EDIT: $16,000


I could use the cash to pay off some debt and get another 6-speed and start the next swap.

As it stands there are tedious issues that I either (A) don't have time for, or (B) am too lazy to fix. Since I have nothing to hide and time on my hands, I'll list out every single negative I can.

First though, the majority of positives.

- There are 3 Crossfire V8 6-speed manuals in the world.

- California BAR certified. It is emissions compliant and runs by 2005 SL500 standards. No CEL.

- The engine as far as I understood was from a 2003-2006 SL500 with 49,000 miles on it. I have since put 4-5K miles on it. The chassis has 80K miles I believe.

- It starts from the factory key, and everything functions as stock as far as electronics.

- Bomz racing seats.

- Kenwood deck, and kicker component tweeters (RMS 175W per )

- Carbon fiber stick on for the center console.

- Optima Yellow top battery

- Airbox is painted to match the car (White and black)

- Big stainless intake tubes for the cold air

- K&N's (brand new)

- 275's on the rear

- Cut rear springs

- SRT rear wing

- Tinted windows on all except direct sides and front.

- Rear Chrysler wing delete

- Rear Crossfire letters removed

- Buyer will also get new and used parts I feel might be useful down the road. ie my brand new LUK clutch kit.

Now many I run into disagree, but I am actually embarrassed the car got this bad over time, most say it's beautiful and they love everything about it. Most of why I'm embarrassed had to do with the fact it was parked outside in the blazing desert sun for months during the end of the swap. 99% of the flaws are because of me and my experimenting though, I never really wanted to sell number 135.

Flaws:

- Plasti-Dip. I know a lot of people like the way the car looks in pics, and most love the way it looks in person. To me, it's lacking. It looks like crap, always chipping, trying to peel, it just pisses me off.

- Passenger front lower control arm. When I hit the curb it slightly set my caster off so the car pulls to the right under 70 mph. ($50 ish). It would bother most but it's not a priority to me.

- Power steering pump. Just sold spare, and I have a leak now of course. May not be new pump worthy, might have just set it wrong against the reservoir the millionth time it's been out.

- Radiator fan has broken blades. This is cosmetic, it functions fine. The motor torqued over and the fan blades hit the shroud. ($40 for the fan) (maybe $20 for the shroud)

- Coolant reservoir. No leaks, but in addition to above I sealed the nipple back in place with JB instead of the pipe thread. It just looks bad. ($80 for a whole new one). The top was re-painted black to help with the looks a little.

- Oil dipstick handle. Again, in the fan masacre something got the oil dipstick handle.

- Bent front right rim. I already have a replacement but it's not bad and I'm lazy for stupid shop stuff. Owner would get the new rim with the car.

- Center bezel. It always pops out at the bottom and I think there are broken tabs, not sure because it doesn't really bother me.

- Shifter bezel. Sometimes going into 5th gear it pops up.

- Passenger window switch. A tiny tab on a piece of the plastic broke so it wiggles a little.

- Original owner used a cleaner on the dash near where the key goes in that ate at the dash material in that section, turning it grey. Looks like crap, but you don't see it from the drivers seat lol. Plus I put clear on it and it's black again, not great but could probably be color matched and show quality repaired at a paint shop.

- Airbag cover. I deleted the emblem, just haven't painted the whole thing yet.

- Door grabber broke a long time ago and if you look really really closely you can see JB weld because it didn't seal all the way.

- Headlights have gone through many procedures and kits and just look like hell. Someone with the right kit and patience could clear them probably.

- Ever so slight swirls in the clear coat if you look at the exact right angles.

- Wing has scratches and a couple chips.

- Upper Grill could use replacement someday

- Window surround CF wrap has little pieces missing on the inside top corners.

- Oil sender. Going bad, no oil light but the odometer will display OIL HI after driving flat and straight for a few minutes. The oil is half way on the dipstick.

Other than all of those annoying things, it's great. None of them really got to me because I'm a Go before Show guy. It pulls on 2011+ 5.0 Stangs. It pulls on "stage 2" (lol) STi's. It weighed in at 3240 with me and my sub's in it. The subs will be out for the new buyer ~ 100 lbs and I weigh ~140.

It handles like a dream. The exhaust is cut off so it's loud and meaty.

17 ish city, 30+ highway.

No rough gear changes, clutch feels perfect.

And in all honesty, Bob sold his very nicely modded auto V8 crossfire for 16,000, which was a steal and he knew it. He even said it. He just wanted it gone immediately. Therefore I believe and I think I will stick to $18,000, at least for now. This actually has the factory cruise control, and starts first try, every try with the factory key. No jump starting for this puppy.

Rarity plays a factor as well. There are probably 10+ auto V8 crossfire's, whereas there are only 5 Mercedes V8 manual's after 1997.

