New KIA Salesman

[lukastinger]

How much is the dealership you work for marking up the out the door pricing on new Stingers? Do they preemptively install useless addons to pad their bottom line before the car is even put up for sale?

Oooo man, anywhere from $5k-$15k. Of course they add the “racing stripes” and useless addons. It sucks but it is what it is. If i could have it my way, id remove it all. Every dealership in my area participates in that though, the market now “demands” it. People are willing to pay out the ass just to get a new car sadly.

 

[lukastinger]

It's comical to think that a Kia salesman - especially a newly hired one - has knowledge that the posters here don't already have.



That's SO "Kia salesman" of you. This is going to be hilarious.



I'm guessing he owns a GT1 and he just doesn't know any better, which makes his post even more cringe.

Hey bud, i don’t know why you took such great offense to my post. Im just here to offer any info anyone may want or need. If i don't know it, ill try to find out. Im a novice to the Stingers & the KIA dealership experience as a whole, but i want to learn more, and in turn, spread that knowledge to anyone who wants it. I spend time on these forums as-well. I learn from the “dumbies” that are trying to troubleshoot problems or ask for help. Same with the “dumbies” that are happy to offer up any info that they can gather. Sure there are others that know WAY more than me, thats fine. Im not claiming to know everything, but we’ll learn together. Sorry to get in your head bud, next time try to be a little more constructive as there is someone that also knows more than you and probably looks at you the same way. G’day brotha!

 

[lukastinger]

If you only have the 7 inch screen, hate to break it to you but you only have a GT with the sun and sound package, not a GT1 or a GT2.
The GT1's and GT2's both came with 8 inch screens instead of the 7 inch ones.

Oops i meant to type 8inch. I can post some pictures of the interior if you want!

 

[DonD]

When I got my 2022 GT1, I couldn't find a single one in TX, pathetic. Went to a local dealer, car businesses in San Antonio are dominated by companies with multiple brand names under them.

Knew of the Stingers from highly complimentary road tests by magazines like Car & Driver. Took a test drive and said I'd buy the one that was due to arrive in about 3 weeks. Sales manager took a small deposit and promised that the final sale would be at MSRP.

When the car arrived, I immediately went in and was surprised that the sales manager was gone, replaced by a new guy. To his credit, he honored the MSRP price. Asked where the other sales manager was? New one said the old one had done some inappropriate things. Didn't ask further.

Bottom line, the dealership showed integrity by refusing to gouge me. Don,

 

[G70LEbyAdoom]

Oops i meant to type 8inch. I can post some pictures of the interior if you want!

No worries! Just making sure you knew. Also, feel free to post pictures, we love good interior shots up in here.

 

[lukastinger]

No worries! Just making sure you knew. Also, feel free to post pictures, we love good interior shots up in here.

 

[Kamauxx]

Its my way of simplifying it. When i say GT2 interior package, i mean it has the sunroof, nappa leather interior (red), 7inch infotainment (although the standard 2018 GT1 model comes with that), and the Harmon Kardon Speakers. Its just the “loaded” version, minus the shift by wire thats of course limited to the GT2 models. Im well aware that its not the legitimate term but hey, i’m kinda dumb & similar-ish labels help me grasp things better

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for nappa leather. Nappa leather was standard on GT2s.

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for Harmon Kardon speakers. That was standard and came on ALL trims above GT.

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for a sunroof. It was also standard and came on all trims above GT.

2018 GT1s didn't have 7" infotainment screens. Standard screens (no option to have different) were 8". ***just saw your correction - disregard.

Sounds like you may have a GT w/sun and sound package.

Stick around, you'll learn a lot here.

 

[cncBilly]

I only fill my tires with a 78% Nitrogen blend. Nothing else comes near my tires.

And where do you get that? Does it come 78%? And lastly why?

 

[AtomicGTL]

Oops i meant to type 8inch. I can post some pictures of the interior if you want!

This was my opening line pre-marriage.

 

[G70LEbyAdoom]

This was my opening line pre-marriage.

and your post marriage one?

 

[Devin]

and your post marriage one?

Sorry, it looked bigger in the pictures.

