Thinking about trading my Audi S7 in on a new Stinger GT2...

[Lawrence Williams]

Currently drive a 2013 Audi S7 with 38k miles on it. I absolutely love the car. The power, the style, the comfort, and the versatility of a hatchbook is everything that I love about the car. Unfortunately, S7's are notorious for blowing turbos at around 50k miles. The 2020 S7 is a brand new model and out of my price range right now, but I want to stick with another fast, sporty, hatchback and the Stinger looks like it fits the bill!

With that said, I have a couple questions...

1. I change my car out every 1-2 years and have zero interest in purchasing a vehicle. I know KIA has always been known for their lease deals so I believe that is the route I would like to take. I have read a lot about leasing on this forum, but everything seems to deal with the lease buyout option. How about a straight 24-36 month lease? Any advice or gotchas?

2. I'm not interested in any aftermarket parts, but I definitely want to tune the car. It sounds like the JB4 is the one everyone prefers. Will this affect my lease/warranty? I know its a piggyback tune that I can remove, but has Kia figured out a way to determine if one has been tuned or not? I don't really want to deal with changing out spark plugs any time the car goes into the dealership and 50-60hp increase should be plenty so is this a good route for my situation?

Thanks in advance for the help!

Don't have an answer on which route to get the Stinger but especially with you looking at a GT2 I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how close.....the S7 is 420/450 hp V8 so you give up a bit of power.....not sure if the 2013 offered the cylinder shutdown mechanism (awesome feature btw)

The Stinger offers far more creature comforts than any A7/S7 until the 2019 came out even then Audi didn't offer power adjusting steering column .

I yearned for a 2017 S7 CPO until the Stinger was offered.....HAVEN'T HAD ONE REGRET!

 

[stingerbeagle]

Regarding the question of whether the Stinger leases well, FWIW, my calculations suggest they do not. I did a lease+immediate-buyout that has been well documented on the forum, but would never have taken that lease to maturity. As mentioned earlier, the money factor and residuals are quite bad. You're better off doing a lease+immediate-buyout and then just selling the car, even in a state like California where we have 10% sales tax.

I've done several Leasehackr style transactions before, and the Stinger lease is not in the same league as those (the lease+immediate-buyout is a fantastic value though). Granted, Audis also lease poorly, so maybe your frame of reference is different. But the cheap BMW/Lexus leases (using MSDs, CCA, other rebates, etc.) are the way to go if you want to lease imho.

One random data point when I was cross-shopping: The residual on a 24 month GT2 Stinger lease was 51% (base MF .00185), whereas the residual on a 36 month 330i lease was 60% (base MF .00128). That's bonkers. The $10-11k of Kia lease cash can't overcome that difference.

 

[namja]

Regarding the question of whether the Stinger leases well, FWIW, my calculations suggest they do not. I did a lease+immediate-buyout that has been well documented on the forum, but would never have taken that lease to maturity. As mentioned earlier, the money factor and residuals are quite bad. You're better off doing a lease+immediate-buyout and then just selling the car, even in a state like California where we have 10% sales tax.

I've done several Leasehackr style transactions before, and the Stinger lease is not in the same league as those (the lease+immediate-buyout is a fantastic value though). Granted, Audis also lease poorly, so maybe your frame of reference is different. But the cheap BMW/Lexus leases (using MSDs, CCA, other rebates, etc.) are the way to go if you want to lease imho.

One random data point when I was cross-shopping: The residual on a 24 month GT2 Stinger lease was 51% (base MF .00185), whereas the residual on a 36 month 330i lease was 60% (base MF .00128). That's bonkers. The $10-11k of Kia lease cash can't overcome that difference.

Well said.

I think to the average Josephine that does not know about Leasehackr, the 1% MSRP rule is unheard of (although it's not the best, if not achievable, rule across the board) amirite? But to each his own, just like some of the people on that forum -- if you really like a certain model, I suppose getting the best lease rates within the world of Stingers is the only thing you can do. Especially for OP's and our tastes where there's very few fastback vehicles.

That being said...If I can't get the Stinger because of these snarky dealers, I may have to resort to getting the M340i. Or maybe when the A6 allroad releases, hopefully it leases decent like the sedan did.

 

[Travis Wills]

Using the Build tool on the Kia web site... 2020 Stinger GT 36000 mile 36 month lease with $2000 down. Payment is $515. Put $5000 down and the payment is $427. Sum of the differences in the 36 payments is 36 x $88 = $3168. So the extra $3000 down saves $168 over three years. If you put $3000 in a savings account or a CD for three years, you'd need to get 1.817% interest to wind up with $3168. It's a reasonable investment.

if you total the car you lose that $3,000. The risk of losing your entire investment is not worth a 1.817% interest rate.

