Stinger vs Lexus GS 350

[GenesisG70]

Statistics and numbers don't lie Lexus is bought by many women and senior citizens. Every time I turn my head and there is a Lexus next to me I see a female or a senior citizen driving it, that image will never leave the minds of people, Lexus for the old and females. For this reason only will never purchase a Lexus, they say a car is extension of you and what Lexus represents to me is Feminine and old regardless if they have an F badge or not, don't want be seen in a car that my grandma, my aunt and my doctor who happens to be a female all drive a Lexus. But people should buy what tickles them its your money.

 

[GenesisG70]

Comparing Kia reliability/service with Lexus is apples and oranges. Lexus has been tops in reliability for years and they are a luxury brand who has service departments that coddle their customers. Kia has a kind of identity crisis going on now, selling more expensive, nicer vehicles but still having service departments geared for Souls and Rios.

 

[GenesisG70]

Glad to hear you say that about Lexus standing behind their warranty. I have witnessed this myself. I knew several people that had 2008 ISFs. This particular year, the dashboards and door panels turned "gummy" and sticky after many years in hot and/or humid climates. In 2019, 11 years later, I know of several people on the forum that had this problem. In most cases, Lexus replaced the dashboards and door panels on these cars out of warranty and free of charge. I can't even get Kia to replace my brake rotors in warranty or perform an open TSB. That speaks volumes if you are listening Kia...

It is interesting because I just had my rotors changed by my dealer under warranty recently here in North Florida at Orange Park Kia, they were vibrating but now they don't and they did not charge me a dime, I guess it depends on the dealer.

 

[YEH]

He didn't say the Stinger isn't reliable, he said the Lexus win in the reliability department. In other words, in a comparison between the two one is more reliable than the other. He also said the Stinger wins in the "acceleration" category. That doesn't mean the Lexus doesn't accelerate.

One reason why Lexus has been more reliable (than any other brand) is b/c they have largely stuck to NA engines, and when they did add a 2.0T turbo to the GS and IS, it was under-powered compared to the competition, even the ancient 2.0T that's in the Stinger.

Lexus doesn't necessarily fall into that category. A lot of their parts are interchangeable with Toyota parts. And they don't require the same amount of attention as German/British luxury vehicles.

Lexus techs, however, do charge at a bit higher rate than for Toyota techs, which is why there are some Lexus owners who take their vehicles to a Toyota store to do more basic wrenching.

Glad to hear you say that about Lexus standing behind their warranty. I have witnessed this myself. I knew several people that had 2008 ISFs. This particular year, the dashboards and door panels turned "gummy" and sticky after many years in hot and/or humid climates. In 2019, 11 years later, I know of several people on the forum that had this problem. In most cases, Lexus replaced the dashboards and door panels on these cars out of warranty and free of charge. I can't even get Kia to replace my brake rotors in warranty or perform an open TSB. That speaks volumes if you are listening Kia...

Melting and cracking dashboards were an issue for numerous Toyota and Lexus models over a no. of years.

There were 2 class action lawsuits filed over that, the 2nd one when Toyota/Lexus' recall action didn't sufficiently address the problem to the satisfaction of many owners.

Normally, something like rotors wouldn't be covered under warranty, but based on the # of complaints, think Kia corporate should at least offer to pay 50% towards new rotors (don't know why they just didn't include the sturdier Euro-spec stuff in the 1st place).

Statistics and numbers don't lie Lexus is bought by many women and senior citizens. Every time I turn my head and there is a Lexus next to me I see a female or a senior citizen driving it, that image will never leave the minds of people, Lexus for the old and females. For this reason only will never purchase a Lexus, they say a car is extension of you and what Lexus represents to me is Feminine and old regardless if they have an F badge or not, don't want be seen in a car that my grandma, my aunt and my doctor who happens to be a female all drive a Lexus. But people should buy what tickles them its your money.

That's largely due to Lexus sales these days being dominated by the RX, ES, NX and UX.

But there probably are a good # of middle-aged males (or older) who drive those models.

Don't think women driving a certain model is an issue; there are a decent $ of female Stinger owners who appreciate the combo of performance + looks.

The problem is that those (as well as the males) driving a RX or ES don't care about either of those 2 things.

Even the majority of RWD Lexus owners don't seem to care either.

Back before the IS250 was replaced by a 2.0T, it made up something like 80% of IS sales despite the 2.5L V6 being a complete dog.

Even CR (the bible of Toyota/Lexus owners) completely ripped the IS250.

 

[SoonerBornATX]

I am in the process of getting rid of my Stinger. I can justify it based solely on the dealership experience (maintenance). Many will not agree with this sentiment because they are very pleased with their car and their dealership for a number of reasons. I have been let down by the car and the dealership experience.

