Navigating Life with a Discontinued Stinger?

[Avantius]

Hello everyone,

As we all know, the Stinger is being discontinued, I've seen discussions across the web about the hesitations of owning a vehicle no longer in production. While my 2021 GT2 has been a blast, the prospect of owning a discontinued model raises questions about long-term concerns, particularly regarding part availability.

I’ve never experienced owning a vehicle out of production, and I’m committed to keeping my Stinger in the stable for the long term. However, I’m eager to hear from those who have owned discontinued vehicles. Are there other concerns beyond parts availability and overall support?

 

[LordKOTL]

Hello everyone,

As we all know, the Stinger is being discontinued, I've seen discussions across the web about the hesitations of owning a vehicle no longer in production. While my 2021 GT2 has been a blast, the prospect of owning a discontinued model raises questions about long-term concerns, particularly regarding part availability.

I’ve never experienced owning a vehicle out of production, and I’m committed to keeping my Stinger in the stable for the long term. However, I’m eager to hear from those who have owned discontinued vehicles. Are there other concerns beyond parts availability and overall support?

My previous car was a 2008 Pontiac G6. It ended up being discontinued since Pontiac went away.

There was only a single "scare" in terms of part availability that I experienced--and that was when a Y-cable which connected the handbrake to the two cables which went to the driver and passenger rear brakes snapped. The part was not available as a single part--you could only get the whole handbrake as a single unit, and it was out of production. I was able to find a handbrake assembly via Ebay, and install that Y-cable within my stock parking brake assembly.

That's GM for you.

But that was the only issue for sourcing stuff. The engine itself was used on a lot of vehicles, and it shared a platform with the Malibu, so finding mechanical stuff for fixes/maintenance was easy.

The way I see it is this: the G70 shares a lot of mechanical underpinnings with the Stinger, so as long as it is in production and has to be supported by Kia/Hyundai/Genesis (i.e. warrantee work for G70 owners). Stinger-specific parts may be harder to come by, but boneyards/Ebay will be your friend for those types of parts. Anything mechanical should work for both the G70 and Stinger. So, in my case I'm not sweating it. By the time the G70 in as we know it is no longer supported, I'll have probably driven my Stinger into the ground and have found, or will be looking for, my next vehicle.

 

[Buzzman12]

The vehicle may be out of production, but the Company that made it is alive and well.
I would be much more worried if I owned a car from a company that went out of business, like Studebaker or Packard did in the old days.
Kia and parent company Hyundai should be around for a long time yet.
As was alluded to, the Stinger shares parts and designs from other models, so no worries at my end. In fact, one of the reasons I bought my Stinger this year was because it was going out of production. I figured if I didn't buy a new one now, I'd be relegated to buying used in the future, which wasn't on my radar.

 

[Snicklefritz]

Dithering over whether or not to sell both older Stingers and lease a new one before it's too late - if it isn't already. That should tell you how I feel about the discontinuation. I want to drive the Stinger for years to come, and getting one brand new just extends the possibility that much further. I know that Kia will honor the ten-year warranty, in other words, will have parts direct from the factory for at least that long. After that, I'll probably be dead and gone. But if not, as they say, cross that bridge when you get to it.

 

[SanDiegoBlue]

How is this different from the scenario where the car continues to be made but get a major refresh - as would be appropriate after 6 years? As noted by Buzz, the engine lives on anyway.

 

[Buzzman12]

Dithering over whether or not to sell both older Stingers and lease a new one before it's too late - if it isn't already. That should tell you how I feel about the discontinuation. I want to drive the Stinger for years to come, and getting one brand new just extends the possibility that much further. I know that Kia will honor the ten-year warranty, in other words, will have parts direct from the factory for at least that long. After that, I'll probably be dead and gone. But if not, as they say, cross that bridge when you get to it.

Go for it. If you have the first iteration, then the minor refresh in 2022 is nice, in my opinion.
Get the top line model too. All the bells and whistles. Start looking.

 

[Ah GetFd]

Hello everyone,

As we all know, the Stinger is being discontinued, I've seen discussions across the web about the hesitations of owning a vehicle no longer in production. While my 2021 GT2 has been a blast, the prospect of owning a discontinued model raises questions about long-term concerns, particularly regarding part availability.

I’ve never experienced owning a vehicle out of production, and I’m committed to keeping my Stinger in the stable for the long term. However, I’m eager to hear from those who have owned discontinued vehicles. Are there other concerns beyond parts availability and overall support?

Cars are discontinued all the time by manufacturers. Just because the badge stays for 30 years does not mean the car is the same in 30 years. It's completely different. If the model changes so what?

A Kia Sportage from the 1990s doesn't even resemble a Kia Sportage in 2023.

