Hello everyone!

Name's Al and I am looking to make my 2nd ever car purchase (wanting to go selfish on this one) and am pretty settled on getting a Crossfire. They appear to be so much car for the money and they look unlike anything else on the road (everyone in Huntsville, AL has a Mustang or 350Z).

My 1st car was a 2000 Ford Focus wagon purchased in 2003 with 30,000 miles on it. With it being my 1st car ever, I didn't take great care of it for most of the time that I've had it. Even still, it has lasted me 10yrs and 80,000 additional miles (and counting) without having to make any major repairs that weren't due to my negligence. I plan on keeping this car.

This is the Crossfire I plan on test driving either tomorrow or next week (its a little over an hour drive from where I live): Cars for Sale: 2005 Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 Coupe in Birmingham, AL 35215: Coupe Details - 344353145 - AutoTrader.com

If purchased, I will be putting about $1500 down leaving me with about $3000 in savings reserved for anything the car might need soon after purchase.

A few questions:
1. How good is this deal really?
2. When viewing/driving the car, what are somethings I should be looking/listening for?
3. What should I be asking the dealer about the car?
4. Who should I trust to check it out (I don't have a go-to mechanic)?

Thanks in advance and I hope to be a fellow owner and a good member of the Xfire Forums community.

 

1. about average for a SRT6 Coupe with that mileage.

2. a. rust on bottom of doors.
b. water in bottom of trunk ( not easy to see without removing the trim panels so you can then remove the foam bottom panels )
c. oil leaks around valve covers ( no big deal and easily remedied, but a good bargaining point with dealers )
d. expect to be replacing the inter-cooler pump ( @ $150 )
e. tire wear patterns ( possible alignment issues )
f. don't expect the heated seats to work, bonus if they do.
g. use the manual shift mode and ensure not too much delay between you telling it to shift, and it actually shifting.
h. make sure you get the CD's for the Nav radio, but don't expect much out of it.

3. CARFAX !!! ( the dealer will most likely have NO other knowledge of the car )

4. Can't help you much there, qualified XFire mechanics are rarer than hen's teeth.

GOOD LUCK !!!!

( Sure you don't want a Roadster ????? )

 

maybe look here for cars in Al. it is oddle.com then go to crossfire.

http://web.mail.comcast.net/zimbra/h...=1&action=view

 

good luck, have fun... you want to have it checked out, find an independent Mercedes specialist

 

100% agree with these---You can do better on the "deal"---Many on here sell and have GREAT histories.

I love these cars. I have bought and sold 6 of them and have kept #7 because of bang for the buck. You can NOT beat it. Good luck on the search.

Just a bit of advice---Take your time if you have it. These cars are DEALS in my mind and in the minds of others on here opinion but they are not the fastest sellers on the market, so unless it is a STEAL, take the time to look and check all the "shortlist" out.

And making the trip for a better car is worth the time. I drove 500 miles to get mine and do not regret it one bit.

 

It may be a little premature, but WELCOME to the club! You will not regret it. These are great cars.

I'm in Tuscaloosa and own a 2002 SLK32 (same basic car, I just payed more for the star and the Vario-Roof!).

When driving, make sure the supercharger is kicking in correctly. You should get immediate, consistent response. Punch it several times to see if the SC performs as expected each time. If it seems to go into "limp" mode, you've got a lot of negotiating leverage. The dealer won't have a clue as to whats wrong. And unless the SC itself is bad, you can probably fix just about any issue for under $500. As mentioned, the IC pump may be on the way out. Also the SC pulley bearing has a tendency to fail. Any unusual noise from that area of the engine should be investigated.

Because these cars are a bit rare, look for any mechanical repair that may have been performed by some ham-fisted yokel (stripped bolt heads, signs of over-torquing). BTW, most Chrysler dealers DO NOT have a decent XF mechanic...even a lot of MB dealers don't. You will want to investigate a good indie MB shop. These cars are not especially hard to wrench on, especially with all the help you will find here.

Ask for any and all service records. Since the car is in B'ham, there are several good shops there that could give it once-over, for a fee, I'm sure.

The transmission TCU connector tends to leak, not a big deal, but may give you some negotiating room.

Take it for a decent interstate drive. One thing I didn't find out about mine was a slight engine surging problem when cruising the interstate at a "constant" speed. Again, not a hard fix, but... a $100 here and $200 there begins to add up.

I hope I haven't scared you off!!

Most importantly, USE THIS FORUM. The people here (for the most part) are very knowledgeable and helpful. There are many great DIY threads that will hold your hand through most repairs or at least give you the knowledge necessary to speak to your mechanic.

 

What are you hinting at exactly?

 

Hinting ?
I'm just saying don't just put it in 'D' for the test drive, use the manual mode to see how fast it really reacts to shift commands.

BTW: to OP : the S/W switch should be in 'S' for summer, that way it starts in 1st gear instead of 2nd as in 'W' mode.

 

I believe he may be refering to the Autostick mode if youre driving with an automatic transmission.

