Very frustrated with Kia

[Gearhead]

This is the worst car purchasing experience I have ever had. I spent the day trying to give my money to the dealers and Kia itself to no avail. All I want is a red RWD Stinger GT but as I have realized that car is not attainable. How could Kia not make that car available to purchase? I do want to thank the Kia dealers today who went above and beyond in helping find any RWD GT that met my specifications.

I am in Columbus, Ohio and a Dayton dealer informed me there are nine Stingers in the USA that match what I am looking for. After I told one of the dealers I would take black he called back and said the nearest one is in Kansas. The nearest red is in Maryland.

How could Kia screw this up so bad? The dealers I have asked about GT sales say they have sold two or three so I do not believe this is a case of high demand. And the fact I have not seen one in the wild yet seems to bear that out. Kia, I am glad to know you are doing so well that you do not need my money. The Toyota Camry with the 6 cylinder 301 HP is looking better right now.

Sorry, meant to post is Letters to Kia not in the news. Admin if you want to move this thread I am okay with that.

 

[Ucinn]

They can't order you one?

 

[phxgt]

I will say it's a bit odd. I just looked at the Kia site and they're are no black or red GT's in Columbus, Phoenix or Minneapolis. Please of GT2's for the color desired.

 

[mldavis2]

With all due respect, @Gearhead, buy the car, not the paint. If the car is worth your money, then color is secondary. It would be a shame to pass up a better car because you can't get one specific color or color combination. There are no "bad" colors on a Stinger -- except maybe black if you don't have the ability to wash it every day or two at home to keep is shiny.

When I ordered my GT2, I would have accepted any color if the car met my specs. I was lucky to get my first choice. But today I see a lot of cars in my area, mainly black or white, that do not sell because it is not a popular color in my area. In other areas the color choices are vastly different. Kia doesn't know that the first year out of the box when they introduce a new car. It's a game of guesswork. There were far more GT2's initially delivered than GTs or GT1's or Premiums. All Canadian cars were AWD. This is marketing guesswork and they missed you -- or you missed them. It's far too good a car to pass over because you won't accept available colors, or wait on an order. JMHO.

 

[Gearhead]

I did ask but told it would be 4 to 8 weeks and they could not guarantee the incentives (lease) would be available. I was told incentives only apply when you sign the paperwork and not when placing an order.

 

[Gearhead]

With all due respect, @Gearhead, buy the car, not the paint. If the car is worth your money, then color is secondary. It would be a shame to pass up a better car because you can't get one specific color or color combination. There are no "bad" colors on a Stinger -- except maybe black if you don't have the ability to wash it every day or two at home to keep is shiny.

When I ordered my GT2, I would have accepted any color if the car met my specs. I was lucky to get my first choice. But today I see a lot of cars in my area, mainly black or white, that do not sell because it is not a popular color in my area. In other areas the color choices are vastly different. Kia doesn't know that the first year out of the box when they introduce a new car. It's a game of guesswork. There were far more GT2's initially delivered than GTs or GT1's or Premiums. All Canadian cars were AWD. This is marketing guesswork and they missed you -- or you missed them. It's far too good a car to pass over because you won't accept available colors, or wait on an order. JMHO.

At this point is more than just color that is a problem. Try to find a GT without the drive wise package which what I am looking for. I refuse spend close to 2 grand for a package that comes on the Optima LX which list for 22,600.

 

[STNGRNV]

The GT is rare in and of itself. The way Kia has rolled out trims is by providing certain colors (at least it appears that way in my area). For instance, most GT2s are red. Silky Silver rules the 2.0 trims. White appears to be rare in all trims. In my area GTs seem to only be blue. I have never seen one in red. And right now there are only 4 GTs in the area, 3 yellow and 1 blue.

 

[scharn]

I'm in an scarily similar boat. I've tried every place west of the Mississippi to find the color, trim, and rwd... it does not exist. The one place that does, the car has 3k+ miles on it. This isn't yellow, or some hyper rare color, just ceramic silver, gt2, rwd...

You could throw a rock at the dealers i've been to and seen and hit 15 reds, white, black... but that color nada. This is laughable now, as this makes finding my Golf R look easy; which is produces is WAY fewer quantities than the Stinger.

At this point i've made peace with the fact that if I don't find it and kia changes its incentives then it just wasn't mean to be.

 

[mldavis2]

Buy the car, not the color. If it's all about the color, you don't really want the car.

 

[LeoDragon]

This is the worst car purchasing experience I have ever had. I spent the day trying to give my money to the dealers and Kia itself to no avail. All I want is a red RWD Stinger GT but as I have realized that car is not attainable. How could Kia not make that car available to purchase? I do want to thank the Kia dealers today who went above and beyond in helping find any RWD GT that met my specifications.

