Hey everyone, my name is Jim and I have recently started looking at cars. I've narrowed it down to 2 that I would really like (SRT4 and Crossfire). I am 18 years old and just recently graduated high school. I am going to college though (Community college for 2 years, much cheaper) and I figure I would treat myself to something I would really enjoy. The past couple of months I have been searching about every car you can imagine and I recently started looking at the crossfire and I fell in love with it. I know there are going to be people saying save your money, or you shouldn't get such an expensive car at your age etc. etc. but I feel as though I deserve it, I don't do drugs, I don't go out and party, I have never been in trouble with the law, not to mention I'm working at a job that I will have the money to pay for it, and still enjoy life without being 100% broke. (My parents will help me pay for school too) Anyways I've pretty much decided that the SRT-4 is just asking for more trouble since a cop would see it and pretty much stereotype with that type of car (loud exhaust, turbo, BOV = must be racing/speeding) and I just don't want to waste my money on things like that. I am going to wait until the end of summer to save up about 2 thousand more so I can have a decent down payment and I just want to see the perspective of other Crossfire owners on an 18 year old buying a car like this (would be the auto with auto stick BTW) Are there any major problems that should keep me away from this, or if there is an overwhelming amount of people that don't think I should buy it, what reason do you guys have? (I am fully aware cars are the absolute worst investment, but if maintained properly and cared for they will run for as long as I need it to).

Thanks you guys and if I didn't make any sense in this let me know and I can clarify what I meant, hopefully with this post I can find out alot more about this car which I hope to buy.

 

get the crossfire if you have a good chrysler dealer. just check their reputation. the srt-4 may be quicker or capable of being tuned easier and cheaper, but it's looks are horrible when sitting next to a crossfire.

 

I just sold my SRT-6 and picked up a Mini Cooper S. Even though the SRT-6 was faster, the Mini is more fun and has a better interior with lots of room. SRT-6 is only an auto trans, mini has a 6 speed. Mini hardly depreciates, can be personalized, and you are driving a car that has heritage.

Best advice, drive both and then choose.

 

lol minis are ****... =-) they're like a classy beetle, a chicks car.

 

Yeah I have read about Chrysler dealerships being crappy but I'm in no hurry to buy a car from someone that I feel won't give me the best that they can give for what I am paying.I know the SRT-4 would be cheaper to mod and tune but I'm not into doing huge mods so being cheaper isn't really a plus for me. As far as modding the crossfire I have my audio planned, a great box builder I'm friends with and thats one of my more knowledgeable subjects lol. Outside to it maybe if I can find some rims, but I like how the stock ones look, maybe a drop (depending on the ride) tints for it and maybe HID's. Inside would stay pretty much stock (maybe the cupholder thing lol) but I can't really see anything I would change on the inside, unless I made the silver trim black but the car is beautiful and I don't see any flaws cosmetically in it. I'm going to definitely test drive it and that's going to make my decision final. If I love it and have fun with the test drive then I will hand over the money.


I can't stand the way mini coopers look though lol.

 

Well good luck with the test drive! I happened upon the Crossfire by accident... I was looking at almost every car under the sun until one day when I was out running airings and saw three Crossfire's lined up in front of a brand new Chrysler dealership. Well I think you know how the story ended. Good luck with your chouse and during the test drive try and "drive it like you stole it"... with in the means of traffic laws of course.

 

Honestly, I'd advise against a new car. At 18, and starting college, you're going to be put in situations where the car is going to get damaged, etc. During college it's much better to have something you don't care about as much. Also, even though community college may be cheap, if you focus on your education, you're not likely to have a lot of disposable income. Being tied to a car payment and higher insurance is not something ideal.

 

I had a fun car that I loved in college. I took care of it, and it was cool. There's two things that I would be concerned about as a student. First, the cost of maintaining a Crossfire vs. a lot of other cars you could own.