 

I agree with all the advice here so far. The chance of the S/C being bad is very rare, bu the chance of the IC pump being bad is very common. Do like rfourt suggests and take it on a long dive at highway speeds to get everything heated up. Set the cruise and see if the car "surges" for no reason. If it does, that is a classic sign of the S/C disengaging (they have an electric clutch). If you feel it surge, put your foot in it - if it doesn't lay you back in your seat, your S/C has disengaged from over heating, but don't worry - it's not that big of a deal, but will give you MAJOR negotiating power. The IC pump is a $150.00 DIY repair and then the S/C will be there whenever you need it

Also, from a rolling start (maybe around 15 MPH) stick your foot in it and watch the shift lever - if it pulls forward, your left engine mount is bad and will need to be replaced. Another way to check is put the car in a clear area, pop the hood, set the parking brake, hold the foot brake, put it in D, and SLOWLY apply throttle while watching under the hood. You'll see the left side of the engine raise up quite a bit if the mount is bad. That can be kind of an expensive fix if you take it to a shop.

Good luck!!

RL

 

Thanks for the quick response and info, guys!

@alaxfire: I like the look of the hatchback coupe more than the roadster. It reminds me of the Batmobile. Also, I figure not having a motorized top gives me one less thing to worry about (hopefully).

As far as expanding my search, I'm not seeing a lot of SRT6's within the distance I am willing to drive. However I did find this one with nearly 30,000 less miles for about $2500 more than the one in my initial post : For Sale: 2005 CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE SRT-6 at Sunset Motors Inc.

How do you guys feel about that one?

 

Manual Mode :

1. Put in 'D'
2. hold lever left till dash indicator says '1'
3. in this mode, you now have 2 options :
a. Hold it to the floor and it will up shift at approx 5700 RPM for each gear
b. You can momentarily blip the lever to the right to up shift manually.

You can do downshifts when in 'D' by momentarily blip the lever to the right. This can save on brakes, but probably causes premature band wear in the tranny, there is debate about that.

SUPPOSEDLY, the computer will not let you screw up and do something stoopid like shifting to 1st at 120 MPH.

NOTE: see https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...crossfire.html

 

Thanks for the reply. So as not to hijack the thread I'll send you a PM.

 

I live in Nashville and went to Detroit (just over 500 miles) to get mine because of the deal I was getting---Something to think about. Remember you can always SHIP IT! It is NOT that hard to do. I have shipped hundreds of cars. There are many companies---Just call the auction house in the city which you are buying the car and most will help by giving you a name or use the internet---not hard at all.

Since there are only 2000 or so coupes, keeping your search just in the South will limit you.

You can do better than the two you have posted. More so on the second than the first. The first one is line for retail---IF it is a CLEAN, never been hit car. Wholesale is $11,500 to $12,000 for this car, some sell below wholesale so OFFER low. If the dealer goes to auction they will only net about $11,500 or so after fees and they KNOW this to be true. The one below with similar mileage sold for $12,500 in So Cal is a little high for the area---Cali gets TOP dollar. The one above with 20k less miles sold for just a couple hundred more and the one below it was a $2000 drop for just 10k more miles.

And do NOT pay a Doc Fee---Tell them your offer has the fee INCLUDED---ONLY add taxes and tags. They will do this if you hold steady.

Like I said in my first post, these are great cars, but not the fastest sellers. It took me MONTHS (avg over 4) to sell each of the six which I sold. I did not care, because I WANTED to drive them. I sold cars at the time and had to drive something and I fell in love with these cars and when I did sell one; I went and bought another, but from a business standpoint, they were dogs---Most cars if priced right will sell in under 60 days---These cars took double this and then some. Not a quick flip at all---so search and get a good one.

Here are the last sales at the auctions----Dealers will of course want a profit but here is wholesale---Hope that it helps.
These cars sell very close to wholesale even at retail---People will ask more in the beginning, but most must come down to move the car.

03/22/13 PA Regular $12,700 45,560 Avg BLACK 6G P Yes
02/28/13 SO CAL Regular $12,500 65,757 Avg BLACK 6G A Yes
02/21/13 PHOENIX Regular $10,800 76,469 Avg SILVER 6G A Yes
03/19/13 PORTLAND Regular $9,900 85,145 Avg GRAY 6G A Yes
04/16/13 ATLANTA Regular $8,700 110,985 Avg SILVER 6G A Yes
02/21/13 SO CAL Regular $5,000 139,121 Below BLUE 6G A Yes



Good luck Jimmy

 

From Huntsville, Nashville is 111 miles, Birmingham is 101 miles, so not much difference in the drive.
Just make the decision to turn north or south on I65.

 

A member on here has one for 13.5K and it has 50K on the clock. It's in OH, so that may be too far away.

 

May be worth the look at $13.5 OBO and 50k on the clock---Something to think about and not that far away.

 

Here is the link with the description if interested:

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...pe-ssb-oh.html

 

check out cargurus for pricing

Used Chrysler Crossfire SRT-6 For Sale Gainesville, VA - CarGurus

Good Luck

 

Thanks a lot everyone! I'm not in a huge rush to get one especially since they don't sell fast. Doing "unlimited distance" searches hasn't really yielded much better results so I think I'll stick to the SRT6's nearby. Also, they are both in the color I want.

Both of the xfires I have been looking at have been on the lot for months so I'm hoping that gives me some kind of leverage on the price. Gonna save up a few more grands over the next couple of months and then go for one of them. Worse come to worst, if they are sold before I am ready to get one, I can always pick up a non-SRT6 (would be kind of bummed though). I'm not a speed demon but I'd love the option to be. Either way, Its gonna be far better than the Focus I've been driving for my entire driving career.