Maintenance costs: deal breaker? Talk me into or out of a Stinger

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

Hi All,

A little background:

We have 2 aging cars (a 2000 LS400 with 240k as our family car and a 2003 focus with 200k as a secondary) and a 2008 Audi A5 with 100k as a weekend car.

Due to the age of the Lexus (and spending a lot of time in the garage recently for upkeep), Ive decided to sell the Audi to help with the down payment on something with a warranty, and retain the older cars as they wont sell for very much.

Im leaning heavily towards a CPO 2021/2022 Stinger GT1 or GT2 because the warranty, AWD, 4 doors and fun factor, but have concerns about maintenance costs.

On to my questions:

* Should I be concerned about carbon build up on the intake valves? My Audi suffers from GDI carbon buildup which requires walnut media cleaning. How often are you guys having this service done and what are the dealers/shops charging?

* Looks like the AWD V6 have issues with tire wear. How often are you buying tires and how much are you paying per set? My audi has been going through a set about every 30-40k

* What other maintenance items am I missing in terms of high cost items?




I dont want to make an impulsive purchase and be get blindsided by cost of ownership, so any help/thoughts/opinions would be appreciated.

 

[Snicklefritz]

tire wear on the staggered wheels is twice or more as fast in the rear, with faster rear wear on the rwd model. 14 to 15,000 miles from a rear set and up to 10,000 more in front is typical. I've also gotten less miles as the years roll by because cornering hard is fun and so is launching. maintenance is not cheap, the big one every 30,000 miles or so is over $1,000 or my second one was after the pandemic raised everything. repairs are almost nonexistent after over five years and over 60,000 miles. any drivetrain repairs are still covered by warranty to 100,000 miles or ten years. the electrical warrant expires at 60,000 miles.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

tire wear on the staggered wheels is twice or more as fast in the rear, with faster rear wear on the rwd model. 14 to 15,000 miles from a rear set and up to 10,000 more in front is typical. I've also gotten less miles as the years roll by because cornering hard is fun and so is launching. maintenance is not cheap, the big one every 30,000 miles or so is over $1,000 or my second one was after the pandemic raised everything. repairs are almost nonexistent after over five years and over 60,000 miles. any drivetrain repairs are still covered by warranty to 100,000 miles or ten years. the electrical warrant expires at 60,000 miles.

Thanks for the reply. So depending on yearly mileage habits, you could be getting a new set of tires every year? Holy Christmas

 

[Ohiocruiser]

Welcome to the forum. Just like any other GDI car,stinger has buildup valve problem. From my personal experience, it should be cleaned every 50-60k miles. And just like any other turbo car you always wanna change oil on time. Overall stinger is pretty reliable. Just make sure you keep all the fluids clean, and you should be happy. Also you can extend the tire life by going square setup.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

Welcome to the forum. Just like any other GDI car,stinger has buildup valve problem. From my personal experience, it should be cleaned every 50-60k miles. And just like any other turbo car you always wanna change oil on time. Overall stinger is pretty reliable. Just make sure you keep all the fluids clean, and you should be happy. Also you can extend the tire life by going square setup.

So buy two more oem front wheels and mount them on the back, or replace all 4 with aftermarket?

 

[Ohiocruiser]

So buy two more oem front wheels and mount them on the back, or replace all 4 with aftermarket?

any of these options will work. But,since stock wheels are very heavy, going aftermarket can shave a lot of weight.

 

[Snowwhite]

If you've been fine with the maintenance costs of a 2008 Audi with 100k miles on it, the Stinger will be a cake walk. install an oil catch can if you're concerned about the intake valve deposits.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

If you've been fine with the maintenance costs of a 2008 Audi with 100k miles on it, the Stinger will be a cake walk. install an oil catch can if you're concerned about the intake valve deposits.

I guess the sticking point now would be two fold at this point.

* I did a lot of the maintenance on the Audi myself, but would need to have the Kia serviced to maintain the Warranty coverage.

* A set of tires every year seems is somewhat concerning

Either Im over thinking things OR I should just swallow my pride and get a Santa Fe or something

 

[777David]

'22 GT1 here and mine just hit 15000 miles. Tires are showing very little wear. I do drive it like an old man most of the time with an occasional spirited launch. Tire wear will depend on how you drive it and that's probably not specific to the Stinger only.

Only warranty issues I've had was a transmission leak that developed at 10k miles. KIA replaced the transmission. So far so good.

Other than a random electrical glitch every once in while, it's been solid.

It's an interesting car for sure and gets attention, if you like that. I stopped at the gas station just this past week and a guy in front of me started asking me what kind of Kia it was, said he had never seen one like it before.

 

[Snowwhite]

I can't imagine that an A5 would eat tires any slower than a stinger given the same driving style. there are those that get them to last, others that don't. all season tires will likely live longer than the stock michelin 3-season tires we get. If tire longevity is a concern, swap to some all seasons at the next tire change and be done with them.