I left a Lexus "F" car (not F sport) for the Stinger because my ISF was getting older and I wanted some of the characteristics you mention above. I was looking for a larger sedan (up from the ISF size), RWD, 350+hp, modern electronics/infotainment, and warranty. My first choice was a GS-F, but the cost (new) for that car was ridiculous and the GS-F CPO market wasn't that well populated at the time, so the list got whittled down to the Kia Stinger. I made this choice partly due to two positive Hyundai Genesis ownership experiences. I was very excited about buying and driving the Kia Stinger based on the hype at the time. Then the issues popped up, many of them. To compound the problem, Kia didn't have a fix for them.

Obviously, this is a Stinger forum and one that I have been a proud and participating member of. I am not here to bash or "pile-on" the Stinger, nor will I. I will simply say that my ownership and driving experience with the Kia has come nowhere close to the experience, effort, and car put out by Lexus. It is not even close. I have owned 1 Lexus and 3 Hyundai/Kia vehicles. That should indicate that I have no bias against the Hyundai/Kia brand. I just don't feel that they are where Lexus is currently with overall ownership experience.

If you are interested in Lexus, as others have said, stay away from the mundane offerings (grandpa cars). The F-sport cars are appearance only packages and will be a HUGE letdown compared to the Stinger (unless you add a supercharger and suspension/brake mods). If you should choose to go with Lexus, I strongly encourage you to choose a CPO GS-F. Good examples can be had in the $45k to $50k range with a 6yr/unlimited mile warranty. FWIW, you won't need the warranty in my experience. There are road going supercharged GS-Fs with 800hp for anyone questioning the potential of these cars or dismissing them as old people cars. The first :40 seconds will illustrate (

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For those who love/like your Stingers, I am glad for you. I wanted to be one of those people too. Had Kia done their part to earn and keep my business, I would still be a fan. However, the OP was asking for input from Lexus owners/shoppers, so that is what I tried to provide.

I have been keeping an eye on the used market for GS-F's. I never saw them go below $38k USD. If I get ahold of one that is a bit cheaper I could see myself happily driving it for the next 10 years.

08 IS-F's are pretty easily found ~$20k, but typically with 80k+ miles. Great bang for your buck but not what I'm looking for in a daily right now for some of the same reasons you mentioned.

 

[Ac91]

I have been keeping an eye on the used market for GS-F's. I never saw them go below $38k USD. If I get ahold of one that is a bit cheaper I could see myself happily driving it for the next 10 years.

08 IS-F's are pretty easily found ~$20k, but typically with 80k+ miles. Great bang for your buck but not what I'm looking for in a daily right now for some of the same reasons you mentioned.

Dang where did you find a used GSF for $38k cheapest here in dfw I’ve found before buying my stinger was a CPO for $44k and it had like 30k miles

 

[MerlintheMad]

Normally, something like rotors wouldn't be covered under warranty, but based on the # of complaints, think Kia corporate should at least offer to pay 50% towards new rotors (don't know why they just didn't include the sturdier Euro-spec stuff in the 1st place).

From what I gather, it's because, "Europeans want brakes that stop a car fast even if the brakes are noisy and dusty; Americans want quiet brakes that are not dusty even if they don't stop a car fast". ( words to that effect)

 

[Helo58]

Statistics and numbers don't lie Lexus is bought by many women and senior citizens. Every time I turn my head and there is a Lexus next to me I see a female or a senior citizen driving it, that image will never leave the minds of people, Lexus for the old and females. For this reason only will never purchase a Lexus, they say a car is extension of you and what Lexus represents to me is Feminine and old regardless if they have an F badge or not, don't want be seen in a car that my grandma, my aunt and my doctor who happens to be a female all drive a Lexus. But people should buy what tickles them its your money.

Yeah dude, we get it. You hate Lexus because you see your car as an extension of yourself. If you are comfortable telling all of us, who hurt you? It is okay, you are in the "trust tree" here on the forum. Who are those bad people at Lexus who hurt you? Through sharing we can help you come to grips with your hatred for old people, women, and Lexus automobiles.

Initial quality ratings are for the first 90 days of ownership. That says very little when talking about long term ownership. My first 90 days with the Stinger were wonderful. The most recent 365 days, not so much. If you like JD Power, then I would point you to the 2019 dependability study. I'll give you a hint, it is the 8th consecutive year that the brand has won the award based on dependability for 3 year old vehicles. It rhymes with Schmexus.

It is interesting because I just had my rotors changed by my dealer under warranty recently here in North Florida at Orange Park Kia, they were vibrating but now they don't and they did not charge me a dime, I guess it depends on the dealer.

