Abuse aside, there's not a lot that goes wrong with these cars in a catastrophic sense. If you can get some more history on that black Crossfire there is a lot of good info around, and it could end up that it's cheaper to get it going again than it is to get the white one looking pristine again. Body part costs add up pretty quickly on these cars, and the Mercedes parts under the skin are generally easier to come by. Searching around for no-starts you'll find a few common culprits (CPS, RCM, et cetera) but definitely need to know more than "doesn't start."


As far as the aftermarket parts situation - it's honestly pretty slim. If you're looking for engine performance, the goto mods for the naturally aspirated Crossfire are a NeedsWings single cold air intake, 74mm throttle body (do a search) and a tune from Eurocharged. Cosmetic mods you're largely on your own there, aside from front lips, wheels, and some different grilles... there's not a whole lot. I think you'll find most of the guys here are pretty happy with the stock looks, and just do small things like new decals, debadging, painting, maybe some vinyl or carbon fiber overlays. Nothing like the plethora of cosmetic mods available for a mustang.


If you're indecisive or can't seem to keep a color for more than a few months dips can be a good choice, but like you said, repair any damage first. PlastiDip isn't my style either, but there's definitely some great looking examples: DOTM Winners Album


http://www.needswings.com/
http://www.eurocharged.com/
http://crossfiremall.com/