I am in Columbus, Ohio and a Dayton dealer informed me there are nine Stingers in the USA that match what I am looking for. After I told one of the dealers I would take black he called back and said the nearest one is in Kansas. The nearest red is in Maryland.

How could Kia screw this up so bad? The dealers I have asked about GT sales say they have sold two or three so I do not believe this is a case of high demand. And the fact I have not seen one in the wild yet seems to bear that out. Kia, I am glad to know you are doing so well that you do not need my money. The Toyota Camry with the 6 cylinder 301 HP is looking better right now.

Sorry, meant to post is Letters to Kia not in the news. Admin if you want to move this thread I am okay with that.

They have 2 red GT2's here at my dealership in Des Moines Ia. They are AWD though.

 

[Ucinn]

That's about all our dealer has here are red gt2's..i got the ony GT they had on their lot and they had no gt1's

 

[LeoDragon]

Don't you guys get a lot of snow in Ohio? I wouldn't think you'd want a RWD vehicle.

 

[Ucinn]

We do get some snow, but they are good here about snow removal and salt all over the roads. You can get by with an RWD most of the time, but I preferred the AWD. The AWD is why I went with the Stinger over the 800hp Mustng GT.

 

[iclicku]

Well you'll definitely have an easier time buying that Camry you're thinking about...


...cuz they'll make about a million of them.


KIA is happy if they sell 1500 stingers a month.

 

[LeoDragon]

We do get some snow, but they are good here about snow removal and salt all over the roads. You can get by with an RWD most of the time, but I preferred the AWD. The AWD is why I went with the Stinger over the 800hp Mustng GT.

Haha - yeah that makes sense!

 

[Killa200]

I guess I got lucky. Walked into the dealer just looking at the cars on a whim, they had three on the lot (a base in ceramic silver, a premium in blue, and a GT1 in white). I wanted the V6, white exterior, and red interior package. GT1 fit the bill perfectly and had drivewise, so there wasn't anything left missing from it that I cared to wait on a GT2 for, so I bought it!

 

[scharn]

Buy the car, not the color. If it's all about the color, you don't really want the car.

While yes I understand that sentiment, there are two things that for me at least factor in as significantly as just the "its a car" sort of fun/utilitarian aspect. Its like, why do you eat expensive food if cheap food provided the same level of sustenance, or why do restaurants dress up plates of food... you taste just as much with your eyes as you do your mouth (studies actually show more so with your eyes).

I'm a detail enthusiast so to me who will spend a great deal of time painstakingly observing the car from the outside, a color that is appealing to me obviously is important; and just as important as the driving characteristics. Believe me I wish it weren't so; i'm frustrated, but I have to remind myself that patience does pay off. Took 6 months to find my R, in the color, the package, and the condition (had 6 miles on it, just got off the boat)... and its been a wonderful journey ever since.

Hopefully experiences like this make so if and when I do find one, the car will be all the more enjoyable.

 

[phxgt]

If you're that precise on what vehicle you need them order it. Yes, as you previously stated the incentives might change. That means they might get better as well.
Either way you get the car you want!

 

[Gearhead]

Don't you guys get a lot of snow in Ohio? I wouldn't think you'd want a RWD vehicle.

We average only 22 inches a year in Columbus and I spent the last 13 years driving a Chrysler 300C so I am used a RWD now. If I lived near Cleveland I would have to go AWD.

 

[Waynerm002]

Keep in mind this car was a show car for KIA, it was to say, look at what we can do! It has been so good that even though it's priced higher than the ones sold in different countries, it sells for less than it's German competitors here and performs so well that folks are taking notice. This car is built only in Korea at the moment as is most of their low volume cars, Hybrids, EVs, K900, etc.. The US market for KIA while large is one they are still working on growing in. I don't think they expected it to do as well as it is and let's be honest, in some areas folks are biased against the brand so they aren't selling much of them, never mind the fact that dealers are playing stupid games with markup and wanting deposits to allow a test drive.

That being said, they now recognize there are a lot of interest in the car and they will be getting more to the US in the coming months. We might see the 2019s come in around June to augment the inventory. KIA is a company that listens to their customers, we can expect some additional interior/exterior colors to come to market. Based on this type of car it is, they should offer some additional interior colors but based on what we have seen in their K900 and Genesis line, it may take them some time to go that route as they gauge the market. Wait a bit longer and you will be able to get what you want. If you want it now, look around to see what dealer has the one you want, make a deal, fly/drive to where it is sign the papers and drive it home.