Hey all,

Sort of have my eye on one with ~72,000 miles. Is that not too bad for these engines? Or should I stay away?

Tried searching on this. Didn't find much, though there were a few off hand comments about how these engines can go strong for 200,000 plus miles. True?

Not a lot of choice in my area. In fact I can only find 2 for sale in all of Canada right now. Granted, in these parts, January isn't the time to be looking.

 

Foghat
There were at least 3 SRT6's with miles that exceeded 150,000, with one at 193,000 listed on one of the on line car sites. It all depends on the maintenance that was performed on the cars.
Just my 2 cents......
Dennis
DTMenace

 

Why buy one with that mileage if you can get one with less miles in the US for much less. Unless this is a bargain I would forget it. How much is it? What is it's condition?

 

Well that is just it. Not much of a bargain. It is at a dealer. They are asking $17,000cad. They did put brand new tires on it and a few other little things. I have not seen it in person yet, but it looks to be in pretty good shape. It is actually a US car. Car fax does report it was in a minor accident and was repossessed...

I would not be opposed to getting a car from the States, but am a little leery of buying something site unseen. If I were to make the trip to look/buy it, well that costs money too. I consult, so any time I take off for this comes directly out of my pocket, not to mention flight, hotels, etc. All this eats into any savings pretty quickly.

 

I purchased one with a little less that 20,000 miles on it in Florida and with air fare and expenses I guess it came to a couple of hundred more than this one. I then had to pay taxes on it. That extra 50 k is a lot of miles and my one has less wear and tear to show for it as well. My one is very nice.

Others have paid less than me for even lower mileage, you have to decide, you only have to change the headlight switch to meet Canadian standards for DTRL's. Get the safety and emissions test, $130 and you are done.

My tip, go South and buy a gem. Try this forum for cars on sale in the US, Florida is a good place as there seems to be a lot down there.

 

I live in the Seattle area and bought mine sight unseen from a dealership in Connecticut. It was "dealer certified" for what it's worth as apposed to a private owner. Car-fax was clean. 2005 SRT Conv 25,000 miles for $187500 that was in 2009 then paid $1000 to have it shipped. Good luck!

 

Guess it would depend on price. I can't see Florida being much less than a 5 or six day trip. Fly there drive back. Just the cost of missing work for that long would likely come close to eating up any savings - guess you'd work the weekend to to lessen the impact.

I will look in the States when the time comes, but would really like to see/drive vehicle before committing.

Guess I am just trying to get a sense if 72,000 miles is considered a lot on these cars - in that I need to worry big ticket items (engine, transmission, etc) starting to fail in the next x number of miles. I don't think this is case, but not certain.

 

I paid 12,400 for mine 3 months ago, 76k on it, runs great, great condition. It is a Mercedes drivetrain, they are very reliable.

 

Ya, shipping is something to think about as well. There must be companies that will get the car across the border for you?

 

If you can get it shipped (about $700 to $1000 from FLA to Lewiston NY) to the border you will save paying any state tax, time off work, fuel, food accomodation and the additional wear on the vehicle. Transport companies will bid on cars to take. If they only need one more vehicle to fill a load, you can get a real bargain on the shipping cost! The US border customs officials are adament about having 72 hours advance notice that the vehicle is leaving the country and that the paperwork is proper so that they can ensure it wasn't stolen and has no liens on it. They don't care if you paid any state tax at all (which you won't do if you ship the car!!!). Just send you paperwork to the crossing you intend to use more than 72 hrs in advance - save the fax transmittal sheet as proof of it being received. Phone them and tell them that if they could commence their process of clearing the car that you'll have replacement (title change) paperwork when you arrive. The shipping company can assist you in all of this and get it right to your door if you like. Find out ahead of time where they want you to park if you choose to drive.

In Canada, pay the two taxes (Fed and Prov) (there is no blended HST). Then pay the $200 RIV fee and get the RIV papers to complete and take to Canadian Tire. Again, you can ask if the border folks would fax the RIV paperwork to the RIV offices commencing that process as much as possible prior to going to CTC. Get your emmisions, safety and RIV paperwork completed at CTC for about another $100 (assuming it doesn't need work) and then go get your plates. The only issues you will have is to make sure that the child safety restraint mechanism is there for a coupe (or that the piece is in the glove box if it's a convertible) and to hook up DRLs. There are a couple of good threads to do that on the forum. I like SparkieSRT6's LED scenario. Cheap, fast, effective and meets the standard.

As Dave said, there are some beauties in FL and the process is cheap. You can also pay an expert evaluator in the city where you buy the car to have it appraised if you cannot go yourself. Cost is between $200 and $300 for a full and complete report (photos and right down to compression tests if you like).

As far as the SRT-6 mileage goes, I recently drove one with 200k miles on it that was in better shape and stronger than some NAs that I've driven with less than a quarter of that mileage. My butt still hurts from kicking myself over that.

 

^ Thanks for all the info; it is great. I am definitely going to look into shipping the car when the time comes.

 

I paid 12,600 for mine 9-10 months ago with 62,000 on the clock. It runs perfectly, the only problem...well, inconvenience, was one of the donut hangers snapped off. I put a new one on and it snapped off, so I took 2 for some sort of big truck from autozone and cut and fit to make work. No problem since. I got a new muffler and the mechanic talked to me about the hangers and he ended up using them after I told him the story, also saying that the material was alot better than a standard rubber donut. But in any case (sorry for getting off topic) I am sure if you find a nice one in the states thats close to a forum member they may be able to check it out for you, then you just ship it like PitMarshall said, almost all the way.

