New GT2 Owner

[Darth Stinger]

Hi y’all...Bitter sweet day yesterday as I traded my GT350 for a GT2. We had our first baby girl 6 months ago and I just was not able to drive the 350 much. Plus might be moving to a cold weather climate soon and wanted AWD that my wife could drive when needed. So far I love the car but I’ve been a Mustang owner since I was 16. Looking forward to learning more about the car and how I can personalize her. I just did some basic car/video review research. Any must know or must do’s please let me know!

 

[Callum]

Sorry for your loss (Mustang). GT350 has been on my wish list since it was launched. Mustangs are cars a lot of young kids dream about owning...KIA? Not so much.

However, with that being said, I think you'll find the Stinger to be a car that is truly special and amazing. It doesn't have the passion or flare of the GT350, but it's a damn good car and will carry you, your wife and your child safely and still allow you to have some good old fun. While nobody else dreams about owning a KIA, I dream about my Stinger. Those who own the Stinger dream about it. Fantastic car and fantastic experience so far

Welcome to the "KIA" madness!

 

[Darth Stinger]

Thanks. If you ever get a chance to own a 350 it’s an awesome car. Best combination of power, handling, sound and looks for the money in my opinion. It really is not a Mustang.

Looking for to driving the Stinger more. I’ve only driven it from the dealership home. I love the interior and the tech. 350 is pretty basic.

It was a good choice. I passed on a used 2012 BMW 7-Series Alpina AWD. Thought a new car with the warranty was the more prudent decision.

 

[Callum]

Thanks. If you ever get a chance to own a 350 it’s an awesome car. Best combination of power, handling, sound and looks for the money in my opinion. It really is not a Mustang.

Looking for to driving the Stinger more. I’ve only driven it from the dealership home. I love the interior and the tech. 350 is pretty basic.

It was a good choice. I passed on a used 2012 BMW 7-Series Alpina AWD. Thought a new car with the warranty was the more prudent decision.

That was a good move passing on the Alpina. Stunning car, but nobody likes a Alpina with no warranty and you have a child. I couldn't imagine the looks my wife would give me with a broken down Alpina needing $5,000 worth of repairs and a crying baby, haha. What lead you to the Stinger? This segment of sport sedans is quite saturated, why did the Stinger win over, say the S5 SportBack, and Panamera?

Nick

 

[Darth Stinger]

That was a good move passing on the Alpina. Stunning car, but nobody likes a Alpina with no warranty and you have a child. I couldn't imagine the looks my wife would give me with a broken down Alpina needing $5,000 worth of repairs and a crying baby, haha. What lead you to the Stinger? This segment of sport sedans is quite saturated, why did the Stinger win over, say the S5 SportBack, and Panamera?

Nick

I could have bought a warranty, but that’s just more $$$ I didn’t want to spend. Biggest reason was performance/$. Yes I could afford the other two but I also wanted to reduce my monthly spend from the 350 so I could do more for the family. I’ve always wanted an Audi and I love the Panamera’s styling. But I’ll be honest I like the Stinger’s more muscular look and stance. I guess at 43, I’m still not ready to make the jump to ‘luxury’ status. I got close to $8K off of MSRP and about $1500 more in my trade than I was being offered elsewhere. I actually was looking at GTs and GT1s originally but opted for the more safety feature, smart trunk and I loved the HUD after test driving the GT2. I also like unique cars. You don’t see many GT350s on the road. And I live outside of Atlanta and I’ve only seen 2 on the road. My visit to the dealer was my first up close look and I was smitten immediately.

 

[TimS]

Congrats Darth!

I've owned Mustangs most of my life too, and moving on was really difficult for me as well.

I think you made a great choice, though! And congrats on the little 'un, too!

-Tim

 

[Callum]

I could have bought a warranty, but that’s just more $$$ I didn’t want to spend. Biggest reason was performance/$. Yes I could afford the other two but I also wanted to reduce my monthly spend from the 350 so I could do more for the family. I’ve always wanted an Audi and I love the Panamera’s styling. But I’ll be honest I like the Stinger’s more muscular look and stance. I guess at 43, I’m still not ready to make the jump to ‘luxury’ status. I got close to $8K off of MSRP and about $1500 more in my trade than I was being offered elsewhere. I actually was looking at GTs and GT1s originally but opted for the more safety feature, smart trunk and I loved the HUD after test driving the GT2. I also like unique cars. You don’t see many GT350s on the road. And I live outside of Atlanta and I’ve only seen 2 on the road. My visit to the dealer was my first up close look and I was smitten immediately.

That's awesome! I too am in Atlanta. I work in downtown and live in Roswell/Milton. The GT2 is an amazing commuter

 

[Kia Stinger]

View attachment 13962 View attachment 13962 View attachment 13963 Hi y’all...Bitter sweet day yesterday as I traded my GT350 for a GT2. We had our first baby girl 6 months ago and I just was not able to drive the 350 much. Plus might be moving to a cold weather climate soon and wanted AWD that my wife could drive when needed. So far I love the car but I’ve been a Mustang owner since I was 16. Looking forward to learning more about the car and how I can personalize her. I just did some basic car/video review research. Any must know or must do’s please let me know!

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. Congratulations on your brand new Stinger GT! The Shelby is a heck of a car - but you'll definitely appreciate the luxuries of the Stinger...

 

[Darth Stinger]

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. Congratulations on your brand new Stinger GT! The Shelby is a heck of a car - but you'll definitely appreciate the luxuries of the Stinger...

