Well when I got mine it was to be a keeper, but after poor service, lack of aftermarket toys, and the looks of a 2 door Sebring...the Love is gone...

I'm trying to sell mine...anyway I can...

Chrysler was going the right way...somewhere they lost their vision...

 

I am a new owner. Got mine about 3 months ago for 15k with 58k miles on it off ebay and thought I stole it. Now there are several in that range with less miles up for bid. Would have liked to have had one with less miles but considering the great condition mine is in and the fact it will not be an everyday car anyway, I am not complaining. I love it. Had a mishap yesterday though. I hit a rain filled pot whole and busted a tire, but luckily it looks like the rim is okay. Had to have it towed and now I am grounded for the holiday weekend.

 

Two words. Buick. Reatta.

That was my American two-seater fiasco. Less than 5 years after GM discontinued it you couldn't find replacement glass, latches for the flimsy ones on the storage compartments, support for ABS failures and so on.

A flat tire shouldn't shut you down for longer than it takes to change it roadside.

 

Does anyone think the Solstice-Sky clones are any better? My neighbor paid over $30K for one a few months ago. Now let's look at this, $30K for albeit a hot looking car but with a Chevy Cobalt four cylinder wheezer engine. What do you think his trade in value is right now? $20K if he is lucky.

To be honest, if I had the cash and the space I would start buying up these Crossfires at these firesale prices. This is a fantastic car, we all know it. Bad service at Chrysler? Sure. There are lots of real good independent Merc tech shops out there. Go there when something breaks.

This is life people. There are high times and low times for everything. A smart person knows when the times are ripe for buying and investing. Just like real-estate here in New England. This market is in the toilet. Houses are sitting for over a year, prices are dropping faster than Saddam Hussein's feet. Do I care, hell yes I care. I am going to be buying more very soon. I am finally going to get my lake house at a firesale price. Yes, I am lucky, I don't have to sell anything now. Lucky or smart, maybe a bit of both.

Not that I am saying cars and real-estate have anything in common, they most certainly do not. One is an investment the other is not.
Everything is cyclical in life. A smart person knows when to get in. Are you smart?

 

I plan to keep mine. its my first sports car. I also think that the resale will go up when the supply reduces. Hopefully we will not see any 07's.

 

Value maybe declining for now, but I think far down the road these things will be quite the collectors item.

 

You have to be careful though when trying to take it to a shop that is not labeled right on the outside of the car even though it is on the inside.

Case in point: I have a 1972 Porsche 914 that needs to be serviced to get it running again. Well the 914 is a Porsche with VW internals. I called up a respected independent VW shop in my area and asked if he could work on it. The engine, tubing, etc. in the engine bay say VW (just like our Xfires with MB) but he says he can't work on it since it's a Porsche. After arguing through e-mails saying it's a VW engine and components he says he still won't work on it because it's a Porsche and he doesn't work on Porsche's. (He lost business so it's his own damn fault and btw on his site he serviced a Karmann-Ghia which has the same internals as my 914).

I can't see a shop not taking in a Chrysler but not all shops will play nice (as stated above) even if you fight tooth and nail saying that the components are a Benz. They'll just say they don't work on domestic cars and you're stuck trying to find another shop.

 

I'd have concerns. I'll reference the Buick Reatta. The Reatta forum looked an awful lot like this, some pessimistic, some optimistic, and some 'I bought it for my enjoyment'.

Eventually reality sets in and folks cut their losses. In the mean time there is a lot of fun to be had with these. I had organized rallys and the like and would encourage you to participate or establish such events to help build a culture folks would want to be a part of.

These cars are now cheaper than Miatas and Solstices. I would think there is an opportunity for Cross(fire) pollination with other roadster events and forums. Miata owners, for example, are fiercely loyal. Heck, I've owned two. What seems to be the difference here is corporate support.

Sometimes dealerships will stage events (ala Harley-Davidson). When I had a Reatta I called up a local dealership that jumped at the opportunity to have repeat business come in for lousy hot dogs to create a buzz. At the time they didn't have anything "sporty" to offer, but they were trying to build an image.

I tend to agree that Chrysler is missing the boat on this. The Crossfire is already competing with the entry level more than the luxury class which is a much better opportunity for them. Just imagine how less critical the reviews would have been if the car was being compared with anything else in the $25k range. The Mustang has been able to justify that live rear axle and horrible interior in the name of keeping costs down. The Crossfire can compete in that market (of course, I'd ditch the silly tires and find a place for a mini spare first, such as on the front fender like the 30's & 40's), but not as a leftover '05 or '06. The second coming should take aim right at the Solstice.

