I've been negotiating with a dealer, within a day's drive from me, on an '08 coupe with 6K miles. It's covered under the 3/36 warranty until 2012.

While we're close on the price, I'm worried about the concerns expressed on this forum about parts. The warranty's no good if there are no parts. Parenthetically, I recently bought a used headlight assembly after looking for many months.

Since my '04 is running fine with 81K miles, I'm having difficulty attempting to justify buying a car which could potentially create a new set of problems.

What think you??????

Anguished Don

 

I think it's entirely up to you. If it was me I would keep the Crossfire you have and keep driving it. These cars will last a long time and the engine should have no problem hitting over 300k miles. I'm taking it that your 04 is paid off already? Just think what you can do with your 04 with all that left over money from not buying the 08.

 

If the 2008 is a steal....buy it!!

 

While I love the thought of a new car and a new care warranty, it would need to be a steal for me to consider it at all. I'd take the extra money, go buy a good aftermarket warranty on you current crossfire and save the rest of the money and take a vacation. I'm assuming your existing is paid off of course.

I bought an 04 with 5600 miles on it for 13K. It's basically a brand new car without a warranty. For 2 grand or even less you can get a bumper to bumper with a small deductible which is pretty damn close to the manufactuer warranty and then pocket the rest. I'd guess, even if you get a great deal, you'd be keeping a bunch of money in your account if you don't buy it -- which could be used for repairs even if you don't buy a warranty.

 

Well, it looks like it's unamious. Unless it's an absolute steal, my interests would best be served by keeping what I have.

I guess that's what I wanted to hear.

Thanks for the informed answers.

Don

 

I had a 2004 that was totaled in 08, so I bought a new 08, in Aug of 08. The 08 is a more refined car, little things like noise, window switches and body fit.

 

I have an 04 and an 05 SRT. With an extended warranty on the 04. I'm not to concern with warranty issue, most of the parts covered by any warranty shouldn't be a problem to get. The only issue as far as parts is body parts. My 04 is in the shop as we speak getting a new fuel pump, dealer had no problem getting one.

 

As a previous poster stated, the mechanical parts shouldn't be a concern due to the Mercedes SLK heritage. However its the body parts. So either way. Make yourself happy.

 

I guess I don't understand the question. It sounds like you already own a 2004 crossfire, so you are already intimately aware of the limitations of this car. The 2008 is almost identical to the 2004, so I'm not sure what sort of answer you are looking for here. If you don't get the 2008, you will still have the 2004, correct? If that's the case, then you will still have to worry about parts. FWIW, I ordered some pretty obscure trim bolts, as well as another air pump (the one that inflates the tires) from my dealer with no problem. Sure none of these were in stock, but they ordered them without a problem. If it's used parts or the ability to find parts at the local parts store, then the crossfire will be very hard to find parts for.

I had an issue a few months ago when I wanted to buy an OEM grille to play with and they were back-ordered, but so far that's it.

 

Parts will always be an issue for limited production cars. But you face that with your 2004. A lot of parts seem to be available from Mercedes for the SLK320, most others are still available from Chrysler (though over-priced), and then there are junkyards as these little treasures get totalled. My plan is to buy a complete beater in 2-3 years just for parts.

 

If its the price range you can afford go for it !!! You only live once right !!! Might as well have the toys you want to play with !!!!

 

Since I have an '04, I'm acutly aware of the potentialt problems inherent with a car that's no longer in production. But, since my '04 has served me extremly well over the past 3 years, would it be worth it for me to invest $$$ for a newer version, with lower miles, and a warranty?

Don

 

I think this is really what your first post should have said. I guess the question is what you plan on using the crossfire for. Is it a daily or is it something you will just keep in the garage. The warranty is great, but you won't have it very long--just about a year left on it, at most, depending on mileage. IIRC, second owners do not get the limited lifetime warranty, so I'm not sure how what affects things if you wanted an extended warranty.

I think it's really hard to for us to tell you how to go here since, really, it's a value judgement. If your car is worn out and you really lust for that new car feeling, the 08 might be a good option. Unless the car was a basket case or visually in poor shape, I would probably keep the 04. If I was going to get another vehicle, I would probably not get another crossfire. There are so many really nice cars in the world and I just couldn't see buying the same car twice. I would be looking at a last generation Z4 coupe or if I could find one, a solstice GXP coupe.

More realistically however, I would run the 04 into the ground (asusming you drive it frequently) and then buy something else later. I think the 08 would make better sense if you wanted a lower mileage car in really good shape to keep as a weekend driver to preserve the miles--it's a bit too late to do that with your 04.

 

A solstice GXP coupe is truely a rare find. I had a change to buy one earlier this year (new) but wasn't ready to dish out the dough at that time. Also, while I love the car and it's even more rare than a crossfire, it was pretty small inside. Once in the XFire it feels pretty spacious for a sports car.

I tend to agree with AllEuro on most points stated. I do however think if you love the Crossfire, nothing wrong with getting another one. Or, I might opt to keep the current 04 and get something different as well. That way you get the benefit of both. I know most can't afford the luxury of both -- but if the you can, what the heck......

 

[quote=PNA]A solstice GXP coupe is truely a rare find. I had a change to buy one earlier this year (new) but wasn't ready to dish out the dough at that time. Also, while I love the car and it's even more rare than a crossfire, it was pretty small inside. Once in the XFire it feels pretty spacious for a sports car.

I tend to agree with AllEuro on most points stated. I do however think if you love the Crossfire, nothing wrong with getting another one. Or, I might opt to keep the current 04 and get something different as well. That way you get the benefit of both. I know most can't afford the luxury of both -- but if the you can, what the heck......[/quote

I don't think the solstice is a rare car at all..... at least not around these parts. I see the solstice and sky all the time around here but not as often as I see Crossfire's. I have driven a solstice before and I can say that the car is truley an amazing car. Not as quick as a Crossfire but the handling is really responsive and handles like a Mazda Miata (MX-5). Havn't driven a Sky but have looked into them a lot and from what I hear they are very sluggish...... it's still a great looking car and wouldn't mind owning either of those cars.

 

You see the roadsters all the time, but it's unlikely that you see the hardtop coupes very often. I see far more crossfires in my area than the solstice coupes. In fact, I have never seen one of the coupes in my area. In fact, I've only ever seen 2 coupes--one in Cape May, NJ and the other at a track day at Pocono.

 

I personally wouldnt buy another crossfire when I already have one. I would use my money on something else and it doesnt have to be a car.

Good luck.

 

[quote=Cody M]My point is same as AllEuro's --- I've only seen 2 Solstice Coupes in my life. Last one I saw was on the showroom floor -- the one I almost bought last spring. Haven't seen one since.

 

Come to Burtonsville, one shows up there pretty often.

 

Hoping to make it out there one weekend soon.