The tires are around $200 each.
It uses 8.5 bottles of Mobil 1 0W40 oil which is about $6+ each if you do it yourself. If you got to a dealer or oil change place, an oil change will cost more than $100, most likely.
The oil filters are about $20 each, also
The air filters are more expensive than normal.
And God forbid anything breaks. Most parts are Mercedes parts and more expensive than if you bought a Honda or Toyota by a fair margin.

If you're going to ever be in a position where you might not be able to come up with $1,000 for tires when you need them or couldn't blow $120 on an oil change when it's time... I would advise against a Crossfire.

And second, if you live in a place where there's a lot of snow the Crossfire might very well strand you as I hear it's not great in much snow. Generally, big fat tires and snow don't get along well anyway. But I don't get much here and haven't had any since I got my Crossfire so I can't say for sure. But it's a consideration.

 

I somewhat agree with saxman. I am turning 20 next month and I recently purchased my XFire in mid-May. The car is great and I love it. I remember how excited I was searching for which car fits me perfectly. I will be a sophomore in college next year. Some things to think about as well -

- You won't have room to drive your friends around (a good or bad thing).
- You will always be worrying about where you park it and some ******* kid keying it or screwing with it for no reason. (at least I do).
- High maintenance costs (do stuff yourself you can reduce costs by at least HALF).

Now that I have the car I am nervous taking it back to school because I won't always be able to keep my eye on it. I still love the car and I just pray no one messes with it. However you said community college so I imagine you will be commuting from home so campus parking wouldn't be a big problem. Good luck!

P.S. Forget the auto, get the 6-speed!

 

That's funny, I was thinking the Crossfire was the Chick's car. Seriously, you can't even compare a New Mini with the New Beetle.

 

Xfire's a chick's car?! Thems fightin' words.

 

I heard the mini comes with a free set of panties!! lol.

 

As I completely understand about owning this type of car vs. a Camry or Civic. I basically see this as if I were to buy something else ie the SRT4. The money I would use for tires or for oil. Most things unless they were completely screwed I would do by myself, or if I had any doubt whatsoever I would have some buddies come and help. I keep thinking the same way every other week, but this past week I just figured this will be the last time for a few years to get a car that I absolutely love, who knows in 5 years I may not even car about what kind of car I have and be driving around in anything I can find. I only live once and I know that damages won't be cheap to fix but if I maintain the car properly it should last me a long time, and with some things in life you just have to pay more money to have some fun with this case being one of them. I know its a weird way of thinking but if I am able to get this car, go to school, maintain my job I think it would motivate me to work even harder to get good grades because I would love to continue having the freedom after school with a good job and be able to enjoy some materialistic things like cars. Thats just how I'm thinking about it right now. Also with the snow, we get a little snow during the winter then usually one huge blizzard before spring, at least thats what it seems like for the past few years in Chicago. So its not like I would change the car completely for snow since huge storms don't happen more than once or twice a year.

 

If one has the money and can afford it, buy the car you want. If, after ownership, you find it less satisfying than you originally thought, sell it. But go into any car purchase with your eyes open: Realize what fuel, maintenance and insurance costs will be, understand that the newer the car, the greater the depreciation, but most of all, make your self happy.

The owner of a car that truly appreciates his vehicle will be much more likely to treat it right than one who treats it as an appliance. And when the day comes when you let it go, you will be the richer for having owned it.

Rant over.

 

Yeah, what he said.

 

Well that chicks car can whoop your auto xfire's aZZ in a race.

 

IMO, mini's are just flat out UGLY!! The S may beat the base crossfire, but looks wise the crossfire owns mini...I just don't understand the hype mini gets.

 

we all have our own views, but i agree with rakoom on this one.

 

no it can't.

Cooper S 0-60 = 7.1s; top speed = 139 mph
Stock Crossfire Ltd 0-60 = 6.5s; top speed = 155 mph

and if you think the mini is so much better with do you keep coming to this forum? i know people that laugh at minis. i know that if i get a 350Z (a car worth actually comparing the crossfire to), i'm not going to say my car is better.

 

I think mini's are more fun to drive, but I think Xfires look better. I am not gonna bash mini or Xfire as i have both in the garage. Two completely different cars for two completely different driving experiences.