Much of the fun with the Miata or Mustang is adding mods such as engine, suspension upgrades, CAI & exhaust, and so on. There are a ton of businesses that formed around these opportunities, some of which created the highest demand and most collectible versions when blessed by the manufacturer (namely Mazdaspeed and that old Shelby guy from Texas that has done some work for both Chrysler and Ford). I don't see as much opportunity or readily available parts to upgrade the Mercedes components, heck, most of them come from the factory "upgraded".

Anyway, the point is that this platform doesn't have to flounder. It is on the ropes today, but some intelligent marketing, support, normal wheels/tires and a place for a persons golf clubs could change all that.

 

RE: "If it would have passed the golf clubs in the trunk test it would be an easy choice to pick one up at these fire sale prices."

I found that you can get a full set if clubs in a convertible, in five or so steps:

1) Put the top up, trunk divider stowed.
2) take the woods out of the bag and place them on the passenger floor with the heads at in the footwell and the shafts running along the door side of the seat.
3) Take the irons out of the bag and place them diagonally in trunk.
4) Open trunk divider, put the golf bag in the trunk.
5) Put top down.

If is good enough weather for golf, it lets me enjoy the ride on the way to the course.

 

Heck...I just put my entire Callaway cart bag in my passenger seat and off I go...it fits perfectly! I drive myself to the golf course on many occasions. If I play with my DH, we either take our Jeep or he follows me with his clubs! (I can put his clubs in the passenger seat, as well, but he's not able to ride with me. Hmmm...golf clubs or DH...now, that's a tough choice...JK!

 

I'm with you, JK! I'm able to get my Serotta road bike in my coupe! I just take off both wheels and gently position the bike in the trunk with the handle bars across the solid trunk wall! If only the passenger seat folded forward-flat... without this stupid wall! I think it would solve our problems!

I also intend to keep mine for a long time!

Dube

 

Although their values are going down, so is the amount of Crossfires. Give it time. As the Crossfires become more rare, their values will go back up. I believe that one day, it will be a "classic."

 

I also think in time the Xfire will be a classic and I am keeping mine. I only drive it in the summer and put about 5,000 miles on in that time. I have had no problems with the car. Best of all I love the attention the gets where ever I go. There just isn't very many Xfires here where I live. I think there maybe three in the whole county.

 

Then why bring it up? I knew going in that the resale wasn't there, but I'm not going to bring up the negatives. I just happened to be one of the very few who really like the car and took advantage of the poor resale values. There is enough negative stuff going on in the world today. If you are happy with your purchase then be happy. Who cares what the values is going to be in a year? Are you sure you are happy with your decision? One year is not a long term...

 

Odo...I was laughing reading your post, because I only wish I could drive it only in the summer...I work from home but that damn car calls to me everyday..."Let's drive, let's drive"...and even though I don't have to go out on any particular day, I just have to give it a spin even just down to the coffee shop. It's just too much fun. I'm glad you have such great will power.

 

Against my better judgment I'm going to reply to your idiotic post.

Why bring it up? Because I friggin wanted to!

Someone looks up the value of a car, posts the information and then asks what people think the value will be in a year and you jump all over it screaming negatives. Get a life if that's all you have to post. This is a forum for sharing ideas and INFORMATION, and that's what I did. If you don't like it, cool, but don't be telling people what to post.

So, just keep walking around with the rose colored glasses on and singing Kumbaya. I'm sure you will be much happier than facing reality and knowing what is going on around you...

 

Some numbers to consider...

Chrysler sold 10 (yes... 10... not a typo) crossfires in the entire US in December. 10.

Sales are down 99% in December. They sold 1,045 last december.

They sold 68 vipers though (still down 57% in Dec).

In '06 dcx sold 8,216 new xf's... down from 14,665 the year before. Will it see '08? Who knows.

With that said... still thinking of picking one up... just depends on what kind of deal I can work... it is a fun car... definitely a lot of bang for the buck.

 

Hey pal, you're entitled to your feelings and I am entitled to mine. You should have listened to your judgment. *****.

 

Yeah, I should have... 33 posts and you're already into name calling. You don't handle opposing views or critisim
well, do you?

 

So back to depreciation. Check this out, I decided to go with a Mustang GT convertible. With my x-plan and other magical bonuses the dealer came up with I'm getting a new '06 that MSRP'd @ $34,380 for $26,200.

The kicker is they are giving me $19,000 for my 18 month old '06 Civic with 17,000 miles on it. That's $600 more than I paid for it new!

When the dealership presented their numbers all I could say was, "Wow... uh... OK?".