Newbie and possible Stinger owner

[Buzzman12]

Hello everyone.
I am in Ontario, Canada.
I have had my eye on the Stinger since it was introduced 5 (?) years ago. Back then getting one wasn't in the cards.
Things have changed, and I am in a position to be able to purchase one.
As this is the last year of production, I'm hoping I'm buying a mature product, with most if not all, of the bugs worked out.
I currently have a 2017 Mazda 6 GT with tech and premium package, bought new.
I actually love the Mazda 6. It has been a great car. The one thing it lacks, for me anyhow, is power.
It has a 2.5 N/A engine at about 190 HP. If you are a soccer mom or non enthusiast, it is more than enough. For me, I've always found myself wanting more.
I also like the idea of AWD. Those are the two main reasons for making a change.
I've scanned quickly through reviews and such, and haven't found any compelling reasons to steer clear of the Stinger.
One thing I have seen discussed is poor brake performance, particularly the fronts. Has that been addressed by Kia?
Other than that, any useful ideas and input will be met with enthusiasm.
Thankyou

 

[Kodiack]

I have owned mine over 3 years and 120k kms and I still love it...0 issues.
I havent experienced poor brake performance at all but I dont track my car.
Are you buying new or looking for a gently used.....beware of used, alot of stingers get modded abused and sold.

 

[Buzzman12]

Going new, mostly for the reason you mentioned.
I'm afraid of how the previous owner drove it, if I buy used.
It seems to be the type of car that can be very tempting to drive... aggressively, shall we say. I'm not taking a chance on a used one. Not even a demo.

 

[Snicklefritz]

I bought a used, three year leased premium last fall. it has been a very reliable car, not in need of any attention at all. the 2.0l doesn't have the same risk of being modded and abused as the 3.3l, Ima thinking. a kia cpo is a big plus when buying as a second owner. combined with low miles I don't think there's much chance of things going wrong.

as for 'bugs worked out' in five years, yes and no. from what I read / hear the annoying noises that are common, though not a majority of vehicles by any means, are still issues but are fixable. neither of our stingers have aggravating noises. the closest to that is the premium which has the 'trunk thunk', only when going over bumps in the road, the thunk just makes the bump sound louder, there isn't a subsequent rattle just the one 'thunk.' I could probably even eliminate that with one of the fixes for a noisy hatch that are shared on the forum. everything else about the stinger is good. brakes are fine for most drivers and aftermarket pads will solve 99 percent of the complaints that exist.

 

[Kia Stinger]

Hello everyone.
I am in Ontario, Canada.
I have had my eye on the Stinger since it was introduced 5 (?) years ago. Back then getting one wasn't in the cards.
Things have changed, and I am in a position to be able to purchase one.
As this is the last year of production, I'm hoping I'm buying a mature product, with most if not all, of the bugs worked out.
I currently have a 2017 Mazda 6 GT with tech and premium package, bought new.
I actually love the Mazda 6. It has been a great car. The one thing it lacks, for me anyhow, is power.
It has a 2.5 N/A engine at about 190 HP. If you are a soccer mom or non enthusiast, it is more than enough. For me, I've always found myself wanting more.
I also like the idea of AWD. Those are the two main reasons for making a change.
I've scanned quickly through reviews and such, and haven't found any compelling reasons to steer clear of the Stinger.
One thing I have seen discussed is poor brake performance, particularly the fronts. Has that been addressed by Kia?
Other than that, any useful ideas and input will be met with enthusiasm.
Thankyou

Welcome aboard! And thank you for signing up. I’m glad you found us and I’m glad to see reading here has convinced you that the Stinger would be a great upgrade/replacement for your Mazda 6. Keep us posted on how that goes if/when you buy one.

 

[Ah GetFd]

All I can say is. Buy a New Stinger My23 GT

It is the most awesome car

It comes with the Brembo Brake package here at least so forget what you read about brake performance.

AND a 7 year Unlimited Kms new car warranty plus 7 years roadside assist.

You will get muddled on the features but if I can mention 50......

Twin turbo charged 3,3 Litre V6 developing 274 Kilowatts (746 watts equals 1 horsepower), so you are buying a 367 horsepower beast.

Couple that with the top of the range Porsche/Merc features like

Active Hood (to flick the pedestrians over roof instead of thru the windscreen)

Radar on all four corners. Pedestrian and bicycle detection and cross turning traffic detection.

Active cruise that reads the speed signs through the cameras, correlates that with the Satnav and modifies the speed to the speed zone. Active cruise control via radar for vehicles ahead. Warnings for being left behind at traffic lights when the front car moves off. Active Satnv that tells you closest the petrol stations on low fuel warning. Level crossings. Schools.

Rear seat passenger warning. Left your phone behind warning. Wireless phone charging.

Vehicle exit warning. crossing traffic warning, blind spot warning. animals crossing warning..............

Electrochromatic interior and exterior mirrors, heated exterior mirrors, heated steering, heated and cooled seats, 8 memory seat, electric bolsters,

5 drive selectable positions alters electronic suspension and drive train. Remote starting. LED lights all round including active see around corners headlights

Approach remote opening doors and tailgate. Puddle lamps, electric sunroof, Full LED lighting across rear and new badging. Pirelli tyres and 19 inch alloys. Electric remote hatch.

15 speaker Harmon Kardon system with front and rear USB and 12V sockets. Climate control front with independent front seat passenger. Rear independent heating and cooling. 64 interior selectable ambient lighting, Nappa real soft leather interior (a real cow died for this car).

So many more features I can't remember.

I was so impressed. I bought Two. Jan 23 and Mar 23 and would recommend them to anyone.

And women from 18 to 50 LOVE them

 

[Snicklefritz]

^^^in the 'most entertaining posts' contest, I would submit this one for sure.