As for the Stinger. Parts are the same across Kia AND Hyundai models. The engine is from Hyundai. Door locks to brakes are across the whole range of Kias and Hyundai, which owns Kia.

 

[lostangeleman]

Hello everyone,

As we all know, the Stinger is being discontinued, I've seen discussions across the web about the hesitations of owning a vehicle no longer in production. While my 2021 GT2 has been a blast, the prospect of owning a discontinued model raises questions about long-term concerns, particularly regarding part availability.

I’ve never experienced owning a vehicle out of production, and I’m committed to keeping my Stinger in the stable for the long term. However, I’m eager to hear from those who have owned discontinued vehicles. Are there other concerns beyond parts availability and overall support?

K8StingerStore has the best selection for third party and OEM parts for the stingers. these can last a long ass time if taken care of properly!!! i love owning mine and the breaks are a faction of what my AMG c43 rims and mandatory rotors change. (was 5.5k CAD with taxes.) the stinger store has both pads and rotors for $700… other than that maybe an accident is the only thing that could put you out of luck if it’s not totalled but for getting parts a few years down the road.

 

[lil_lurking_stinger]

My only worry is the engine (& turbochargers, to a degree) but at that point it would most likely be 250k+ miles.

I’m not going to lie.

I really like the Stinger and wanna keep it but it doesn’t have a lot going for it besides bang for buck and a green platform.

I fear there will be way better options in a few years, especially used with depreciation and the the current market issues going on.

I want a v8 and they’re going away. I might hang on to this for awhile and get into a nicely depreciated and taken cared of Z06 in a few years. Maybe even a newer model. But everything seems to be going more electric…

 

[lostangeleman]

My only worry is the engine (& turbochargers, to a degree) but at that point it would most likely be 250k+ miles.

I’m not going to lie.

I really like the Stinger and wanna keep it but it doesn’t have a lot going for it besides bang for buck and a green platform.

I fear there will be way better options in a few years, especially used with depreciation and the the current market issues going on.

I want a v8 and they’re going away. I might hang on to this for awhile and get into a nicely depreciated and taken cared of Z06 in a few years. Maybe even a newer model. But everything seems to be going more electric…

i love the stinger so much, def. keeping it as my daily for as long is itll run for.

 

[lil_lurking_stinger]

i love the stinger so much, def. keeping it as my daily for as long is itll run for.

Same here. But can’t help but think of how much better the Stinger would have been as a lighter weight coupe as time goes on.

 

[lostangeleman]

Same here. But can’t help but think of how much better the Stinger would have been as a lighter weight coupe as time goes on.

im getting a 2025 Stingray, so ill be keeping the stinger as my daily and the stingray as an occasional ride. Im coming from a 2019 C43 Amg Coupe and really wished the coupe had an 8cyl and that i went for the c63s instead (opted for AWD so i went with the c43.) Im used to the nice 3.3 TT engine, its really fun in sport mode especially during the summer time. comparable to the experience you get in a baby amg. I do need a nice 8 cylinder coupe type sports car and it guess the vette is gonna satisfy that desire. Stinger is a great all around car for sure.

 

[Landshark]

LOL! you'll be fine ... its not some rare unicorn made by some obscure car brand. it was literally discontinued JUST THIS YEAR.

"Admittedly, you may eventually find that it becomes harder to get parts for an older car, but we think this is something that we suspect will happen decades from now, not years. Even then, third-party companies often take over the parts supply business from automakers, making discounted parts for older vehicles."

 

[Snicklefritz]

But everything seems to be going more electric…

Not so fast. "Everything"? The buses in Sweden all went down last winter. Trucks and tractors do not provide reliable, continuous service. Extremes in heat and cold sap mileage enormously - range anxiety is real. Most of all, the grid won't support massive increase in demand for charging. EVs are not GREEN not by a long shot, they're only marketed/pushed that way by an agenda. Not going to wax political on here. Every EV maker is scaling back a lot right now and suffering billions in losses. Something else will come along, like practical developments in hydrogen, that will make increased demand on the grid go away.

 

[StingerVetteMan]

Not too concerned. Actually both my cars are the last of their models. My 2023 Stinger GT-Line and my 2019 Corvette Grand Sport, the last of the front engine Corvettes

 

[SKStinger]

Not so fast. "Everything"? The buses in Sweden all went down last winter. Trucks and tractors do not provide reliable, continuous service. Extremes in heat and cold sap mileage enormously - range anxiety is real. Most of all, the grid won't support massive increase in demand for charging. EVs are not GREEN not by a long shot, they're only marketed/pushed that way by an agenda. Not going to wax political on here. Every EV maker is scaling back a lot right now and suffering billions in losses. Something else will come along, like practical developments in hydrogen, that will make increased demand on the grid go away.