I do my own maintenance, but I do take it in for every other oil change (I change at 3k, so the dealer sees it every 6k) so that it's on record. I use that as an excuse to get under the car and investigate.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

I can't imagine that an A5 would eat tires any slower than a stinger given the same driving style. there are those that get them to last, others that don't. all season tires will likely live longer than the stock michelin 3-season tires we get. If tire longevity is a concern, swap to some all seasons at the next tire change and be done with them.

Appreciate the replies

With the audi im able to rotate the tires which wont be possible with an AWD Stinger. Im getting about 30-35k from a set of all seasons on the audi.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

any of these options will work. But,since stock wheels are very heavy, going aftermarket can shave a lot of weight.

Thank you

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

'22 GT1 here and mine just hit 15000 miles. Tires are showing very little wear. I do drive it like an old man most of the time with an occasional spirited launch. Tire wear will depend on how you drive it and that's probably not specific to the Stinger only.

Only warranty issues I've had was a transmission leak that developed at 10k miles. KIA replaced the transmission. So far so good.

Other than a random electrical glitch every once in while, it's been solid.

It's an interesting car for sure and gets attention, if you like that. I stopped at the gas station just this past week and a guy in front of me started asking me what kind of Kia it was, said he had never seen one like it before.

Thanks for the reply. What are the stock tires on yours? Michelins?
How do they do in foul weather?

 

[JSolo]

To the OP, if you consider a '22 Gt line (with the 2.5), it doesn't suffer from the valve build up issue is the car is both direct and port injected. Power marginally less than the 3.3.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

To the OP, if you consider a '22 Gt line (with the 2.5), it doesn't suffer from the valve build up issue is the car is both direct and port injected. Power marginally less than the 3.3.

Thanks for the reply. Did you drive both before you bought the 4cyl? Any regrets?

 

[JSolo]

Thanks for the reply. Did you drive both before you bought the 4cyl? Any regrets?

I drove the 3.3 some years back. I knew it had power. This time around (back in 8/2021) I did not drive the 3.3. I wasn't really looking for balls out power, just enough to stay satisfied and have some fun in the corners with. I get bored with straight line speed anyway.

If I wasn't living in the ghetto with stop lights every 1/16th mile, things might be different. Given fuel prices and how much I drive, no regrets . If I were a decade younger, i'd definitely go for the 3.3. The car is more than 2 years old now and < 10K miles.

Test drive both, get the one you like more.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

I drove the 3.3 some years back. I knew it had power. This time around (back in 8/2021) I did not drive the 3.3. I wasn't really looking for balls out power, just enough to stay satisfied and have some fun in the corners with. I get bored with straight line speed anyway.

If I wasn't living in the ghetto with stop lights every 1/16th mile, things might be different. Given fuel prices and how much I drive, no regrets . If I were a decade younger, i'd definitely go for the 3.3. The car is more than 2 years old now and < 10K miles.

Test drive both, get the one you like more.

Thanks for the info

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

I drove the 3.3 some years back. I knew it had power. This time around (back in 8/2021) I did not drive the 3.3. I wasn't really looking for balls out power, just enough to stay satisfied and have some fun in the corners with. I get bored with straight line speed anyway.

If I wasn't living in the ghetto with stop lights every 1/16th mile, things might be different. Given fuel prices and how much I drive, no regrets . If I were a decade younger, i'd definitely go for the 3.3. The car is more than 2 years old now and < 10K miles.

Test drive both, get the one you like more.

Your model year has 300hp right?

 

[Buzzrush]

I just replaced the original tires on my 2018 AWD square setup after 4 years and 40k miles. Those were potenzas A/S. Switched to PS4 A/S for 900 bucks. Not too bad. We’ll see how they hold up. The car has wayyyyy more upsides than downsides so I would say pull the trigger. It’s a great car and I love it as much today as when I bought it over 4 years ago. Still get a ton of complements and people asking “What the hell is that?!?” Fun car..you won’t regret it. You’ll enjoy it a HELL of a lot more than driving a Santa Fe lol.

 

[Rich_Freakin_Evans]

Welcome to the forum. Just like any other GDI car,stinger has buildup valve problem. From my personal experience, it should be cleaned every 50-60k miles. And just like any other turbo car you always wanna change oil on time. Overall stinger is pretty reliable. Just make sure you keep all the fluids clean, and you should be happy. Also you can extend the tire life by going square setup.

tire wear on the staggered wheels is twice or more as fast in the rear, with faster rear wear on the rwd model. 14 to 15,000 miles from a rear set and up to 10,000 more in front is typical. I've also gotten less miles as the years roll by because cornering hard is fun and so is launching. maintenance is not cheap, the big one every 30,000 miles or so is over $1,000 or my second one was after the pandemic raised everything. repairs are almost nonexistent after over five years and over 60,000 miles. any drivetrain repairs are still covered by warranty to 100,000 miles or ten years. the electrical warrant expires at 60,000 miles.

Thank you very much