Considering buying a Used 2018 GT w/ AWD: please share concerns

[PotlOwner]

Hi all. I’m considering purchasing a Used 2018 Kia Stinger GT, with the 3.3 liter-turbo and AWD. I did some research on the car on Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book. Owner concerns were as follows: the rear hatch rattles; the sunroof rattles; the paint has .. “pin pricks” in it, and/or is chipping; rear visibility is poor; the driver’s seat is narrow; the rear seats are small; the brake rotors don’t last; and the fuel economy is lower than EPA rating.

So .. thoughts on the concerns I read about? Do you second them? Are there other concerns not mentioned in the reviews, I should be worried about?

For those that bought the 2018: are you happy with the purchase? Are there any .. first-year / new model concerns?

Thanks in advance for sharing your input!

 

[Kia Stinger]

Hi all. I’m considering purchasing a Used 2018 Kia Stinger GT, with the 3.3 liter-turbo and AWD. I did some research on the car on Edmunds and Kelly Blue Book. Owner concerns were as follows: the rear hatch rattles; the sunroof rattles; the paint has .. “pin pricks” in it, and/or is chipping; rear visibility is poor; the driver’s seat is narrow; the rear seats are small; the brake rotors don’t last; and the fuel economy is lower than EPA rating.

So .. thoughts on the concerns I read about? Do you second them? Are there other concerns not mentioned in the reviews, I should be worried about?

For those that bought the 2018: are you happy with the purchase? Are there any .. first-year / new model concerns?

Thanks in advance for sharing your input!

Welcome. Just noting that I’m moving this topic out of the community lounge and into the main Stinger forum. What might the Stinger be replacing for you?

 

[bfglitch]

Rear Hatch rattle: known common issue. Can easily be fixed with washers. Posts all over about it.

Sunroof/headliner pops/creaks: also very common issue. Also posts all over about it. Usually this can be resolved with some felt tape in some parts of the sunroof and under the grab handles.

Paint issues: Most paint these days are water based paint so they're just not as durable, especially the paint on this car. You'll get paint chips on the front. Either learn how to fill rock chips, live with it, or get it fixed and immediately ppf the front.

Rear vis: yeah can't really fix that but it doesn't really bother me much with the loads of sensors and the backup camera.

Drivers seat narrow: personal thing. Never thought it was too narrow for me.

Rear seat small: I don't get loads of rear passengers but never once heard it was too small

Brake rotors: very common issue.TONS of posts about it. Problem isn't the rotors it's the OEM pads. They leave uneven deposits making the rotors feel warped. Either get new rotors and non OEM pads or get the rotors turned (if you can) and at the same time get non OEM pads. I occasionally have the issue (still all OEM) but usually doing a few runs of getting up to about 60/70mph and rapidly slow to about 10 mph without locking up the brakes clears it for me for a while. Really all depends on your braking.

Fuel Economy: She's a thirsty car especially in the city and stop and go traffic. On the highway though I regularly hit about 29/30mpg as long as I'm not trying to weave through traffic and just going with the flow.

 

[PotlOwner]

bfglitch: thank you for the responses! Yes, I did see the "fix" for the rear hatch, and the washers - AFTER making my post.

Staff member: it will be replacing a base 2008 Honda Accord LX / daily driver.

 

[Herb_Remington]

I bought a used 3.3 and couldn't be happier. If it is a GT you wont have to worry about sunroof, also wont have a lot of driving assists. I get 26mpg normally and 30-ish on the highway.

My wife and I really enjoy driving the car. We have 3 teenage kids and they can fit comfortably in the back if they choose to. I have ridden in the back and it was fine for me. i am 5'9" so if you are tall you might not fit as well. No issues with front seats either.

I do have paint ships on the front and the roof trim is crackled, but i filled them and it looks fine. no issues with paint peeling so far. Only issue i have is keeping the black chrome clean and some of the interior plastic chrome is peeling around the great shifter.

 

[See3Pee01971]

Rear Hatch rattle: known common issue. Can easily be fixed with washers. Posts all over about it.

Sunroof/headliner pops/creaks: also very common issue. Also posts all over about it. Usually this can be resolved with some felt tape in some parts of the sunroof and under the grab handles.

