order cars". Some say there's not one Panthera Metal Stinger on the east coast.

I even called Kia HQ and they were like, "Oh if that color is on the website you can buy it"...but then they couldn't locate any.

So what is it? Can Kia dealers ORDER models or just do a basic search around other dealers in the area?

 

[mldavis2]

I just ordered one last week at a dealership in Arkansas.

 

[Irish]

I heard from my dealers that you actually cannot order them. That Kia makes and ships them, and then the dealers fight over which ones they want. Thus the reason Snow White and a couple other colors are so hard to get in the US right now.

 

[mldavis2]

Sounds like they want to clean out the queue at big dealers before special orders. You can find dealers that will order them for you. Kia rep said about 6-8 weeks.

 

[StingerGT68]

I heard from my dealers that you actually cannot order them. That Kia makes and ships them, and then the dealers fight over which ones they want. Thus the reason Snow White and a couple other colors are so hard to get in the US right now.

Yeah, this Panthera Metal is non-existent. You were able to snag a white one? Good to see.

 

[Dave Miller]

They can order it but whether or not Kia fulfills that order is out of the dealership's hands, so it is easier to just tell the customer we can't custom order or they often have expectations we aren't able to meet. Dealerships that sell the most Stingers have the higher priority from Kia on which models they get.

 

[mldavis2]

There are definitely color combinations that you cannot (yet?) order. You can see what's available in what combinations by using the "build" section on the Kia web site. Not much variation yet. I suspect they need to handle the initial demand and leave some new stuff for 2019.

 

[Irish]

Yeah, this Panthera Metal is non-existent. You were able to snag a white one? Good to see.

Yes I just snagged it on Saturday. My local dealership originally said they could order one, but then kept talking about checking on incoming inventory. I was able to find the white one i wanted from doing an inventory search on KIA's website had to travel to the other side of the state. When I asked that dealer about ordering them he said they really couldn't or at least not yet. So I then confronted my local dealer with that info and he said the same thing basically. I started to catch on when you go to Kia's site and try to build a car, and when your done it takes you to a dealer inventory page, not an order page..

 

[Rufus]

I'm honestly confused as to how Kia is working this. I went to the same dealership as @Irish (same day, no less!) According to the Kia website as of tonight, no base Stingers can be ordered in any colors beside silver, black, or white. But just tonight my wife and I took delivery of a Micro Blue base RWD Stinger with no options. Not that I'm complaining, mind you. But if the Kia website says it can't be ordered in any colors beside silver and black and white yet here we are with our new blue, base, unoptioned Stinger, something is definitely not clicking on their end...

 

[stinger1168]

I firmly believe that you can order all you want but the KIA factory in S. Korea is NOT going to receive and build your order. I believe they are just going to build different variations of the Stinger and send them out to where ever. And when there's a version that's close to what you ordered at a dealership that may or may not be close to you, you'll get an email/phone call that there's a car available (somewhere) that is close or matches your order. I think this is going to be a big problem with all the enthusiasts that pre-ordered the Stinger they wanted. KIA was counting on their, "word of mouth" advertisements but since they aren't getting what they wanted, how is that going to work???

Serious question: With KIA in the USA only, could you ever "order" the car you wanted (Optima, Forte, whatever) or was it always, pick the car you wanted from available inventory?

 

[Schpok]

wow what is going on in the US

I don't know if it helps but here in Germany I can order every combination I want. The Problem with that is, that I have to wait prety Long (in my case 4-5 month)[combination is shown below]
For me it sounds like they want to sell the Singers that are arround, instead of order new ones. Which is not smart if you ask me.

 

[Stinger73]

wow what is going on in the US

I don't know if it helps but here in Germany I can order every combination I want. The Problem with that is, that I have to wait prety Long (in my case 4-5 month)[combination is shown below]
For me it sounds like they want to sell the Singers that are arround, instead of order new ones. Which is not smart if you ask me.

Was ist los!!! I didn't know Kia offered a Stinger GT with a 2.0L. Wow 4 to 5 months, yuck....

 

[mldavis2]

Mine was ordered and the Kia rep advised my dealer that it was 6-8 weeks. He verified that before I signed the papers and gave them the no-refund earnest money. Small dealership in Arkansas. Nothing exotic and no "hard to get" colors, just a HiChroma Red GT1 AWD with the Driver Assist package. None to be found anywhere equipped like that which is very strange but since it was a "common" color and black interior, I guess it's not that much of a problem. Quite a few GT1 AWD's and quite a few GT1's with the electronics package but none with both. Go figure....