Hey everyone,

I've been considering getting a crossfire for a long time. I've always wanted one since they came out, and with a new job its starting to look like I can afford it.

Now the car I can afford, the fuel I can afford, but what scares me are the repairs and servicing costs.

I just sold my MG TF that I owned for 3 odd years at the weekend. I did almost all the work on that car, bar the heavy engine things like HG and cambelts.

So things like oil changes, shocks, spark plugs etc I can do myself. But how much can I expect to be charged for a cambelt service? Or is it an easy thing to do, and thus DIY'able?

I'm a bit confused about how much tyres are, I checked online and they seem to cost around 70-90 per tyre - does that sound too cheap? I've seen threads of people complaining about spending 1200 for a full replacement!

What are these cars like to work on? Are all the components rusted to crap and thus will all shear like on my old MG?

Are there any other pitfalls I should be aware off?

 

You are at the right place. If you do your own basic service, they are not bad. Any problems you encounter you will be able to repair with the info here. It is really nice to have the correct info instead of relying on a dealership for $1200 blinker fluid. If you can turn wrenches go for it you wont be sorry. A set of tires in the US go for about $700.

 

There is NO timing belt, the MB 3.2 engine has a chain driven SOHC, 3 valves per cylinder with 2 spark plugs per cylinder.
The chain should never need any attention.
These cars are really nice to work on, provided you have a good set of both male and female TORX sockets / drivers and a good set of metric wrenches and sockets.

The headlight bulbs can be a PITA, but there are lots of threads here about that.
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD BATTERY !!!

 

Ya get what ya pay for when it comes to tires. I buy in the winter for about 600-700 for a set.
Oil changes suck 8 quarts of 0-w40 usually 8 bucks a quart plus a 10 dollar filter. Some will argue about change intervals I typically go 7000 and change the filter every 3500. If I was racing the car I would change it more often.
Spark plugs suck too 2 per cyclinder not that you will need to change them all that often.
My cars have both been very good to me! One had a wheel bearing fail at 85000 miles but that was it.

 

Here is my advice: research an extended warranty and buy one. I purchased an extended warranty through Chrysler. Shop different Chrysler dealers- the price varies (hard to believe) The used CF I purchased had 42000 when I purchased it almost 2 years ago. I have made 3 claims, cost: $100 per claim. The repairs would have cost easily over $2300. Mercedes engines are complex and expensive to work on like any highly precision engine. There are MANY very qualified CF owners on the forum who can give lots of advice and direction concerning repairs, resources, etc. If your "handy" and a mechanic, that is one scenario. I am not an auto mechanic and don't have the time to try to do repairs and possibly cause more damage. You have to decide your comfort level. The prices of CF continue to drop so you can get a good bang for your $. I flew one way to another city and purchased mine. Add in the extended warranty if your budget allows, you won't be sorry.

 

Best bang for the buck is the general GMAX tires, they are a rain tire, winter rated and members reporting 45k miles per set. I would only suggest rain tires on the XFIRE, on interstate the water in the grooves in road can make the back of the car really loose.
Only premium gasoline, higher compression engine.
Don't use cheap oil, use reccomended Mobil 1 and good filter, but oil changes go more than double milage than non synthetic oils in other vechicles.
I spend alot of seat time in mine, she has 89k miles bought her with 50k miles.
Changed all fluids when we got home and all that I have needed done is basic items like brakes, front wheel bearings, oil changes etc.

Tires are one thing to pay attention to when buying, research what the numbers like wear rating mean, find the right tires can save you alot of money in the long run.

I run 235 Kumo on front and 275/35 G-Max's on back and love this combo, great traction in wet roads, and it has surprised me in snow.

 

Thanks everyone!

Bit disappointing no UK answers but oh well, owners advise is owners advice!

I went and test drove a soft-top this weekend, came to the conclusion that there is just not enough boot space, the entrance is far to small and more importantly with the roof down space is almost down to 0.

So its a hard-top for me!

Going to find one to test drive at the weekend and then take it from there, looking to get one hopefully by the end of the month at the latest.

 

That's funny with my top down, I have a REALLY big space open. Just not in the trunk.

 

I'm in the UK. Servicing is simple. and if you don't fancy it yourself just go to your local Mercedes specialist. An oil service should be about £150, which when you consider includes 2 gallons of fully synth oil is a bargain.

