Bye bye Stinger

[Waynerm002]

Well not quite 5 months into her time with me, my Ceramic Silver with Red interior Stinger met her end. An encounter with a tree and subsequent slide into a ditch on a snowy night contributed to some frame damage which turned into an estimated repair cost of around $30k. I received noticed that the car was beyond economical value to repair.











I will be working to get things settled on the vehicle and clear it out of my name. In the meantime i’ll be looking at my options for a replacement vehicle. Choices include the G70, G80, K900, S80, the new S60 or another Stinger. There is a part of me that wants to just get an older S60 or S80 and drive it to the end of the summer and look for another great deal on a 2019 Stinger or wait until the 2020s come out to see what they will bring. There is talk of a new engine, drift mode and who knows what other changes they will add. My plan was to wait until a face lift to trade if there was enough of a change to warrant it. With the accident, my options are open. Decisions, decisions.

 

[DCBStingerGT]

Sorry to hear and see the misfortune that has happened to your Stinger, i assume all occupants including yourself are unharmed in the incident, which is the most important thing, as unfortunate as it is, being a write-off , you now have the opportunity to decide what to purchase next, and it doesn't have to be another Stinger, keep us posted on your new car, Stinger or not.

 

[NoVAGT2]

Ouch. Not surprised. Just glad you are ok. On the bright side, that looks like a fun list of cars to test drive!

 

[POS VETT]

Glad that you're ok! It seems the airbags deployed properly.

Can I have the red interior?

J/K

 

[Waynerm002]

Thanks folks. The airbag came out not when I hit the tree but when I slid into the ditch, I was wondering why it came out after the hit. The car had some damage on the back they said, never did a walk around to see it at the scene or even at the tow lot, must have happened when the car went into the ditch. It’s really a concrete culvert for drainage and do recall the rear hitting before the front settled in. Been waiting 2 weeks to hear the status on it, now to get the paperwork done so I can get a new vehicle.

The Volvo dealer down the street got a few in but none with the nice brown interior I like and their R-Design is only black interior, of course that’s the most likely choice for me and their lease prices are pretty good, no T8 version yet though. Gonna go visit a Genesis dealer to drive a G70/G80 and hear about their deals. This now gives me the opportunity to drive a 2019 Stinger and K900 to get a good idea on them. As usual i’ll reach out via text and email to see who is willing to make a good deal on the vehicle and go from there. The paperwork stuff to wrap up the accident will probably lead into February so i’ll find out what the February incentives bring.

 

[SKStinger]

Sorry to see this. Glad you're ok and the car took the brunt of the damage.

To help with waiting for the 2020 Stinger, everything i've read so far says it'll be largely unchanged as Kia refreshes its models after 3 years. So anything they add will likely be minor. My guess is that it'll be similar to the changes from 2018 to 2019 which were pretty limited.

The nice thing about the G70 is that some of your aftermarket items from your Stinger will carry over (same engine).

I've never been a Volvo fan but their new cars do look good. Good luck in your search!

 

[DiabloStinger]

Ouch! Glad to hear no permanent injuries occurred. Good luck getting a new car!

 

[Mike_TX]

Wow, no way that looks like 30k in damage! Guess it's the stuff that doesn't show that runs the bill up.

Glad no one was hurt.

 

[Waynerm002]

I turned in our S60 T5 R-Design early to get the Stinger when the deals got good, that was a pretty fun car but it let in more road noise on some surfaces than the Optima Hybrid so it was the one to go. I have seen and sat in the new one but haven't driven it yet, maybe today or tomorrow. I want to see the G80 Sport as well as it has the same engine and more space. No mods done to my car but I plan on getting my aftermarket lug nut covers and mats from the old car, if I get another Stinger, I can use them if not, I'll sell them. Never installed the front "E" badge so that is just sitting around.

@Mike_TX, when the shop first contacted me, it was 11K for just what they could see, once they started the tear down, it went to 22K and he mentioned they needed a specialist shop to dismantle the dash and to get some info on how to take apart other stuff to do the frame work, that final estimate took it up even higher. As we know the final charges can change. They calculated the ACV to be $43K so it was deemed a loss.

 

[eflyguy]

Seems like the frames on modern cars are designed to absorb a lot of the impact that would otherwise make it into the passenger compartment, but thereby increasing repair costs drastically.

Glad you weren't injured. I had an almighty side-impact crash with a DUI Camaro SS driver, straight into my door and pillar on my 2011 Sorento. Narrowly avoided being a head-on because I saw him coming and took evasive action. Ripped the front corner off his car (and he then tried to flee the scene..) Side curtain/seat airbags only for me.

Point is, there was really only visible damage to the door, pillar, underbody, and the rear wheel suspension was mostly ripped from the chassis. Plus the airbags - and of course the seats. I knew immediately, however, having a unibody, damage to those critical stress parts around the doors was terminal (45k miles, ~$20k current value). Took insurance two weeks to decide.