No, it depends on the manufacturer in my case. The dealership replaced the rotors twice on my car for free. When I took it back the 3rd time with the exact same issue, they would not replace them. When I escalated the issue to Kia corporate, corporate refused saying that the warranty period had expired. In doing so, they lost any future business from me. This is clearly a known issue with the Stinger and they failed to successfully address the problem.

 

[GenesisG70]

Guys buy some Lexus stocks! Its hot now!
I'm gonna buy a F Lexus and go into Lexus forums.

 

[itguy61]

Glad to hear you say that about Lexus standing behind their warranty. I have witnessed this myself. I knew several people that had 2008 ISFs. This particular year, the dashboards and door panels turned "gummy" and sticky after many years in hot and/or humid climates. In 2019, 11 years later, I know of several people on the forum that had this problem. In most cases, Lexus replaced the dashboards and door panels on these cars out of warranty and free of charge. I can't even get Kia to replace my brake rotors in warranty or perform an open TSB. That speaks volumes if you are listening Kia...

That is probably a by product of Kia selling a lot of lower priced, lower margin vehicles. Lexus probably has good margins so they can afford to do things like this. Frustrating to say the least. Kia has a bit of an identity crisis going on. Selling more nice cars now, but still selling a bunch of the cheap ones. They need to provide better service to people who buy the higher end cars imho.

 

[Helo58]

Guys buy some Lexus stocks! Its hot now!
I'm gonna buy a F Lexus and go into Lexus forums.

No, a better bet would be to buy Hyundai/Kia stocks, they are hot too. Just keep them for less than 90 days.

 

[MisterMac]

Guys buy some Lexus stocks! Its hot now!
I'm gonna buy a F Lexus and go into Lexus forums.

Bye!

 

[Nuthadey]

Statistics and numbers don't lie Lexus is bought by many women and senior citizens. Every time I turn my head and there is a Lexus next to me I see a female or a senior citizen driving it, that image will never leave the minds of people, Lexus for the old and females. For this reason only will never purchase a Lexus, they say a car is extension of you and what Lexus represents to me is Feminine and old regardless if they have an F badge or not, don't want be seen in a car that my grandma, my aunt and my doctor who happens to be a female all drive a Lexus. But people should buy what tickles them its your money.

You are so burly and manly. Your constant bashing of Lexus based on your belief that only women and old people buy them makes you come across as the quintessential picture of masculinity. Not once have I thought to myself "this dude is clearly in the closet and overcompensating to mask his sexual proclivities." And I definitely never thought to myself "damn, homie has some deep seated mommy/daddy issues. Probably from being called ugly and never receiving hugs and kisses."

Nope, whenever I read your rants I always think "wow, I bet he has grizzly bear DNA and juggles chainsaws for fun."

Yea, you're one tough mudder!

 

[MisterMac]

Guys buy some Lexus stocks! Its hot now!
I'm gonna buy a F Lexus and go into Lexus forums.

I can't see a scenario where I would ever take advice from you.

 

[eflyguy]

 

[GenesisG70]

So Genesis so its sister brands KIA and HYUNDAI, so Lexus the most dependable?

 

[GenesisG70]

So Lexus has been around for how long? wait they are less dependable than Genesis (Hyundai/Kia) that started in 2015 making cars? That's embarrassing. I'm done I'm going to the Lexus forum.

 

[GenesisG70]

You are so burly and manly. Your constant bashing of Lexus based on your belief that only women and old people buy them makes you come across as the quintessential picture of masculinity. Not once have I thought to myself "this dude is clearly in the closet and overcompensating to mask his sexual proclivities." And I definitely never thought to myself "damn, homie has some deep seated mommy/daddy issues. Probably from being called ugly and never receiving hugs and kisses."

Nope, whenever I read your rants I always think "wow, I bet he has grizzly bear DNA and juggles chainsaws for fun."

Yea, you're one tough mudder!

That was a good read thanks. Just pointing that many females and senior citizens buy Lexus and all of the sudden all these cry babies, just posting some numbers seems to have hurt some feelings. So emotional

 

[MisterMac]

So Lexus has been around for how long? wait they are less dependable than Genesis (Hyundai/Kia) that started in 2015 making cars? That's embarrassing. I'm done I'm going to the Lexus forum.

Good riddance. Adios. Don't let the keyboard hit you in the ass on your way out.

However, as you are 100% donkey, it really can't miss...

 

[G70 Owner]

That was a good read thanks. Just pointing that many females and senior citizens buy Lexus and all of the sudden all these cry babies, just posting some numbers seems to have hurt some feelings. So emotional

Man your older brother is gonna be so pissed when he finds out you stole his login to post on the stinger forums. You trolled us adults pretty good!