 

[Todd Piefer]

if you total the car you lose that $3,000. The risk of losing your entire investment is not worth a 1.817% interest rate.

Wow... What are the odds of totaling your car? The chances seem way too small to worry about when making any financial decisions. But everyone's different and I respect your concern about it.

 

[stingerbeagle]

the 1% MSRP rule is unheard of (although it's not the best, if not achievable, rule across the board) amirite?

My last one was $550 / $63k (0.87%) and I didn't even negotiate. Had I posted that on LeaseHacker at the time, I would've been told I was an idiot. But I was desperate in a rush, so I just contacted a bimmerfest sponsor and went with what I thought was a decent deal.

if you really like a certain model, I suppose getting the best lease rates within the world of Stingers is the only thing you can do

I was in this mindset, until some helpful folks on this forum convinced me that a lease buyout makes so much sense. I'm definitely grateful.

I may have to resort to getting the M340i

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a nicely equipped $63k M340i for the same total out-of-pocket lease cost as a Stinger GT2. Not a fair comparison of course, since it sounds like you would not do a pure Stinger lease either.

 

[Chark]

The VW Arteon is a fastback/hatchback. The styling is quite nice. Not as much HP/TQ as the V6 Stinger, but comparable to the 4 cylinder model.

 

[Travis Wills]

I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a nicely equipped $63k M340i for the same total out-of-pocket lease cost as a Stinger GT2. Not a fair comparison of course, since it sounds like you would not do a pure Stinger lease either.

The 2020 BMW 340i cars came out about 6 months ago. There are decent discounts on them but you would need to get about $11,000 off on the BMW for it to equal the Stinger lease assuming you can get $14k off total on the Stinger.

The BMW has a Really good residual with an ok money factor. However, the price is about $10k inflated. That really hurts the lease deal unless you can get a massive discount.

Right now the 340i is too new to really get an incredible deal. Give it another 6 months to a year and that might change. For now the Stinger is actually a lot closer to the BMW because of the massive discounts that can be had on the Stinger right now.

 

[stingerbeagle]

There are decent discounts on them but you would need to get about $11,000 off on the BMW for it to equal the Stinger lease assuming you can get $14k off total on the Stinger.

Maybe it was a regional thing but when I was shopping about 3 weeks ago, California seemed to have a lot of inventory and dealers were aggressive. I'd have to look up my notes but I believe I calculated the switching point where the BMW lease becomes more expensive than the Stinger lease to be ~$61k MSRP. This was based on an offer I had for MSRP minus 11% before incentives on a custom order. Admittedly for a M340i, $61k is going to be a bit of a stripped down model, and I would have probably been at ~$65k for all the features I wanted, so your point stands.

 

[Mike04SVT]

Go with an S5.

 

[FLY6584]

Go with an S5.

What are your reasons for that?

 

[westcoastGT]

The new BMW "YOOOGE Grill " is getting ready to intro for the new 3/4 series . I'm not sure whether people will pay more for the existing design or wait for the new design, its very polarizing .................. click to enlarge ...............warning its scary !

 

[Lawrence Williams]

Go with an S5.

Why pay an extra 15-20k ?

 

[namja]

The new BMW "YOOOGE Grill " is getting ready to intro for the new 3/4 series . I'm not sure whether people will pay more for the existing design or wait for the new design, its very polarizing ..................View attachment 35260 click to enlarge ...............warning its scary !

The 3 series already has a facelift but it's not with the new grill. Unless if they decide to facelift it again after a year! Which is odd because the M3 will have it for MY 2020

 

[namja]

What are your reasons for that?

-Nicer interior/exterior (subjective) & brand "snob" or loyalty
-that digital gauge cluster tho!

If you were to lease both for 3 years though I think you'd end up paying $5k-$7k more for the Audi, however.

 

[Travis Wills]

Go with an S5.

An RS5 is the one we all really want but man is that car pricey.

 

[westcoastGT]

The 3 series already has a facelift but it's not with the new grill. Unless if they decide to facelift it again after a year! Which is odd because the M3 will have it for MY 2020

This is the article I poached that pic from , they may intro the "mega grill " sooner than usual .....................
Giant BMW Kidney Grille Visible In 4 Series Prototype Spy Shots

 

[Lawrence Williams]

An RS5 is the one we all really want but man is that car pricey.

I still want the S7 ....100k new even CPO is between 58-72k mileage depending

 

[westcoastGT]

The RS5 Sportback would get my $$ , here's a article on the mid life facelift :2020 Audi RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback Get Fresh Look, Same Power

 

[Lawrence Williams]

The RS5 Sportback would get my $$ , here's a article on the mid life facelift :2020 Audi RS5 Coupe, RS5 Sportback Get Fresh Look, Same Power

7 inches shorter than our cars..... I'm out!