 

[AtomicGTL]

and your post marriage one?

post-settlement

 

[Kamauxx]

Hey bud, i don’t know why you took such great offense to my post. Im just here to offer any info anyone may want or need. If i don't know it, ill try to find out. Im a novice to the Stingers & the KIA dealership experience as a whole, but i want to learn more, and in turn, spread that knowledge to anyone who wants it. I spend time on these forums as-well. I learn from the “dumbies” that are trying to troubleshoot problems or ask for help. Same with the “dumbies” that are happy to offer up any info that they can gather. Sure there are others that know WAY more than me, thats fine. Im not claiming to know everything, but we’ll learn together. Sorry to get in your head bud, next time try to be a little more constructive as

I'm not offended by your posts. I just really dislike Kia salesmen because the ones I've met are always clueless about the products they sell. It's not a personal dislike, it's a professional one. Kia salesmen need to take their jobs more seriously and spend some time learning about their products - it is, after all their job.

Imagine someone is on a house hunt and their realtor doesn't know how many bedrooms a house they're viewing has so they just make something up in hopes that the buyer won't know any better. That's bad business. I've had quite a few experiences with Kia salesmen trying to sell me a dream by making up random shit, completely oblivious that they were talking to someone who knows how to research a product. But that's how Kia salesmen do their jobs - they say whatever they think will put a butt in a seat, with no regard for the truth.

there is someone that also knows more than you and probably looks at you the same way. G’day brotha!

That will never happen. When I don't know something I just say "I don't know" or maybe "standby while I find out for you." I don't pretend to have knowledge to impart onto others and cross my fingers that they won't realize I don't know what I'm talking about.

A few years back I spent 3 years on recruiting duty for the Marine Corps - I was essentially a salesman, my product was military service. I know a little bit about selling a product and the best way to avoid embarrassing situations where someone asks a question and you give an erroneous answer is to dive head first into whatever you're selling and if you don't have an answer be honest and explain that you'll find out and let em know. Kia salesmen remind me of the Army recruiters that worked next door to us. They were just straight up liars who would tell applicants any manner of bullshit to try to convince them to sign on the dotted line.

It's cool that you want to help, but I think your time here would be better spent absorbing information instead of providing it. That intro post should have said "hey y'all, I'm new to Stingers and looking forward to learning from you all so I can use that knowledge to help me in my job as a Kia salesman" not "I own a GT4.5 and I'm here to teach y'all tips and tricks."

I won't say anything else on the matter because I have a bad habit of ruining threads. Go ahead and reply, I'll read your thoughts and give you a courtesy thumbs up to let you know it's been received.

Good luck.

 

[bfglitch]

I can kinda get the bad rep Kia salesmen get. I went to 3 different dealerships when I was shopping. The first one I took a test drive at and the salesmen was more interested in looking at NFT's on his cell phone then he was in making a sale. It wasn't until I put the car in sport mode and gunned it around the corner when he decided to pay attention. The second dealership, the salesman I spoke to knew his stuff and also assisted with helping me find the exact Stinger I was looking for and checked inventory along the entire eastern seaboard. I was honestly disappointed to NOT be able to buy from them. The third was under the same owner as the first, was a brand new dealership, and was understaffed (but they had the exact car I wanted). Didn't really interact much with the sales guy since they were understaffed and also because I mentioned I was willing to order to get the exact car I wanted (which wasn't honest but then again when are dealers?) so they instantly brought in a manager to negotiate.

For now, I get my car serviced at the 2nd dealership I went to. They seemed to be at least proactive in their checks (actually checked the operation of the brakes on my first visit with all the complaints of "warped rotors"). Didn't get a chance to speak with the service manager though as he was on vacation.

 

[Deviate]

Im not sure if this is the appropriate section to post this, but i thought it could be helpful to those who may have any questions or want some general info. I work in a KIA dealership & own a 2018 GT1 w/ the GT2 interior package. I only recently started working here as a salesman but i’m sure i can clear up any questions or give some tips & tricks. I have some insider info on the tech & sales side of things so, ask away

What dealer?

 

[lukastinger]

Is production ending on the Stinger after this model year?