Buyer has to come here to me because the bank still has the title.

 

GLWS, I think it is going to take the perfect person, but you are in the right place

 

My hope, is that it goes to someone who's really **** about making it look pretty.... With access to a paint booth... That lives somewhere without a ton of dirt all around them...

 

Well, car is officially listed on the Crossfire owners Facebook page. If you're interested, speak now. I'll take reasonable offers into consideration. I'd really like to pay off some debt, start over, and make a couple stock 11 second cars.

 

Good luck with sale, brother. I know someone will really have a blast with it

 

Thanks John, I just want someone that can and wants to finish it. You know, make it as pretty as yours or the other John's car lol.

 

I thought I should add that I bought the car in March 2011 for $12,500. I spent $4,000 in motor swap parts. So it's really only $1500 more than what I paid + swap parts, which doesn't include any goodies I sell with it, or the other mods I've added. I think the other mods cover depreciation, so in that thinking, I consider it a pretty damn good deal. Let alone the rarity. If it were mint, I'd be asking minimum $25K as discussed before.

 

LOL>.....wish I had all the things done to my two...this could be a nice track car....sorry, but I strip that thing to the bone....but, I have way too many projects right now, so I am out and hope someone picks this baby up and carry's on...

 

2004...$16000? Your dreaming....

 

For a standard 2004, yes...



But where else are you going to get a 5.0L V8/6spd manual Crossfire?

 

When someone finds another for sale to compare it to let me know and I'll price match lol.

At this point, I don't expect anyone on the forum to buy, for quite a few reasons, that price is negotiable but I feel you can't price the rarity at this point, and that it is more than double the car it was which would be valued at 8. I'll work with someone, and actually a friend's mom wants to see it tomorrow. She likes his catless 500 whp STi for the most part, and where it lacks mine shines, so it'd be perfect for her.

 

Just ordered a window switch, dipstick, Torx T-handle set, 3M carbon fiber, and a new grill set. So next week it'll knock quite a bit off of the flaw list. I wanted to save it for my next crossfire and swap but I think I'll just drop in my slim electric with the SCR module my dad and I designed. That way I can knock off the fan and shroud as being a flaw too. Wont leave much for people to gripe about lol

 

Now let me say I think it’s awesome what you did with this car and the skills to pull something like this off! That’s some real cool stuff and I bet most here would love to take this baby for a spin to test it out. That being said I’ll tell you what I think are major flaws with this car. You mention an enormous list of issues that are somewhat costly to fix and most people would rather buy a well taken care of garaged vehicle with low mileage than some “experiment” most don’t even know if it will continue to run as they were not part of the swap and most hardcore mechanics I know don’t trust others when it comes to that.
Also, you say “The engine as far as I understood was from a 2003-2006 SL500 with 49,000 miles on it. I have since put 4-5K miles on it. The chassis has 80K miles I believe” --- this is not really comforting information as you don’t really post specifics nor did you take the time to post some crucial information on the performance of said engine.
Now, like I said it would be a fun car to drive and test out but there are simply too many variables that make this a no-go for that price especially for a 2004 model with a not clearly identified number of miles on it.
Once again, I appreciate everything you did here and I really hope someone will buy the car and fix all the issues and make this into a racing machine but as it stands, I think you will have a hard time getting rid of it to the average person who’s looking for a clean, reliable car with little flaws! Just my 2 cents bud!

 

Thanks?

Chassis: 80,659
Engine: 53,263

I didn't feel the need to bust out a calculator, sorry.

Now let's put it this way. If you know me, and you've read even half of my thread, you would understand that I beat the living $h!t out of this thing… That's what I built it for. Now if you want to doubt reliability, that's understandable, go talk about how great Jag's are with their electrical systems. This car is bulletproof and I proved it, and still prove it every single day. It's not a secret.

I felt, apparently for some stupid reason , that I should explain to potential buyers 3,000 + miles away, what to expect… Is your crossfire flawless? Want to prove it? I bet my DAS system will find something… Like I said, I checked out E55's for a year before I bought one. $22,000 OTD for a pristine inside, pristine outside, yet come to find out it had an intercooler leak. $2,xxx right there, and I know that wasn't all. Point being, don't judge a book by its cover, my crossfire will run circles around most all day, literally. My oil is fresh, my coolant's been flushed how many times?? I can't even keep track. The rear is all new or newish used. I brought everything up out of good faith, yet people like you expect a show car. If I wanted a show car I would've bought a 3xxx dollar civic and invested 4 thousand into lights, see through hood and crappy racing seats. I don't want to come off any type of way because you were respectful in your post, for the most part, but you don't understand what you're talking about. I could take an interview of random people and what they think of the car? You don't know me. If I sold my E55 as is, I would explain that the cup holder mechanism is sticky and it pops up slow, that's how in depth I was. I feel complete disrespect (not just from you) and this is why I've contemplated with a few about abandoning this forum completely and moving on like others who felt the same way...

