BLACKSRT-6,

You most certainly are entitled to voice your opinion. There is a level of frustration amongst all owners of these cars. They really do instigate a "love/hate" relationship. "I love the performance/I hate that there are no reasonable aftermarket parts!"

The problem lies with what the SRT6 truly is. An extremely sophisticated european performance, near exotic sports tourer. It is custom assembled by a European specialty auto builder with a reputation for building high quality, semi exotic superior performance vehicles. Add a hand built ultra high performance engine by a company with a long history of providing engines to these cars.

This begs the question so often mentioned. Was the SRT6 worth the $47-52K price when introduced. Personally I think the answer is an emphatic YES! Unfortunately most of the world just viewed it as an overpriced Chrysler. The Crossfire was vastly overproduced and begat models to increase sales, welcome the base coupe and roadster. Had Daimler-Chrysler controlled production and taken just a little of the money they blow each year on the ultimate waste of money as a sales success, the Viper, and promoted the SRT6, raced it and continued to refine it, they would have a worthy, competitive, european influenced sports tourer that could have been Chrysler's "Corvette".

The bottom line is that this car is a Mercedes Benz at heart and as AMG Lover has pointed out, made of not just the entry luxury performance C and SLK class but also from the top of the line S class. I don't hear any of the Porsche, BMW M, Audi S or MB AMG owners pining for, or even expecting, low cost "go fast" parts.

You cannot honestly compare the Japanese WRXs, EVOs, and Mazda Speed vehicles to the SRT6. While their performance is outstanding, even the companies admit they are starting with their economy vehicles taking advantage of their light weight and low price to add the performance parts. Starting with the top sellers and moving up the chain allows for a number of inexpensive add-ons. The less than affectionate term "ricer" is really referring to those base vehicles that have been fitted with the "looks fast" parts without truly living the role.

There is a level of sophistication given to certain marques and sub-marques. The Japanese have learned this well with the creation of Lexus, Acura and Infiniti. Look at the Civic and the Integra. Although essentially the same vehicle there is an added cache behind the Acura. Watch road racing and you will find Acuras running against BMWs, Audis, Porsches and the like. But the bottom line is that it was really a Honda Civic at heart.

I had a BMW Z4 2.5 that I traded to get my SRT6. I didn't look at the "snob" appeal of BMW vs Chrysler. I looked at the vehicle itself. I loved my Z4, but was less than enthusiastic by the lack of add-on go fast or appearance parts. Shortly before I sold it, I was contemplating a Dinan upgrade kit for $3,000 to $4,000. That kit brought horsepower up from 184 to a whopping 193. The adds touted that the car was so finely tuned from BMW that short of a completely different engine, they could only offer minor ECU tweaks. Renntech and others were developing supercharger kits for around $15K that would boost performance to just over 300 HP, but then there would be another equal amount spent on suspension, brake and wheel/tire upgrades to balance the extra power.

These prices were considered reasonable for a sophisticated european tourer. Now, finally back to the real reason for this post. If you have bought one of the "new/factory" SRT6s where you got a HUGE break on the price, be thankful. If the car doesn't have enough performance for you, take some of that money you saved and buy some of those MB mods that are available. When you look at the total cost, it will produce a sophisticated, near exotic, largely hand assembled, limited run vehicle that costs tens of thousands of dollars less than any direct competitor while performing as well or better than any of them.

That my fellow SRT6 owners is truly a bargain! Don't be confused by the price you paid or what they are selling for now, the SRT6 is a premium car, unfortunately it carries a proud but less than premium brand name.

 

I have met the enemy, and it is us!

BLACKSRT-6. If there are some Crossfire parts you can make or source, please do. As a potential buyer, I like your pricing strategies a lot. But what I love most is your fundamental grasp of economics.

 

Why do high end cars tend to look and perform better? Because their owners can afford to do what it takes to keep them in good condition. Premium items of all sorts cost more to buy, and more to maintain.