As far as we know, no! I cant say with certain confidence, but we have no information on it being discontinued, quite the contrary though. We’ve received memo’s with claims of plans for new models but things change…

 

[lukastinger]

Th

I can kinda get the bad rep Kia salesmen get. I went to 3 different dealerships when I was shopping. The first one I took a test drive at and the salesmen was more interested in looking at NFT's on his cell phone then he was in making a sale. It wasn't until I put the car in sport mode and gunned it around the corner when he decided to pay attention. The second dealership, the salesman I spoke to knew his stuff and also assisted with helping me find the exact Stinger I was looking for and checked inventory along the entire eastern seaboard. I was honestly disappointed to NOT be able to buy from them. The third was under the same owner as the first, was a brand new dealership, and was understaffed (but they had the exact car I wanted). Didn't really interact much with the sales guy since they were understaffed and also because I mentioned I was willing to order to get the exact car I wanted (which wasn't honest but then again when are dealers?) so they instantly brought in a manager to negotiate.

For now, I get my car serviced at the 2nd dealership I went to. They seemed to be at least proactive in their checks (actually checked the operation of the brakes on my first visit with all the complaints of "warped rotors"). Didn't get a chance to speak with the service manager though as he was on vacation.

Thats good to hear! Yea most KIA dealerships i’ve been to have poor service & less than average salesman. I think im lucky to work at the particular dealership i'm at now. We genuinely have some great salesman & try (at the very least) to make our customers happy.

 

[ScottM]

"I own a GT4.5 and I'm here to teach y'all tips and tricks."

 

[lukastinger]

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for nappa leather. Nappa leather was standard on GT2s.

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for Harmon Kardon speakers. That was standard and came on ALL trims above GT.

2018 GT1s didn't have an option for a sunroof. It was also standard and came on all trims above GT.

2018 GT1s didn't have 7" infotainment screens. Standard screens (no option to have different) were 8". ***just saw your correction - disregard.

Sounds like you may have a GT w/sun and sound package.

Stick around, you'll learn a lot here.

According to the VIN # it is a GT1 so thats peculiar. FYI, i bought it at a Mercedes dealership. The salesman was clueless and didn't even know it was a TT v6.

 

[lukastinger]

I'm not offended by your posts. I just really dislike Kia salesmen because the ones I've met are always clueless about the products they sell. It's not a personal dislike, it's a professional one. Kia salesmen need to take their jobs more seriously and spend some time learning about their products - it is, after all their job.

Imagine someone is on a house hunt and their realtor doesn't know how many bedrooms a house they're viewing has so they just make something up in hopes that the buyer won't know any better. That's bad business. I've had quite a few experiences with Kia salesmen trying to sell me a dream by making up random shit, completely oblivious that they were talking to someone who knows how to research a product. But that's how Kia salesmen do their jobs - they say whatever they think will put a butt in a seat, with no regard for the truth.



That will never happen. When I don't know something I just say "I don't know" or maybe "standby while I find out for you." I don't pretend to have knowledge to impart onto others and cross my fingers that they won't realize I don't know what I'm talking about.

A few years back I spent 3 years on recruiting duty for the Marine Corps - I was essentially a salesman, my product was military service. I know a little bit about selling a product and the best way to avoid embarrassing situations where someone asks a question and you give an erroneous answer is to dive head first into whatever you're selling and if you don't have an answer be honest and explain that you'll find out and let em know. Kia salesmen remind me of the Army recruiters that worked next door to us. They were just straight up liars who would tell applicants any manner of bullshit to try to convince them to sign on the dotted line.

It's cool that you want to help, but I think your time here would be better spent absorbing information instead of providing it. That intro post should have said "hey y'all, I'm new to Stingers and looking forward to learning from you all so I can use that knowledge to help me in my job as a Kia salesman" not "I own a GT4.5 and I'm here to teach y'all tips and tricks."

I won't say anything else on the matter because I have a bad habit of ruining threads. Go ahead and reply, I'll read your thoughts and give you a courtesy thumbs up to let you know it's been received.

Good luck.

I agree man! KIA salesman tend to be horrible. I completely agree! You do have valid points. My goal here isn't to spread misinformation or to act like i know everything. Also, i’m a bit more sympathetic than any typical car salesman. I don’t wake up & go into work with the mission of ripping off a family in need.

If anything, id rather eat it & make $100 on my back end just to ensure they get to go home in a functional vehicle & go about their lives. In turn, i receive better reviews and more than likely, returning customers. I appreciate your constructive criticism in this post, Ill soak it in and learn from it! Thanks again!