New guy here, doing research on a possible Stinger purchase

[Norskie]

New guy here, doing research on a possible Stinger purchase, so bear with me as I ask a bunch of obvious questions.

The Stinger's generous back seat and AWD and hopefully durable (i.e. not German) build quality appeals to me. The price ... not so much. Which is why I'm also looking at a lightly used and much less interesting 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i for 1/3 the price. Either car will replace my 2010 BMW 535i xDrive 6MT stage 1. My BMW has 66k miles on it and drives like a dream but holy crap it just keeps breaking. Is it so much to ask that I can go just one oil change interval without something needing repair? Good thing I do all my own work or I'd be wearing a barrel with straps. Anyway, I really like the BMW because it is a manual transmission, and I'm disappointed the Stinger doesn't offer one. However, limiting myself to three pedals limits (at least in the US) limits me to smaller and low-end cars.

Besides the E60 on it's way out of the garage, we also have a 2017 BRZ for summers and a 2005 Outback XT for winters (we're in MN). Both are manuals, and at 175k the Outback just refuses to die. There are also a couple motorcycles in the stable ... KLX400R, Ninja 1000 and FZ09. We like internal combustion engines!

 

[mldavis2]

Well, take a day and watch all the online reviews of the Stinger. Then check the J.D. Power ratings for Kia in the past few years. Then go drive one.

 

[johnnywalker]

You can already find some used Stingers for sale that can save you some money.

 

[Norskie]

Well, take a day and watch all the online reviews of the Stinger. Then check the J.D. Power ratings for Kia in the past few years. Then go drive one.

The thing with JD Powers ratings is that they either measure initial quality or dependability the first three years. Big whoop. The only new car I've owned which had any issues in the first three years of ownership was a 1998 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP (I didn't even own it 20k before I decided to ditch it). Also .. considering how highly they rate BMW and Audi and how at odds that is with my own (and my family/friends) experiences, I'm not sure I trust it.

Consumer Reports has more detail on true long term ownership, but alas the Stinger is too new to have much history to draw on. We can extrapolate somewhat from Hyundai and Kia's other vehicles, but the Stinger is a whole new level of complexity with which things that can go wrong.

It isn't just a matter of "but it has a great warranty!" either. If the Stinger proves to be troublesome, the resale value will drop like a tank, just like Audi/BMW/VW when they are off warranty. In that case, it would be smarter to purchase a lightly used and highly depreciated unit; at that point there will be more DIY's and aftermarket parts to lower long-term ownership costs.

I've driven a GT2 and liked it very much, which is why this is such a difficult decision. I'll need a loan for the Stinger, but not the Subaru, and I hate Hate HATE going back into debt for anything.

 

[Stingin' Away]

The price ... not so much. Which is why I'm also looking at a lightly used and much less interesting 2017 Subaru Legacy 2.5i for 1/3 the price.

I'm partial to the Genesis. It sounds like you want some sport along with luxury. If you haven't heard of them I highly recommend a used G80 or even a '15 or '16 Genesis. Both can be had with a 420+hp V8 and you can opt to have AWD in the G80. You mention price also which is why I am chiming in. Take a look at the Genesis and see how you like it. I traveled 8 hours for mine which was the only time I have traveled for a car.

What trim are you looking at buying?

 

[Norskie]

You can already find some used Stingers for sale that can save you some money.

Surprisingly not many - and compared to the lease incentives (~$5k) and the cost of fly n buy, the prices aren't too far apart.

 

[Norskie]

I'm partial to the Genesis. It sounds like you want some sport along with luxury. If you haven't heard of them I highly recommend a used G80 or even a '15 or '16 Genesis. Both can be had with a 420+hp V8 and you can opt to have AWD in the G80. You mention price also which is why I am chiming in. Take a look at the Genesis and see how you like it. I traveled 8 hours for mine which was the only time I have traveled for a car.

What trim are you looking at buying?

I hadn't considered that .. but a little digging doesn't show any used v8 AWD's (just new @ ~$60k). There are a few 3.3T + AWD which puts it right back near the price of a Stinger.

To be honest, I want more sport than luxury but it has to have a generous rear seat, and not so much 'sport' that it's downright unpleasant to drive on our broken roads (like the STi is), so I'm looking at the GT1 trim with electronic suspension without all the driver assist stuff.

 

[KiaFan]

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Stingin' Away]

I hadn't considered that .. but a little digging doesn't show any used v8 AWD's (just new @ ~$60k). There are a few 3.3T + AWD which puts it right back near the price of a Stinger.

To be honest, I want more sport than luxury but it has to have a generous rear seat, and not so much 'sport' that it's downright unpleasant to drive on our broken roads (like the STi is), so I'm looking at the GT1 trim with electronic suspension without all the driver assist stuff.

That's odd because there are 5.0 AWD G80's out there. I looked on Autotrader and it wasn't showing any... just like you said. That's very weird. I guess some more cars in the $45k range are the Chevy SS (does have a manual), Charger SRT8, Audi S7, G70, I guess the list goes on. I'm going to look into why there aren't any 5.0 AWD showing on Autotrader.

 

[Chi-Guy]

Welcome! Great community here, feel free to ask any questions.

 

[Mops]

Welcome from Minneapolis

 

[robz32]

Welcome aboard, lots of information here, so ask away

 

[Danny_O]

Welcome

 

[MurlinatoR]

@Norski, I'm a dealer here in the MidWest. If there's any help I can provide, please let me know. (that includes getting you the car you desire)

 

[FIM-92]

Consider this...
Stinger comes with 100K mile warranty...
From an engineering standpoint you would design for (assuming five or six sigma distribution) at least 98% of all cars to meet that 100K mile threshold - so design spec would be at least 250K miles...

KIA has a great reputuation (along with sister, Hyundai) at/better than Toyota....

KIA reliability is part of what really sells me on this car.

 

[MurlinatoR]

Consider this...
Stinger comes with 100K mile warranty...
From an engineering standpoint you would design for (assuming five or six sigma distribution) at least 98% of all cars to meet that 100K mile threshold - so design spec would be at least 250K miles...

KIA has a great reputuation (along with sister, Hyundai) at/better than Toyota....

KIA reliability is part of what really sells me on this car.

Ditto