Thanks. I always love the car owner forum/community. I’ll be honest just started looking at some of the threads and I’m not sure I fully understand this paint issue. When I bought my GT350 I knew a lot about the car itself, but was unaware of some quality and dealer prep issues...including that probably 75% of the dealer installed chin spoilers are not properly installed. I didn’t know to check and while driving home from the dealer on the highway, the Spoiler dropped and was ripped off of the car. My happy day gone bad real quick. I’m about to go look at the paint very closely.

 

[Callum]

Thanks. I always love the car owner forum/community. I’ll be honest just started looking at some of the threads and I’m not sure I fully understand this paint issue. When I bought my GT350 I knew a lot about the car itself, but was unaware of some quality and dealer prep issues...including that probably 75% of the dealer installed chin spoilers are not properly installed. I didn’t know to check and while driving home from the dealer on the highway, the Spoiler dropped and was ripped off of the car. My happy day gone bad real quick. I’m about to go look at the paint very closely.

FWIW: My 18 had zero paint issues. I am beyond anal about paint quality. I told the dealer not to touch the car prior to delivery. I took the car home as a loaner and washed it myself and inspected the paint.

 

[Stinger GT SS]

G’day @Darth Stinger, welcome to the forum & the Stinger Owners Fraternity, enjoy your new ride.

 

[Waynerm002]

Congrats and welcome to the forum! The Stinger is a great car, I might be one of the few that was dreaming about it since it came out in Korea. I watched a lot of videos and did a number of test drive prior to deciding on getting the GT2. The 2.0T would have been fine but I like the extra options and the GT trim. While it is a step down from my Optima hybrid, fuel wise, I love driving the car and do so as much as I can.

You got an excellent vehicle which will provide you lots of enjoyment!

 

[Darth Stinger]

Congrats and welcome to the forum! The Stinger is a great car, I might be one of the few that was dreaming about it since it came out in Korea. I watched a lot of videos and did a number of test drive prior to deciding on getting the GT2. The 2.0T would have been fine but I like the extra options and the GT trim. While it is a step down from my Optima hybrid, fuel wise, I love driving the car and do so as much as I can.

You got an excellent vehicle which will provide you lots of enjoyment!

Thanks. Today was my first day I got to drive it a good amount driving into Atlanta. I loved every minute of it...just the stereo alone vs the 350’s makes longer drives more enjoyable. Just need to figure out what exhaust to get. I wish Borla made their ATAK, hopefully they’re working on it.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Any must know or must do’s please let me know!

Break it in: keep RPMs between 2K and 4K for first 600 miles; and go easy on the brakes (they are already seated, or so I've been assured). Let your subwoofers break in too. They are great after they have been used regularly for a few weeks. I can't think of anything else at the moment.

Oh, and howdy!

 

[Darth Stinger]

Break it in: keep RPMs between 2K and 4K for first 600 miles; and go easy on the brakes (they are already seated, or so I've been assured). Let your subwoofers break in too. They are great after they have been used regularly for a few weeks. I can't think of anything else at the moment.

Oh, and howdy!

Thanks!

 

[MerlintheMad]

I’m about to go look at the paint very closely.

It has been pointed out on here (some would say ad nauseam) that the "paint issues" are not prevalent, not even for the Nov and Dec 2017 builds. The reason why we hear so much about Stinger paint is because those with issues come here to ask questions and share their pain. It sounds like a lot of Stingers have chipping, flaking, peeling paint. It is not so. The poll is open to the whole wide world and easily comes up at the top of Google searches for Stinger paint issues, and yet since this permutation of the poll started in the first week of June this year, only 246 (out of 5K members) have even responded to the poll: and c. 40% have said "no" to paint issues. It is a small, angry set (and justifiably so!) who have paint failures.

 

[Abirud]

Buy the E badge for the front and Stinger for the back to replace the huge Kia badges in the front in back. It will increase the coolness factor by A LOT! It’s not that hard and you can even buy them from this site. They are an actual Kia product. You’d be changing it to how the car looks in Korea and Europe.

 

[Darth Stinger]

Thanks for the high level overview. Makes me feel better. The GT350 has both awful paint and bad panel prep and fitment that I had to live with. Never had issues with other Mustangs. Pretty sad. I was excited to get a ride with nice paint. Hope it stays that way.

 

[NS_Stinger]

Welcome to the hive, I wish you couldve kept your 350 as a weekend car but being a father of 2 I totally understand where you're coming from. Ive found my AWD Stinger to be a great family hauler for me, my wife, 3 year old and 4 month old. This car is a great balance between a weekend warrior and a family sedan. 350's are just so raw and I love those cars but man i cant imagine trying to make one work as a family car haha. Dont worry about all the paint chatter, it was mostly limited to yellow stingers. Ive not experienced any paint issues with my car and its an early build.

 

[Darth Stinger]

Welcome to the hive, I wish you couldve kept your 350 as a weekend car but being a father of 2 I totally understand where you're coming from. Ive found my AWD Stinger to be a great family hauler for me, my wife, 3 year old and 4 month old. This car is a great balance between a weekend warrior and a family sedan. 350's are just so raw and I love those cars but man i cant imagine trying to make one work as a family car haha. Dont worry about all the paint chatter, it was mostly limited to yellow stingers. Ive not experienced any paint issues with my car and its an early build.

Yeah...The 350 was raw yet composed. I wish I could have kept it but I just had to be smart...I thought I’d be sadder, but driving the Stinger the last few days has been a joy...The tech just adds to my enjoyment...Just need to figure out who has the best sounding exhaust and a few personalized touches and I’m golden!