Welcome to the forum!

Before anyone jumps you, let me just mention that the Crossfire is a Chrysler not a Dodge.

The insurance difference is probably due to the average age of the owners of the vehicles. The Neon SRT-4 is typically owned by young single men, who are the highest risk category in insurance. SRT-6 owners are typically a few years older. In fact, I'd say the average age is more like 40 rather than 20. But with the price dropping, the age is dropping too.

Cash-in-hand can be a good bargaining tool when dealing with a private owner, but it isn't much of one with a dealership. The dealership is looking forward to getting a kick-back on the loan that you'll need to buy the car. So you may not want to bring it up with a dealer until you've settled on price.

Another tip is to always run a Car Fax on the car before you buy. Don't bother with the one the dealership hands you. Run it yourself. It's only $20 and it will give you an idea of how many owners it has had and if the car has a bad history. That's $20 well spent when you're considering a 18 thousand dollar purchase.

Lastly, play hard to get when you go shopping. If you walk in there with a stiffy for the SRT-6, the salesman will smell it and run the price up because he knows you want it. Walk away and wait for him to call you a couple days later with a better price. You have to show them that you don't _need_ to buy _this_ particular car.

Good luck, and have fun shopping! Be safe in Afganistan!