OK so test driving a xf this weekend and a dealership.

What should I check for on the car and what questions should I ask the salesman to see if the dealership know what they are on about?

One other thing (and I guess this may be as a negative) most people on here seem to have had multiple problems with their crossfire's, is this the case or just my luck on picking threads to read?

Not loaded with money but love the car, I would love to own one but am looking to commute to work (about 40 miles per day) and don't want to/can't afford to get a lemon.

Thanks for your help.

Really hoping I can join the club and become a crossfire owner!

Cheers
Lee

 

Mine isn't a lemon, I love it. It may seem like we have all had problems but more people tend to post when they have had problems and are looking for help, I think if you read a lot of these you will find we almost all love our XF. It is a great car and you will love it also.
GO FOR IT !!!

 

Paulw is correct. There are a lot more of us that have very little or no trouble with their cars. Most of the posts here that talk about problems are posted here to try and get a quick answer from the group. Personally, I have clocked over 26,000 trouble-free miles. The only problems I personally had was a rattle in the rear hatch which I fixed myself and a leaky seal in the driver's side door which my dealer fixed in a couple of hours.

The thing you really need to examine is the dealer itself. The biggest problem we Crossfire owners encounter is that Chrysler dealers don't know how to work on them. So find out if the dealer services many Crossfires. If they sell them they are required to have one certified Crossfire tech on staff. Maybe see if you can meet that tech to see what he is like.


Just my $.02

 

Yea, I figured most people searching out the forum do so because they want to know if others have had the same issue.

I guess I am looking for some killer questions which ensure I know what I am looking for and what to ask the dealer. Thanks for your quick replies!

Much appreciated!

 

I would definitely say the dealer service guy and service department in general is something you need to look at. My main trouble was with the service department and the lack of knowledge and serious lack of parts and ability to get parts.

When i was shopping for cars, i visited the Mini cooper dealer, and toured the service department, they were VERY sharp and had a wide range of parts in stock... he even quoted me shipping times on several parts i picked to break... top notch to say the least.

The 2 crossfire dealers in Memphis, have ONE crossfire mech each, and stock NO parts for the car, lead time on most parts is a min of 7 days.

 

Bobs you bring up an interesting point. If a dealership sells Crossfire's they have to have at least one certified Crossfire rep on staff who can work on them. At the dealership I bought mine from I know the service manager, he's also a client of mine. We have had a few interesting discussions about this and to be honest I'm not sure that certification is all its cracked up to be.
When I asked about "their" Crossfire specialist I got a chuckle. We have a guy who has some expertise. So far the two issues I've had with my car they have fixed but their XFire specialist failed to reset the oil change reminder,I ended up doing it to save another trip back, They didn't have a clue about what was going on with the headlight haze. They just keep replacing them. When I told the Service mgr about the 3m plastic cleaner he was very appreciative. Like I said they did a good job with my fan recall and lid lock, KOW that's all the problems so far. i guess my point in all this is don't be so sure that just because someone is certified they know how to work on the car. There are people on this board that seem to know far more about the cars than the dealer mechanics and I don't mean to slight the few that post here who DO know what they are doing and are a great help to us. I'm guessing the major issue seems to be with the transmissions. Be sure you test drive the car. As you would with a used car, look for leaks under the car. Some of these cars have been sitting on lots for a while. The headlight haze is another issue that comes up a lot. If its truly moisture than the fix is replacement, if its a haze on the plastic it can be easily cleaned with a plastic cleaner. My best advise is a thorough test drive then look under the car and pop the hood and look for leaks. You might want to check you local Better Business Bureau too. See how that particular dealer stacks up with complaints. Hope this helps and I hope you find one you like.

Pat

 

Leeroy, I am a UK owner who commutes over 60 miles most days, I have had no problems except for a blow out (expensive but hardly the fault of the xfire). As a daily driver the xfire is way cool. As for the UK dealers - although I have only had experience of the dealers in Bounemouth and Exeter I must say that I have been most impressed - they seem a lot more switched on than the impression this forum gives of some of the US dealers.

One other thing - the car is a real head turner in the UK - I have seen zero, yes zero roadsters since I bought mine over a year ago and I have only seen a handful of coupes.

Hope this helps...

P.S. see this thread for a pretty cool UK deal: https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ad.php?t=10437

 

leeroy, I've just bought a roadster last week from Varsity in Oxford who seemed to be OK but my local Swindon dealer, Kings, was not up to much and I believe this is the same franchise as Bristol. NB These two franchises although they appear different are both part of the syntner group so go figure...

These guys have a collection of delivery mileage cars with an auto roadster for £22990 :

http://www.westburyonline.co.uk/?go=...&type=delivery

Good luck with the test drive its going to be hot tomorrow so get that roof down and give it some, it's a hoot to drive.

 

I agree, dealer attitude and the knowledge and integrity of the service staff is key. Also remember that most Xfires have been sitting in the back corners of dealer lots, not too bad...but consider the amount that are sitting on the docks. DChrysler is flooding the market with Xfires at deep price cuts, these cars are bound to have issues outside of TSB's and recalls. As more and more Xfires hit the street and have recall and TSB issues, parts are gonna get even harder to get than they are now. If you are looking at an 05' you should be OK, but a 2004 Coupe leftover might be a headache, IMHO.