Paint issues: Most paint these days are water based paint so they're just not as durable, especially the paint on this car. You'll get paint chips on the front. Either learn how to fill rock chips, live with it, or get it fixed and immediately ppf the front.

Rear vis: yeah can't really fix that but it doesn't really bother me much with the loads of sensors and the backup camera.

Drivers seat narrow: personal thing. Never thought it was too narrow for me.

Rear seat small: I don't get loads of rear passengers but never once heard it was too small

Brake rotors: very common issue.TONS of posts about it. Problem isn't the rotors it's the OEM pads. They leave uneven deposits making the rotors feel warped. Either get new rotors and non OEM pads or get the rotors turned (if you can) and at the same time get non OEM pads. I occasionally have the issue (still all OEM) but usually doing a few runs of getting up to about 60/70mph and rapidly slow to about 10 mph without locking up the brakes clears it for me for a while. Really all depends on your braking.

Fuel Economy: She's a thirsty car especially in the city and stop and go traffic. On the highway though I regularly hit about 29/30mpg as long as I'm not trying to weave through traffic and just going with the flow.

I’m going to second this on the MPG. Example: my last trip down to Austin which is a mix of interstate and 2 lane highway. I ran MAP2 on the JB4, and drove “mostly” in Eco mode at 75-80 MPH. I did have 4 or 5 occasions where I flipped to Sport to pass cars. When I arrived I averaged 29.2 MPG. I was very pleased with that.

 

[Kia Stinger]

bfglitch: thank you for the responses! Yes, I did see the "fix" for the rear hatch, and the washers - AFTER making my post.

Staff member: it will be replacing a base 2008 Honda Accord LX / daily driver.

Nice upgrade! And I'm glad you found the fix for hatch rattle.

 

[Transmetal]

I'm 6ft 300lbs+ and I fit in the driver seat just fine. Not many people much wider than me I'd imagine so I'm not sure where that statement came from. My son is a thin guy but he's also 6ft tall and he fits really nice in the back seat behind his Ma. He is always amazed how good he fits in the back of my car but not so good in the back of some of his friends cars that seem like they'd be much bigger.

I bought my car new and had the ppf done basically right away. If the front end is really bad and you plan on keeping it for a long time then me personally, I'd repaint the front bumper then get the ppf as soon as it cures (30 days I was told). If it's not that bad you may be able to use touch up paint on it then I'd still do the ppf, it's totally worth it imo, if you keep the car for a longer period of time.

Back window is small, reminds me of my trans am gta. The trans am was much worse imo though. The Stinger has good views out of the passenger side at least, plus it has the blind spot monitoring, back up camera/sensors and the side mirrors are large.

I also fixed my hatch rattle, was a $5 fix if that. One thing to note that if you go with the base awd gt then you don't get nav and you get the worse looking 7" touch screen. You can swap in nav, as I did but it's not free. No sunroof, no power tilt steering wheel, no power lift gate, no cooled seats, no front facing camera, no hud probably some other stuff I'm forgetting that the base car doesn't have either. With that being said I still like my car but I would just opt for a gt1 if I had to do it again.

 

[Snicklefritz]

after three months into my 2018 gt1 I started seeing little rock chips in the front bumper cover and got full ppf back to the windshield after touching up the nicks. the oem brakes have worked fine for me this whole time. mileage around town which is mixed with freeway is around 20 mpg. if I get in some decent freeway time it can be as high as 24 mpg. full freeway is 25-plus mpg with my all time best at 31 mpg a few times. the stinger is the most comfortable long drive car I've ever experienced. I can drive ten hours or more and feel fine, no aches or stiffness. I've sat in the back and Ima six three, no issues feeling cramped. If you insist on sitting bolt upright clear to the back expect your head to touch, sure, but plenty of leg room since the front seats can be moved forward to 'share' and everyone is happy. the hatch is the big selling point, not only is this car a sexy wide-hipped fastback it is a liftback with enough cargo space to equal two refrigerators - with the rear seats down of course. one refrigerator of cargo space with the seats up and hatch cover removed. practicality, utility, style, comfort, performance, kia reliability, and decent durability. just make sure the previously owned one you want is not abused and the paint job was originally a good one - most are. if you have actual peeling and big chips out because of that then walk away or plan on a respray on your dime. keep looking if you have to. the car is worth it.