Originally Posted by
KowalaGT
So, I was looking for a new (to me), sporty, fun car and was looking for some specific models but not having much success. I did a broad search for cars with manual transmissions in my price range and this little beauty came up. I had completely forgot about Crossfires, probably because I haven’t seen one in yeeeears! It was an hour drive away, but I had to check it out. Totally worth the trip. With only 44K miles on the speedometer, it was obviously a well-loved car. The owner was asking $9K for it and my “budget” was about $7K. I didn’t know much about Crossfires, but I do know about internet forums. I discovered CrossfireForum, did some research, and learned that the issues with these cars are few and manageable. I offered $8K and it was accepted! My commute is only about 10 miles so I plan on daily driving it in dry weather. As you can see from the photos (in my album), it is super clean (really, look at the door jamb). The brakes and rotors appear to have only a couple of thousand miles on them, if that. The front tires were original! I had them replaced with some Perelli’s. The rear tires (Toyo Proxes) are relatively new, with maybe a couple thousand miles on them. I also repaired an oil leak from the passenger side breather cover, thanks to the 12 year old post by MikeR. The oil looks clean but is about a year and a half old so will change it. Is it worthwhile to change out trans, diff, brake & steering fluids? Any advice about preventative maintenance is welcome!
2006 Limited, Sapphire Silver Blue
How can ya beat that for $8K? Crossfires turn more heads than your typical Porsche... They are SPECIAL and RARE! I'd change the brake fluid and the engine coolant. Brake fluid attracts water and these cars have all kinds of things tied into the ABS & Stability Control System. Engine coolant's anti corrosion additives break down over time so change that. I wouldn't worry about the engine oil (you can check and see how many miles are left on that oil on the dash - see the owner's manual), transmission fluid, diff or the power steering fluid at this point (I haven't on mine and it is a 2004 with about 55K miles on it) but I have replaced my brake fluid and engine coolant. Of course, easy changes are the engine and cabin air filters for kicks. You'll probably want to order a replacement RCM by Standard Motor Products, Bosch Crankshaft Position Sensor and Bosch Camshaft position sensor to either keep on hand or replace them all and keep the working replacements in the trunk as a precaution. Total price for all 3 on Amazon is about $181. The replacement RCM just dropped in price big time... I paid $143 for mine and it can now be had for $95!