Purchased my 2005 Roadster Limited in 2004, and thus far have had 16,758 reliable miles with no complaints at all. Fortunately I have a great dealer with a great service dept and a great Xfire Tech (Trifecta) who treats my car as if it was his own.

 

leeroy: I've had the car for over 2 years. 6spd limited. I've not had any problems that were not of my own making. I run the car on the track and beat the crap out of it, still no problems... I was expecting a fried clutch at least... Nothing...

if you want to keep the engine pristine, change the oil often 2,500 miles, even though the manual say 7,500 +/-.

Have fun with the car... It seems to be pretty solid... But don't trust the dealer's service department.

 

I have a 2004 coupe with 20,000 hard miles, no problems - zero, zip, nada.

 

2004 XFIREX here with 25,000 miles - NO problem!

I do all my maintenance which is the easiest among my cars!

 

Man, that's true in any profession! Just because you can pass a test doesn't mean you can actually do the job. I work with a bunch of computer-geek types and I have found that the more certifications they have, the less useful they are. Book smart and street stupid.

 

I have had my Xfire for just over a year and have had NO problems with mine as yet. Great little car and I hope to keep it a long time seeing I only drive it in the summer when it's not raining.

 

OK so I test drove a xf coupe at the weekend. Now that was a sweet test drive.

6 speed manual shift felt smooth, no problems at all, and the speed...oh the speed.

Now I am addicted to the drive as well as the looks I just need to sell my current car and find a good 2nd hand one on the UK market.

A local car supermarket has one (colour I want & 6 spd man) trouble is it seems to have been cleaned with a brillo pad (scratches all over it).
Also the rear view mirror appears to wobble and there are a couple of dents in the drivers door with split paint. All this on an 04 with only 9K on the clock.

And I see what you all mean about the cup holder, how was that ever meant to work.

What to do what to do?

 

Go for it Leeroy! Just make sure you get a good one. There are quite a few low mileage 'demonstrators' about that have been run but dealership managers but they have often been abused and neglected cosmetically if you look closely, probably like the one you saw. The long exposed flanks are very vulnerable to parking dings. Also check the tyres, those 19" rears are EXPENSIVE if they need replacing.
Mechanically the Crossfire is very tough and well engineered. I have had absolutely no problems with my 54 plate (apart from buying it new at the top of the market!). I work on the car myself, (I never let it near the dealer) and keep a very close eye on things. With 17,000 miles on it the only things I have had to replace are front tyres and brake pads which is only due to track use and I will probably need new rears after my next track outing later this month. I have a cracked screen that was done at the airport, but that is not a Crossfire issue apart from the fact that I am still waiting for the replacement over a week later!

Mine lives a bit of a strange double life since I am meticulous about keeping the paintwork perfect (no auto car washes, always park well away from other cars etc), but then drive it really hard on road and trackdays. When its all washed and waxed it still looks perfect inside and out. It's a quality product!

Go grab yourself a bargain.

 

woody, thanks for that mate!
I am seriously fighting temptation to go and get it right now, but that one just isn't as tidy as I would like for my money.

BTW how much did your tyres cost here in the UK?

 

Resist the temptation! I probably needed to expand on what I said, I was warning you off the type of car you saw rather than recommending it.
When I said 'grab a bargain' I was thinking more of the fact that the prices have dropped considerably since I got mine and there are plenty of good ones out there. Go for one that looks like it has been cared for. I would worry more about the state of the paint/body and interior (the best measure of how careful the previous owner was) as the mechanicals will almost certainly be good.

Take your time and shop around, its a buyers' market for Crossfires.

As for tyres...
I paid £99 each for P Zeros for the front. The Pilots would have been £150 but they were out of stock. I may have got the cheaper but I didn't have the luxury of time to shop around - the canvas was showing through after coming back from the track! There rears are about double the cost of the fronts - P Zero's are about £200 and Pilots £250 each! The OEM Pilots are fantastic but the Zeros are comparable and seems better in the wet.

 

Ahh I get you woody, what you say makes sense!
Not sure about there being plenty of good ones out there. If you find one let me know. ;-)

Was it a local garage you used for tyres or a dealer type? Just looking on http://www.mytyres.co.uk/start.html prices would be a little more than what you got them for, and that doesn't include fitting.

Thanks for the info!

 

I just re-read my post and it did kind of read that you go and get the one you saw. Sorry! I was really just trying to any banish any doubts you might have had about getting a Crossfire at all.
I'll keep an eye out for you and let you know if I see anything.

The tyres were from ETC here in Leicester, mainly because they were the only ones who could get me something the same day. I dread to think what they would cost if I went to the dealer!
http://www.etctyres.co.uk

I've just checked the invoice and actually the total for two fronts fitted and balanced was £246 - I forgot about the VAT!
Black Circles usually seem to be cheapest but you usually have to wait for them to get the tyres to your local fitter, although they will do 'supply only'.
http://www.blackcircles.com