When the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world (Toyota) is steering away from EV's, the rest of the industry should take notice. They continue to invest in hydrogen fuel cell technology and hybrid ICE vehicles.

 

[stoopid]

Not so fast. "Everything"? The buses in Sweden all went down last winter. Trucks and tractors do not provide reliable, continuous service. Extremes in heat and cold sap mileage enormously - range anxiety is real. Most of all, the grid won't support massive increase in demand for charging. EVs are not GREEN not by a long shot, they're only marketed/pushed that way by an agenda. Not going to wax political on here. Every EV maker is scaling back a lot right now and suffering billions in losses. Something else will come along, like practical developments in hydrogen, that will make increased demand on the grid go away.

The current state of the EV market isn't a good gauge for tomorrow. There's several battery types being tested or even scaled up as we speak that use less lithium and cobalt, two of the harder to mine/extract elements in current batteries. There's also promising batteries on the horizon that won't be as susceptible to the extremes of cold/heat.

That said, none of that matters if we can't figure out how to power them all and how people in rented housing (or with on street parking) can easily and reliably charge them. The idea is decades ahead of the infrastructure, although the 'agenda' was to transition a long time ago but you know, there needs to be the will to change.

I keep thinking my next vehicle will be EV, and living in a home with a garage (and in a good area for solar) there's a strong chance it will be. But my timeline for keeping the Stinger keeps expanding as banking loan rates stay high and the miles on the Stinger after 3+ years are still low (around 37,000).

 

[stoopid]

When the largest vehicle manufacturer in the world (Toyota) is steering away from EV's, the rest of the industry should take notice. They continue to invest in hydrogen fuel cell technology and hybrid ICE vehicles.

Hydrogen is not likely going to work. Hydrogen capture is very energy intensive, then the distribution and storage is expensive if you account for the number of stations that would need to be built to be viable. Current hydrogen stations number 5% of EV charging stations, and we're all complaining there's not enough of those. It was over before it began.

The immediate future are in hybrids. They're the transition vehicle.

 

[stoopid]

My previous car was a 2008 Pontiac G6. It ended up being discontinued since Pontiac went away.

There was only a single "scare" in terms of part availability that I experienced--and that was when a Y-cable which connected the handbrake to the two cables which went to the driver and passenger rear brakes snapped. The part was not available as a single part--you could only get the whole handbrake as a single unit, and it was out of production. I was able to find a handbrake assembly via Ebay, and install that Y-cable within my stock parking brake assembly.

That's GM for you.

But that was the only issue for sourcing stuff. The engine itself was used on a lot of vehicles, and it shared a platform with the Malibu, so finding mechanical stuff for fixes/maintenance was easy.

The way I see it is this: the G70 shares a lot of mechanical underpinnings with the Stinger, so as long as it is in production and has to be supported by Kia/Hyundai/Genesis (i.e. warrantee work for G70 owners). Stinger-specific parts may be harder to come by, but boneyards/Ebay will be your friend for those types of parts. Anything mechanical should work for both the G70 and Stinger. So, in my case I'm not sweating it. By the time the G70 in as we know it is no longer supported, I'll have probably driven my Stinger into the ground and have found, or will be looking for, my next vehicle.

I agree on principle with all of this. The only nit I wanted to post was the low sales volume for any of the cars that share the Stinger's parts, including the Stinger itself. Low volume means they won't be keeping a lot of spare parts collecting dust in a warehouse somewhere, and if Kia and Hyundai's recent history/reputation is any indication, they're based on FAAFO economics. They'll probably have a run on a part that starts dying en masse at the 5-10 year mark, and we'll all have to lawyer up in a class action to get a $10 free car wash voucher out of them 15 years from now. So while the law can mandate something be done, clearly the punishment rarely fits the crime [VW's dieselgate notwithstanding] and auto makers calculate future legal costs and often choose to pay up later rather than incur the immediate costs with adhering to the laws. They're certainly motivated to do this to keep costs low/profits high/stock prices up.

 

[Volfy]

Unless you have a big enough solar farm, or wind turbines, to be fully self sufficient in electricity production, your EV is still burning fossil fuel. Worldwide electricity production is still hovering around 60% from fossil fuel. For the US, 16% is from coal, while worldwide is 36%. That mean some countries burn a lot more coal to make electricity. Running a high efficiency gasoline hybrid can actually have a smaller carbon footprint than full EV... especially if that EV is a ridiculous monstrosity like the Cybertruck.

I don't doubt Kia originally intended to offer a full EV replacement for the Stinger. I also have no doubt they are having second thought about their EV strategy right now... like every other mfr that had big EV plans. Kudos to Toyota for taking the heat not so long ago for not being gunho on EVs. They earned the right to say "I told you so".