Like I said, I already have most of the fixes on the way. Like I didn't say, I already have a buyer for $16K if she can reach the pedals… Thanks for your .02 when you haven't even seen the car. Another case of, "the internet said it! It's true!" All blown out of proportion...

 

Nothing to take personal here. I don't get why you or others would leave the forum. Even though I don't post that much I've been a around reading useful information for quite some time even before I signed up and sure appreciate a lot of the insight and help on here. Can't speak for anyone who disrespected but my post was not to disrespect, just my opinion.

It is a lot of money for a 2004 with cosmetic issues no matter what's under the hood and I am going to go so far as to say that most on here take appearance very seriously. I know some will see that completely differently it's just my opinion. And believe me, I'm the last one to say I wouldn't like to take this car for a spin. I bet it handles amazingly and obviously the engine you put into it has the durability of a tank.

So, not offense taken here I hope and good luck with your sale! Btw, I sure hope you don't leave this forum as you obviously know your stuff and it would be sad to see that knowledge go somewhere else!

 

Josh, I checked the rule book : you are not allowed to leave this forum.

 

Nah... He can leave.. Just means a California gtg.. We'll call it DJB #1.. (drag Josh back.. )..

You've got more people here that respect and appreciate what you've done more than you know I think..

If our motors had a history of blowing up at 100K.. there would be so many cheap ones available and waiting at your door for a swap. If that E55 alabaster roadster was doable at an 18K price with a respectable car I'd be all up in some PM's with you.

 

Josh, I respect the hell out of you and your accomplishments, and can't imagine what you will come up with next. However, you need to realize that when someone challenges as assessed value of an item, they are not disrespecting you, simply disagreeing, and there is a big difference. If someone is an ***, that is one thing, but when they simply offer an opinion, especially when you ask for one, it is just an opinion, not disrespect.

I feel the younger generation demands 'respect' and if even the slightest whiff of disrespect is smelt, like some of these guys who shoot people for bumping into them or stepping on their sneakers, they go nuts.

There are a lot of talented people out there, you are obviously one of them, but there are also a lot of talented people I don't respect, Lebron James, for one. I would not read into the potential disrespect as much as I would let your work and work ethic speak for itself. No need to prove anything anymore, you have already done it There is no reason to puff your chest out and spell out your accomplishments when the only people that matter already know because they have been reading every word you post for a long time...

Good luck, my friend.

 

Honestly it wasn't in referrence to you directly. Just people talking here and there gets aggravating after a while. I didn't need to post any flaws, and most don't. I just wanted to be honest.

And yeah, most run for appearance, but she looks good. It's more the little things that just come from normal wear and tear after a while. Sure the steering wheel looking bad is my fault, but once it's painted it will look amazing.

As far as it being a lot for an '04, it's all opinion. I think it's priced perfect for what's wrong, plus some. That's why I threw the $25K around for a while. Rarity plays a big factor for car enthusiasts.

Lol, I don't want to, it's just some of the people can get so damn opinionated about things they don't know. Perfect example... New guy, asks about turbo's, says his buddy could tune it in less than a day, it'll only cost 5 dollars lol. It doesn't really get to me until we all try to correct them and they get personal. It's not a big deal once... or twice... But after the millionth time it just get's me thinking that our cars are 18 year old affordable and it's time to move on. Will I? I'm not too sure. It's a cheap, light, reliable Mercedes. What other model has the slightly bigger bay than an SLK but weighs around the same? I sure as hell don't know lol.

I should pretend to leave just so I can have ya'll come to California for a GTG Lol.

I appreciate it Greg, hopefully I can build that number up more and more.

I think so too. And hey, who knows. If you find the right car we could figure out a price lol.

I totally understand when people throw opinion around, I didn't mean to come off any type of way towards anyone. If we want to get real for a second, half of why I'm so pissed about my crossfire right now is because I lost business to a tuning company that's going to be the second company to blow this guys engine. I was willing to cut him a deal, but the company was "bigger", better "well known". When all I was trying to do was help. He came to me, but whatever I'm slowly getting over it, I just don't want to get a call a month from now saying he's on his 3rd engine.

Honestly I agree, I try not to be that way. Respect is earned.

Thanks John, I'll just go swap to swap and like you said, let the work speak for itself. And you're right, it's already done, so there's no need for me to justify why.

And thanks man.

 

Glad you missed the spring of "my buddy can tune it with his Iphone".. LOL. Seems like twice a week a newbie was showing up on this horse..