 

[Johnman]

Wayne, was your Stinger RWD or AWD? Surprised no one has asked this, since it happened in the snow.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Well not quite 5 months into her time with me, my Ceramic Silver with Red interior Stinger met her end. An encounter with a tree and subsequent slide into a ditch on a snowy night contributed to some frame damage which turned into an estimated repair cost of around $30k. I received noticed that the car was beyond economical value to repair.

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I will be working to get things settled on the vehicle and clear it out of my name. In the meantime i’ll be looking at my options for a replacement vehicle. Choices include the G70, G80, K900, S80, the new S60 or another Stinger. There is a part of me that wants to just get an older S60 or S80 and drive it to the end of the summer and look for another great deal on a 2019 Stinger or wait until the 2020s come out to see what they will bring. There is talk of a new engine, drift mode and who knows what other changes they will add. My plan was to wait until a face lift to trade if there was enough of a change to warrant it. With the accident, my options are open. Decisions, decisions.

I was afraid of that, looking at your original accident pictures. Here's hoping that you stay happy with your pick of the replacement car!

 

[Jimmer]

Well not quite 5 months into her time with me, my Ceramic Silver with Red interior Stinger met her end. An encounter with a tree and subsequent slide into a ditch on a snowy night contributed to some frame damage which turned into an estimated repair cost of around $30k. I received noticed that the car was beyond economical value to repair.

View attachment 18858

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I will be working to get things settled on the vehicle and clear it out of my name. In the meantime i’ll be looking at my options for a replacement vehicle. Choices include the G70, G80, K900, S80, the new S60 or another Stinger. There is a part of me that wants to just get an older S60 or S80 and drive it to the end of the summer and look for another great deal on a 2019 Stinger or wait until the 2020s come out to see what they will bring. There is talk of a new engine, drift mode and who knows what other changes they will add. My plan was to wait until a face lift to trade if there was enough of a change to warrant it. With the accident, my options are open. Decisions, decisions.

They are talking about making a new AWD system for it in the future where one can actually make it an RWD with push of a button.

 

[westcoastGT]

Well not quite 5 months into her time with me, my Ceramic Silver with Red interior Stinger met her end. An encounter with a tree and subsequent slide into a ditch on a snowy night contributed to some frame damage which turned into an estimated repair cost of around $30k. I received noticed that the car was beyond economical value to repair.

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I will be working to get things settled on the vehicle and clear it out of my name. In the meantime i’ll be looking at my options for a replacement vehicle. Choices include the G70, G80, K900, S80, the new S60 or another Stinger. There is a part of me that wants to just get an older S60 or S80 and drive it to the end of the summer and look for another great deal on a 2019 Stinger or wait until the 2020s come out to see what they will bring. There is talk of a new engine, drift mode and who knows what other changes they will add. My plan was to wait until a face lift to trade if there was enough of a change to warrant it. With the accident, my options are open. Decisions, decisions.

Glad you are OK , cars are replaceable !!

 

[eflyguy]

They are talking about making a new AWD system for it in the future where one can actually make it an RWD with push of a button.

Who is they? Got a link for that?

 

[Waynerm002]

It’s AWD. This was more an issue of the tire than the drivetrain.

Drove a K900’s, Stinger RWD and a 2019 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design. The Volvo was actually quieter than the Stinger and closer to the K900! The power delivery was good but no where close to the 3.3T engines however, the car was quite nimble and the handling impressive. The RWD was fun too but the lack of heated steering wheel will keep me from getting one. I could live with the K900, it’s plenty quick as is and handles well for its size, I was quite surprised by this. The surprising thing was that the K900 looks like it has a sport suspension, about 2 finger should fit between tire and wheel well, the Stinger has a bigger gap than the K900.

I have to admit I like the K900 more than I expected, based on my initial, brief drive. If I can find a good deal on one, I’ll probably go that way. The search goes on.

 

[Never thought]

It’s AWD. This was more an issue of the tire than the drivetrain.

Drove a K900’s, Stinger RWD and a 2019 Volvo S60 T6 R-Design. The Volvo was actually quieter than the Stinger and closer to the K900! The power delivery was good but no where close to the 3.3T engines however, the car was quite nimble and the handling impressive. The RWD was fun too but the lack of heated steering wheel will keep me from getting one. I could live with the K900, it’s plenty quick as is and handles well for its size, I was quite surprised by this. The surprising thing was that the K900 looks like it has a sport suspension, about 2 finger should fit between tire and wheel well, the Stinger has a bigger gap than the K900.

I have to admit I like the K900 more than I expected, based on my initial, brief drive. If I can find a good deal on one, I’ll probably go that way. The search goes on.

Glad you are okay. If you are looking for a comfortable, quiet, and quick ride, I’d definitely drive a G80 Sport. I liked it much better than the new K900. And I’d bet you could get a new K900 for at least 10-12k off MSRP.

 

[Jimmer]

Who is they? Got a link for that?

Yeah, I already posted it once. I wil see if I can find it again.

 

[Jimmer]

Who is they? Got a link for that?

Sharper Stinger: Testing Kia's upcoming performance-tuned AWD

 

[eflyguy]

TY.. not sure how I missed that one, very interesting.