Goodbye Stinger :-(

[StingerVetteMan]

Well I must say goodbye unfortunately. A few weeks back a big GMC pickup side swiped the passenger side of my 2023 GT-Line while parked. Luckily the person responsible fully owned up to it and left a note on my car. Ends up he has very good insurance, Pure. Well the first assessment was for around $4500 in damage. The front passenger fender and door and some other bits. Once the body shop tore down the car it revealed an additional $11k in damage. This was confirmed by Pure's appraiser. Pure thought there may be even more damage uncovered so they decided to total it! Have not even had the car a year and only 14k miles on it. The body shop insisted it could be repaired (of course, they want to get paid). The only other action would be to go through my insurance and see if they would consider it a loss. As much as I want to keep it, do I really want a car that had $16k of damage even if repaired? I even spoke to a lawyer in regards to collecting money to make up for the diminished value if I kept it. Well Pure gave me a very reasonable offer, $3k less than what I paid for it. So decided to accept it and move forward. Was a fun year and enjoyed the car for sure. Being a musician, having that hatchback was great. So now I maybe getting into a VW Arteon. A sportback sedan like the Stinger with a nice cargo area. Same 300hp as my GT-Line, but a much better engine and DCT tranny. Also a bit more refined than the Stinger.
There are some GT2 floating around, but for my daily I really don't need 368hp. My other car is a 2019 Corvette Grand Sport.

So goodbye all! It was fun!

 

[stoopid]

Seems reasonable to move on considering you got to use the car for 14,000 miles and it only cost you $3k. And you have another toy to toss around. Many who have the Stinger only have the Stinger (like myself), it being fun with utility is one of the top selling points.

Anyway, that's going to be an interesting salvage title, as clearly the car can be repaired even if there's a tiny bit of frame damage (which is why I suspect the insurance company totaled it). Hopefully it gets a second chance at life versus being scrapped.

 

[ElChanclo]

That sucks, curious how you compare it to the Arteon, especially the service centers I hear are leagues ahead of Kia.

Many who have the Stinger only have the Stinger (like myself), it being fun with utility is one of the top selling points.

There is no upgrading from the Stinger it seems without either spending double or just buying 2 cars. It's at the crossroads of sporty and utilitarian, any direction you go will be further from the other.

 

[Snicklefritz]

What a surprise. I never would guess from the pictures you shared that there was any internal/frame damage. And I don't think that there is. Someone wants the car and shenanigans are being played under the table. Watching where the VIN goes, as already suggested, should be interesting.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

What a surprise. I never would guess from the pictures you shared that there was any internal/frame damage. And I don't think that there is. Someone wants the car and shenanigans are being played under the table. Watching where the VIN goes, as already suggested, should be interesting.

There was $16k in damage. Have all the pics from the body shop after they torn it down. It goes to Copart who takes possession of it.

 

[Devin]

That blows, but you made the right choice. Glad no one was in it when it got hit

 

[Ah GetFd]

That's a pity that a relatively minor incident writes off yet another Stinger. It doesn't take much to get to that figure though. $4000 is paint. Daughter's brand new Nissan XTrail got hit last week. I think they are called a Rogue in the states. AWD SUV. Guy came thru a red light when she was two thirds across the intersection after driving off on a green signal. Boom. $10,000. No mech damage just headlights, plastic grills, parking sensors, camera, radar etc etc. Basically all bolt back on no panel damage. Just a straight bloody inconvenience. Policed charged the other guy with being Asian and other road offences.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

Said the final goodbye to my poor Stinger.


Just put a deposit on this 2023 VW Arteon R-Line

 

[StingerVetteMan]

That sucks, curious how you compare it to the Arteon, especially the service centers I hear are leagues ahead of Kia.