 

All of what I said should take nothing away from the potential that you could make special arrangements with a private seller that would help in getting the car home. Just make sure that you understand the legal implications. Nothing can replace the memories of a great road trip! Just ensure that you are happy with the car first ... then make sure that you can afford it by the time you get it home and plated. The details of the RIV process into Canada are not complex and in my experience, if you are respectful of their processes and ask all of your questions/ get everything prepared in advance of arrival - all of the border staff on both sides will help you through the process.

I can only imagine them not being helpful if you simply arrived at the border, started asking your questions at that time, expected them to assist you in the process and developed a chip on your shoulder. That would turn anyone "off".

I made one mistake in buying my Michigan Crossfire. I bought a paper temporary plate through a dealer. Cost $25. But that little misstep also forced me to pay the Michigan sales tax. I was only 25 miles from the border. If I had asked the salesperson to drive the car with me to the border - he could hand me the paperwork and keys I would have been golden. I should have paid the carwash guy $50 to follow us and drive the salesman back - or paid for his taxi back. Either way, I really didn't need to have a Michigan temp plate nor to have paid several hundred in state tax. The US Border staff don't care about whether or not I pay taxes. Not their issue. Once in Canada I could have secured an Ontario temp place for $15 for the drive home.

Just make sure that your insurance company knows the details of everything that you are doing well in advance.

That tip for the future came directly from a US border officer. I'll consider how to get the car to the border next time and try to save some money - including the potential to ship the car.

 

To my knowledge you cannot get a temporary plate in Ontario.
Getting a Temporary (Trip) Permit
The car has to be registered in Ontario before a temporary plate can be purchased, and then that plate is for drive clean and safety check purposes only. It is used from your house to and from those tests and to the license office, not for trips from the border.

Having a car shipped to your house will incur brokerage fees as well as transport costs. I used the plate that was on the car when I purchased it privately. If you buy from a dealer there will not be a plate, so take an Ontario set with you to avoid state taxes. No one at the border cares about plates. Just do not get stopped by the Man for speeding. If a dealer says you have to pay state taxes, tell him to deliver it to you out of state.

Buying the car will not incur state taxes, it will if you have to get it licensed to get a plate to drive home.

At the border the US VINNY office will check the Certificate of Title and stamp it, they say in the rules that you need two copies each of the Bill of Sale and the Title, I had these and they did not want them. They also want the current mileage on the odo. You will have notified this office at least 72 hours in advance of your arrival and gave them the VIN number at that time. The car will be X-rayed or some such scan, a van pulls alongside your car and does whatever it does. Looking for contraband I guess. I was in and out the VINNY office in five minutes.

At the Canadian side they want the date of manufacture, the BoS and the Title. The form you fill in with all this info can be down loaded before hand to save time. You pay the GST and you are gone.
You can pay the RIV fee prior to of after importing the car.

I drove mine to the RIV, safety and emissions test at local CTC store on my Ontario plates from my other car. I went to the licensing office with these papers and licensed the car using the plates that were on the car outside. I paid the Ontario sales tax and received my new ownership papers.

A week later I received the Ontario sticker that said the car was registered in the RIV program and I stuck this on the door.

Game, set, match. All legal. Well almost, I went home and switched the Canadian light switch I had used in the test back to my first Crossfire and put the US switch back in the SRT. It was a quick fix and was addressed later.

 

Blue SRT6 Coupe - 25K miles on ebay. There was a thread on this today.

Chrysler : Crossfire Chrysler : Crossfire | eBay

 

I paid $9,500 for my 05 SRT a couple of weeks ago. It has 71,550k miles on it and runs very strong. Get the VIN and do as much research as possible on it. You might find someone on this forum that is familiar w/the car. I did. I would be just as concerned that the frame is straight as the mechanical is. A car that has been repossesed is a warning flag to me that it was not properly maintained. Spend the money to have a M/B-Xfire mechanic to give it a good once over. I had mine checked out and there were a couple of minor things with the car that should cost me no more than $1,000 to fix. I bought it planning on spending a couple of $grand on it. Any car of this type you should plan on putting some $ into it. There is always something wrong somewhere. That is my experience anyway. Also, do not rely on CarFax or any other similar thing. People often do not report problems even if they are supposed to. I have learned that also from unhappy experience. Good luck.

 

CAN$17K is too high. Period.

I bought an SRT6 roadster in California a year ago with 66K miles for US$15K. No issues. Even with the new tires, your seller wants too much.

 

Perhaps. Need to keep in mind that car prices (even with the dollar pretty much at par) have always been significantly higher in Canada. New and Used.

Plus, this is literally 1 of 2 srt6s currently listed in Canada. you don't want to know the price of the other one.

But, given the number for sale in the States, I will probably look there.

 

I would not let distance stop the inspection. There are a lot of members on this forum frothing at the mouth to go evaluate an SRT6 for someone. Everyone likes to look them over and score a test drive. Just identify your targets, then post and ask for help.

 

My 2004 Crossfire has over 198K miles and going strong; I purchased it on July 2003 (car is 9 years old this July).

I have had nearly no issues with the car aside from getting new tires and maintenance. This year I did repair some rust on the real driver panel that I had fixed.

I drive my car year round in Northern Illinois and I have never had issues driving the car in the snow - its all about the tires.

I have two Crossfires - my convertable for summer and my year round coupe. It's just a pleasure to drive that car every day!