 

[Buzzman12]

Thanks for all the replies.
Most of the tech features mentioned above, I have in the Mazda. When I bought it, I included the tech package option.
I am loathe to give up things like radar cruise, the HUD, street sign recognition, adaptive headlights, heated seats front and back, etc, so it's good to know the Stinger has all that, and more.
It's interesting here in Canada what Kia has done with the Stinger. Due to low sales, they simplified and trimmed down the number of models, colour options etc that are available. They pretty much just offer one Stinger, the GT Elite AWD, in reduced colour choices. No more blue or yellow, for example.
They also don't offer the 4 cyl engine option. Hasn't been available for a few years now. It's the V6, or bust.
That's a good thing really, because all I'm shopping for now is the exterior colour, and interior setup (either all black, or the black/red combo).
Hopefully this week coming up I will get down to wheeling and dealing, and see what they offer, both for the Stinger, and my Mazda.
If I get what I want for the Mazda, I'll trade it in. If not, I'll sell privately.
I'll keep posting updates as things move along.
Thankyou everyone.

 

[Cosmok]

Good luck with your search. I have thoroughly enjoyed mine! Tremendous engine and slick tech features.

 

[Ah GetFd]

Thanks for all the replies.
Most of the tech features mentioned above, I have in the Mazda. When I bought it, I included the tech package option.
I am loathe to give up things like radar cruise, the HUD, street sign recognition, adaptive headlights, heated seats front and back, etc, so it's good to know the Stinger has all that, and more.
It's interesting here in Canada what Kia has done with the Stinger. Due to low sales, they simplified and trimmed down the number of models, colour options etc that are available. They pretty much just offer one Stinger, the GT Elite AWD, in reduced colour choices. No more blue or yellow, for example.
They also don't offer the 4 cyl engine option. Hasn't been available for a few years now. It's the V6, or bust.
That's a good thing really, because all I'm shopping for now is the exterior colour, and interior setup (either all black, or the black/red combo).
Hopefully this week coming up I will get down to wheeling and dealing, and see what they offer, both for the Stinger, and my Mazda.
If I get what I want for the Mazda, I'll trade it in. If not, I'll sell privately.
I'll keep posting updates as things move along.
Thankyou everyone.

You pretty much covered the range. Reduced colours and only a couple of models left.

A Mazda 6 is not a Stinger. It is nowhere near a Stinger. It might have some features that are similar.

If you have an expectation that you are going to wheel and deal for a new Stinger forget it. These are the last ones and my experience is dealers are holding full recommended retail price with some adding $10K to $20K on top of that..

Doing a quick check your Mazda is worth $10K as a trade in. That will be the heart breaking part and expect to get $1000 more privately. A dealer will sell it for $20K

If you really want to get into a new Stinger, take what the Kia dealer offers for the trade and what they are asking for the new Stinger and save yourself a lot of heartache.

 

[RedCal]

Welcome to the hive!

 

[Landshark]

It comes with the Brembo Brake package here at least so forget what you read about brake performance.

its the pads that are crap ... Brembo brakes or not. i have no issue with mine, but many report that they leave deposits on the rotors and you get the "shudder" when braking. can re-bed the pads or change them to aftermarket - easy fix.

Wireless phone charging.

not really - its just a phone heater that barely charges. disabled mine and use a slim aftermarket wireless charger in its place that actually charges without cooking my phone.

 

[Ah GetFd]

.

 

[Kamauxx]

Active Hood (to flick the pedestrians over roof instead of thru the windscreen)

I had to Google this one. I'm surprised by the results. Learned something new today.

 

[Ah GetFd]

.

 

[Buzzman12]

You pretty much covered the range. Reduced colours and only a couple of models left.

A Mazda 6 is not a Stinger. It is nowhere near a Stinger. It might have some features that are similar.

If you have an expectation that you are going to wheel and deal for a new Stinger forget it. These are the last ones and my experience is dealers are holding full recommended retail price with some adding $10K to $20K on top of that..

Doing a quick check your Mazda is worth $10K as a trade in. That will be the heart breaking part and expect to get $1000 more privately. A dealer will sell it for $20K

If you really want to get into a new Stinger, take what the Kia dealer offers for the trade and what they are asking for the new Stinger and save yourself a lot of heartache.

You couldn't be more wrong on my Mazda.
It's a top of the line 2017 GT, with the tech and premium package. It has 38,000Kms on it, about 24,000 miles. Never winter driven.
There isn't another one like it for sale in all of Canada, that I can see when searching.
Retail would be around $28k, maybe pushing $30k, if I found the right buyer.
Blue book value is about $25-$27k. I'd be insane to take $10K as a trade in.
If you've never seen one, then I can understand what you are saying. The interior is definitely a cut above the crap you find in a Camry or an Accord. This is not a base Mazda.
As for dealers inflating prices, I have not seen that on the Stingers here in Ottawa. They are listed at MSRP. We shall see soon enough though.
I'll keep you posted.

 

[Ah GetFd]

.

 

[Buzzman12]

Check autotrader canada. There's one listed for $28,980, with twice the mileage.
I can't post the link as I am too new.

This is Canada don't forget.
I will let you know what the dealer says, and yes, I've been around long enough to know they will lowball me.
I would be disappointed if they didn't...lol

 

[Ah GetFd]

.

 

[LordKOTL]

...
One thing I have seen discussed is poor brake performance, particularly the fronts. Has that been addressed by Kia?
...

95% of the time the brake issue is pulsation because of deposits from the stock crap pads (I think organic material) on the rotors.

Kia themselves haven't really addressed the issue, but swapping out the stock pads for a ceramic pad will likely solve the problem. It did in my case.