Took the Arteon for a test drive. Gotta say it is a beautiful car. Definitely a step up from the Stinger in regards to material quality and refinement. Nothing on the interior feels at all cheap. The one I drove was AWD and quick. Very smooth with the DCT 8 speed tranny. Also comes standard with 20" wheels. Size wise it is very close to the Stinger, interior cargo room too. It has allot of the same safety tech as the Stinger. My only possible complaint is the sound system does not sound as good as the Stinger. But than again did not play with it that much. So put a deposit down on this one..... a 2023 with only 11k miles on it. Costing me around $2k more then I paid for my GT-Line.

 

[Snicklefritz]

That is a nice car. Reading up on it, the one you are getting is FWD, and does not have the HK sound system. But a hatchback, that is good, sounds very similar to the Stinger that way. Price-wise it is more expensive for an in-line 4 cylinder than the 4 cylinder Stingers. But somehow VW got 6 cylinder performance out of it. 4.6 second 0-60? Ima almost unbelieving it.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

That is a nice car. Reading up on it, the one you are getting is FWD, and does not have the HK sound system. But a hatchback, that is good, sounds very similar to the Stinger that way. Price-wise it is more expensive for an in-line 4 cylinder than the 4 cylinder Stingers. But somehow VW got 6 cylinder performance out of it. 4.6 second 0-60? Ima almost unbelieving it.

Nope, the one I am getting is the SEL Premium R-Line. The top trim. Has 4Motion (what VW calls AWD), the HK sound system and all the other bells and whistles!
The engine is the same as in the Golf R, just tuned down a bit. Also mated to a 7 speed DCT tranny. Part of the reason for the good performance.

 

[ElChanclo]

Is that the one with the driver massage seat?

 

[Thomby]

That is a nice car. Reading up on it, the one you are getting is FWD, and does not have the HK sound system. But a hatchback, that is good, sounds very similar to the Stinger that way. Price-wise it is more expensive for an in-line 4 cylinder than the 4 cylinder Stingers. But somehow VW got 6 cylinder performance out of it. 4.6 second 0-60? Ima almost unbelieving it.

Pretty sure that's for the AWD, but I remember being surprised at that and wondering if it was somehow a few hundred pounds lighter. Not really, but it does have a 7 speed dual clutch, which I guess must make up for the couple tenths that the 68 horse deficit costs it.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

Pretty sure that's for the AWD, but I remember being surprised at that and wondering if it was somehow a few hundred pounds lighter. Not really, but it does have a 7 speed dual clutch, which I guess must make up for the couple tenths that the 68 horse deficit costs it.

Well I am coming from a GT Line so same hp. But Arteon is a good second faster 0-60.

 

[Thomby]

Well I am coming from a GT Line so same hp. But Arteon is a good second faster 0-60.

Gonna tune it? I don't tend to get excited by a 2 liter 4cyl, but the benefit of that engine being in so many millions of cars is there's a pretty straightforward path for tuning, E85, mild turbo upgrade to the Golf R/S3 OEM unit, or even bigger turbos for 450+ hp.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

Gonna tune it? I don't tend to get excited by a 2 liter 4cyl, but the benefit of that engine being in so many millions of cars is there's a pretty straightforward path for tuning, E85, mild turbo upgrade to the Golf R/S3 OEM unit, or even bigger turbos for 450+ hp.

No need to tune it. My daily. Besides my other car is pushing close to 500hp!

 

[StingerVetteMan]

So some impressions on the Arteon after driving it a few days now. The overall fit and finish and materials are way better than those in the Stinger. The Napa leather seats are oh so soft and offer great bolstering. Having the full digital dash is also cool.

Driving impressions definitely different than the Stinger. It moves for sure and that DCT tranny is awesome. But overall it doesn’t feel as nimble or sporty as the Stinger. It’s definitely more of a luxury GT the way it drives. Steering I give that also to the Stinger.

Cargo room I think the Arteon has a bit more, and tons of room in the back seat. Overall you can definitely tell this is a German car! That said, I will miss my Stinger. It was definitely a blast the short time I had it.