The only gotcha is spark plugs at 2x cylinder is a lot of money and they are very awkward to get to. But whereas my local Chrysler dealership wanted to change them at 40k miles, the service book says they're good for 100k miles.

Best tyres I found for mine are Dunlop XL Sportmaxx RT, excellent grip, excellent wear and above all (for me) are very quiet, and stay quiet too even after 10k miles.

As said, there is no cam belt, it's a chain. Brake pads and discs are reasonable prices from a euro parts specialist. In all not an expensive car to run.

 

Hello absorb, thanks for your reply. I agree that oil changes are not so bad for the $. However, having 3 substantial repairs in 2 years in my opinion is not so great given the low mileage (under 50,000) in comparison to vehicles I have owned with much greater mileage. I did purchase an extended warranty from Chrylser. Each repair event is $100 but had I paid retail, the costs would have easily hit $2300-2500 (not including towing). With everything I have read from CF owners, one must pray that you are not on the road if the skreem or RCM fails. One women who posted recently has had their CF at the dealer for 8 weeks!!! They can't seem to fix or find the problem! I suggested to have it towed to mercedes and let them diagnose the problem(s). Many on the forum work on their cars themselves, others rely on others for diagnosis and repair. I appreciate your thoughts that "not an expensive car to run". I can't agree with you based upon my 2 year experience and, please note, I love the CF!

 

I drive 2-6 hours from home in mine twice a week and have no worries, I have not done the rcm, had a problem with skreem once but just had to disconnect battery and re sync the key and it was good to go.
And still use original cps, but have spare and tools needed to change it.
90,020 miles

 

Glad to hear a CF story of reliability! I like to take road trips often during the summer/spring months, 2.5 hour drive each way. However, my wife gets a little cramped in the passenger seat. btw, what is the "cps"?

 

cps = Crankshaft Position Sensor.
If this puppy goes south, then you are on the side of the road with yer thumb out.
Many carry a spare BOSCH one and the tools necessary to change it.

 

Is this the part: MOPAR Part # 68102591AA ? Could not locate the (Bosch) part for a 2007 Coupe manual transmission. Also, where does it hide and what tools are necessary and how would I know THAT would be what failed if the CF ceases to operate???? What would the symptom be to know the cps went south? Thanks. And my next question is about the RCM that I have read so much about and soldering the dang thing. Is soldering a fix to reinforce the solder connections? Thanks!

 

I can do most of my own work, although I cant do SERIOUS engine work or things like ball joints due to me not having a press.

BisB - what faults have you had?

CPS fault will lead to misfiring engine. I guess maybe on a xfire it will lead to serious misfire as the cynliners will be firing out of sync leading to the pistons firing at all the wrong times, bet it leaves to huge instability issues.

 

Hello mini mayhem; The only fault code was related to the skreem module that needed to be replaced/exchanged through Chrysler. The CF was down for about a week, not bad. Had to be towed. Luckily was in my garage when the CF would not start. I have had leaky valve cover seals replaced that became a debate with Chrysler concerning the one time use of the aluminum bolts, and also had to replace a leaking axle seal (transaxle?) left side seal. That was a little pricey but the extended warranty covered all 3 repairs. After the CF sitting in the garage for a couple of months, I again had smoke this week coming up from both sides of hood (same condition that required valve cover seals to be replaced so now I have to have the valve cover seals reviewed again to see if they are leaking again. The smoke went away quickly, thought it may be dust burning off the engine for sitting for 2 months, but I doubt it- too much smoke. I am handy mechanically but no auto mechanic. I just installed the module for the 3rd brake light to have the pulsating feature to prevent rear end collisions and also added a chirp to the alarm so I know that it is set. I dread traveling and having the CF fail on the highway. Finding the Chrysler mechanics who were trained on the CF seem to be harder and harder to find. The dealer that performed the valve cover work does not have a trained CF mechanic while the other dealer in my area DOES have a trained CF mechanic. How hard could valve cover gaskets be to replace??? I'll find out soon enough when determined if they are leaking again. The next on the list is to see if there is blockage under the cowl related to a/c hoses because my windshield fogs up often where visibility is "0". Not sure how to access under/behind the cowl so I may ask Chrysler to check the hoses, etc. So much for my 2 yr mechanical history on my CF.