Hi all! I'm also sort of a newbie to the CF world. This June I got a new 2005 limited in White (not my first color choice, but all they had on the lot) out the door for $25k. This is my commute car and I drive roundtrip to Princeton, putting 100 miles a day on it.
I'm about to break 10k miles and the only service I had was the oil change and 7500 mile maintenance (a little late). Cost - $0! -- a perk from the dealer, Rothrock in Allentown.
The only problems I've had:
- dead battery cell at 2k miles, replaced at no charge by dealer
- rear window defroster had some bad wires, replaced at no charge by dealer
- a little hesitation in 1st gear, corrected by dealer
- sub woofers -- still don't see them doing that much
Oh, I did have a minor deer hit a few weeks ago, so it goes into the shop to repair front bumber and grill -- only injuries were to my pride and a dazed deer that got up and walked away.
The car has been great and handles fantastic in the rain, as good or better than my wife's Subaru Forester. And a nice little racer in good weather.
But, I expect some interesting times when the snow starts here in New Jersey. I don't know why people garage it during rain or snow -- to me, cars are to be driven, that's the fun of it.
So, bottom line, I'm happy with the car, no regrets, and after looking at Mazda RX8, Saturn Sky, BMW, Z car and low-end Porsche (Ferarri F1 and Bugatti Veyron out of the price range), I feel I made the right decision.
Looking forward to getting more tips and pointers from this group, and maybe a Crossfire get-together one of these days.
Marty in NJ