Like the guy who, because of the times, purchases a house in an upscale neighborhood where he could never typically afford to buy. The poor guy doesn't realize it when he buys because he only calculates the stretching he's doing to make the payments. But the reality is he also has to pay far more for maintenance and upkeep on his fabulous new house as well. Soon enough, this guy is unable to afford the level of maintenance his new home deserves, and he's miserable and upset. He can put all his money into the house and have none left over for anything else, or he can let his house go to crap so he can pay for some other things. Lousy choices, both.

Our Crossfires, certainly those purchased in '06 and '07, are just such an anomaly. Except for the recently discounted price, they are expensive premium vehicles that, due to Chrysler's circumstances, many of us were able to purchase far more cheaply than normal. However, they're still premium cars, and thus expensive to maintain and expensive to purchase parts for. As such, those that had to stretch to get into the car will probably have an equally difficult time maintaining and outfitting them. And, in fact, I expect we'll hear some complaining about the Crossfire being a lousy car, when the truth will be that the poor owner can't afford to maintain it as they should.

It's just a truism that when you buy an item that requires regular maintenance and upkeep, the purchase price is merely a down payment on the TCO (Total Cost of Ownership).

 

Thanks eganders, couldn't have said it better myself...

 

wow this thread has gone into many different directions, but I am happy with it... lots of good posts and lots of quality information came out here... preach on fellas... as I find your opinions valuable regardless if you feel the same way about mine...

 

I have not been here in awhile, but that is so true. (TCO)

Carl

 

Such strong stereotyping, at least you sound like a republican when you are politely classing people.

I understand your home owners analogy and with the slick sales of variable rate and interest only home loans I can see how easy it would be for someone to be trapped in an attempt improve their life. However, we are talking about basic transportation not a home. With the reduced pricing available, this vehicle was not a stretch for any but the most impoverished new car owner. At under $20 for a base model and $25k for an SRT-6 any kid with a job at McDonalds can afford a Crossfire, that’s the same rough price range of a new Hyundai Tiburon or Toyota Celica.

TCO, good acronym! I except the higher regular maintenance cost of this vehicle. However, an oil change does not cost $185 on a Crossfire do to hand build craftsmanship or expertise required during basic maintenance. It cost more because of 8.5 quarts of synthetic oil, most kids with a $10,000 Scion use synthetics these days and I have used synthetic oils in all of my vehicles for over 15 years. I do not use the dealer for basic maintenance for several reasons. I prefer to know my way around my vehicle and as a Nuclear Engineer I still enjoy getting my hands dirty. I refuse to pay the dealership $100 an hour for the same quality labor I can get from jiffy lube for $10 and I prefer the quality of my own maintenance over either of the wage grade mechanics who does the least possible to complete the task.

Regardless of Hyundai or Mercedes, $50,000 or $500,000 annual incomes! In my opinion anyone, who pays $3,000 for parts that should cost $1,000 is foolishly with their funds. Advertisers must love you and your impulse gratification name brand must have purchases. Your attempt to justify frivolous spending with the terms exotic, exclusive and high end are exceptional, you believe the hype of the sales brochure and expect the status response from your purchase. I put anyone who would pay $300 for $20 worth of metal stamped Renntech fender badges in the same mental category as those who put 22" rims on a 1990 Cutlass. For some reason they all think that the quality of the purchase reflects who they are.

The quality of your actions and choices you make in life, specifically those made when you think no one is watching define who you are. What you drive and how much it costs has nothing to do with it.

 

My SRT6 is completely stock and that is the way I am going to keep it. I like it very much the way it is.

If I wasn't satisfied with the way it drove during the test drive I would not have purchased it. Not that there is anything wrong in modifying the car.

 

I agree sidez but I get bashed when ever I bring up the grill so i just don't bother any more.

For the record I've spent well over $1,200 just on Startech products and am still waiting for the grill. I'd pay $500 for it if done right. Next up is the ECU tune and possibly the supercharger from the cheap supercharger thread. I have two cars to support and I just spent $6k on a supercharger for my Porsche and have to recoup some cash.