Just wanted to start a thread for fodder on what everyone thinks about the quality of the XFire in construction. Lot's of folks on here talk about 'mods' and other, which I think is fine for those that want to do that to their vehicles...adds the 'individual' touch - I would rather keep my car stock but that's me..

But my point here is to discuss a bit on the 'quality' of the vehicle in it's manufacture, feel and look.

I'm a QA 'professional' and have worked in Aerospace as well as a number of industries - always assessing quality and always able to find 'flaws'.

My perspective on the Crossfire is that it's very well made. Look at the welds under the hood, the thought that went into the design and then the execution of that design - the glove box for example opens like a refrigerator, the doors snap shut solidly and cleanly. The lines on the car, body parts, etc., all are even and aligned very well. The car is very solid.

The Roadster, which I have, for a convertible, has a very solid roof and feels like a coupe when riding, and the roof is down...

It's a great car - those of us that are lucky enough to have purchased one will, in my opinion, have years of great fun with the vehicles - as long as mechanically it's sound - which I'm hopeful it is...

Anyway - hope to read some good (or bad) comments on the 'quality' of the car - 'Quality' means something different to everyone and is in the eyes of the beholder...please let us all know what you think and thanks...

 

It's a lot of car for the money. Very solid cars. I've never seen someone here complain that a body panel did not fit well. Good ol' German engineering and manufacturing.

 

As you probably know, QA in defense/aero is measured a little differently than in cars, mostly because defense/aero stuff is made to contract. That's the equivalent of negotiating design specifications with the car manufacturer for every car that you buy. "My Crossfire shall have panel gaps at 1mm +/- 1 mil" or something to that effect.

I also agree that the XF is very well built. My opinion is that someone did right on this car. I think it was a good idea to build the XF on the R170 Merc platform. It is statistically speaking, the most reliable Mercedes model in the last 10 years, and most if not all of the part problems got ironed out in the SLK prior to the XF. It's rare to find someone with a problem that nobody else has experienced. Of the 75,000+ units sold, we have repeat failures on a representative sample of maybe a 1% of the total sold here on this forum.

 

I agree, Great car Had mine for a year now and I can't complain. Sure the seat heaters don't work and there are a few TB's, But I never get tired of driving it and it's a daily comuter.

 

6 month owner and little to complain about.

Food for thought:

compare the number of TSB's (known issues) with this car and other cars of it's class.

Audi TT, Boxer, Miata, 350Z etc....

 

So far, the quality of the lighting parts has let me down a little. Broken foglight trim and fogged lenses are not up to par.

The rest of the car seems very solid to me.

 

I love discussions on "quality." Very often used in a vague definition like " the Cadillac of the industry" or "Very high standards" etc etc.

Quality is best described as the "meeting of expectations"

If you buy a Dodge Omni or a Ford Focus you expect a certain level of commoness and some cheap parts.

If you buy a Benz or a BMW, you paid much more and expect it in the vehicle.

My Crossfire is, underneath, a Benz. The car, underneath, delivers Benz.

The body is Karmann and delivers Karman.

The name on it is Chrysler and I imagine when I go for service or repair, I'll get Chrysler.

Based on the threads I 've read here on the Forum, that's pretty much been the experience.

Sticker on my Roadster was $40K Although I paid a lot less for my Crossfire, I do expect that it should meet the level of a $40K car. If I wanted more out of a Diamler I would have gone the extra $20K for the 320 SLK.

This is my fourth "Benz" product and My 2nd Karman product. It is my 11th Chrysler product.

So far, my expectations have been met.


roadster with a stick

 

Juran was a 'meet expectation' guy, while Deming was a 'meet requirement' guy...expectation vs. requirement - there's a book called "I Know It When I See It" - it's a 'quality' fable and well worth the $20 - easy read...Quality is in the eyes of the beholder...I know that when I look around at all the married folks - ha-ha...

 

haha i know what you mean with the married couples... sometime i think they misheard that cliche and took it as "quality is in the eye of the beer holder" because some of the married couple i see are the strangest combonations... no offense to them, love is love.

 

...you know, God invented beer so ugly folks could get some too - which in itself is a 'quality' solution no doubt...

 

You are absolutely right. I use Deming principles in production to achieve consistancy in the output of product from my packaging plant.

I use Juran in my sales pitch but can do so because my plant produces a consistant product. Therefore I meet the expectation I promised to my Customers.

"Sales are easy if you can be proud of your product" Doug Albrecth, Enterprise Leasing.

roadster with a stick

 

I think the Crossfire has a lot of hidden quality features that only become apparent after owning and driving the car. Think the brakes are good? Try mashing them sometime and you'll be amazed at just how good they are. Oh look - the seats in the 6 aren't bolstered much. Well, they don't need to be - the alcantara covering holds the occupants like velcro. I'm sure others can come up with more examples.

Time to deviate off topic for a moment: One refrain I read and hear about whenever a problem crops up is that the quality department messed up. Wrong! The quality department is not responsible for defective product getting to consumers - management is. Every quality department I've ever worked in could only hold defective items for review by management, not decide to pull or release the items by itself. Management makes the final call on what gets shipped to the consumer, and management bases that shipping decision on far more than whether the product meets spec or not.

 

Well - Management sets the 'tone' for quality - IF they know what it is, they might set a good tone - too many times they don't unfortunately. In my career I've been told - "We really need those in assembly" - to which I replied - "Well, they're not right, you can sign them off but I won't" - this was to the owner of the business - he didn't like me anymore but did respect me, and did have the parts reworked so they met requirements...also, a President once took me by the hand on machinery that was not producing acceptable output to specifications (of the customer and internal) - he said "you know, we really need to use 'common sense' on this" to which I replied "okay, and the unit is not producing the part to specification that we create and agreed w/our customers we would supply so whats not common sense about us (quality) not signing it off - you can ship it but I'm not signing for it" - didn't last there too much longer, but my skills and integrity are way more important - I'm not standing on the premise of false princible here - if we don't meet requirements, change them or meet them - very simple and Black and White - no gray there...

So let's get back on topic - Quality begins with people, not things...I'm certain the Karmann folks care about quality - it shows in my vehicle I'm convinced...

 

The unfortunate fact of Quality Control is that it is fundamentally limited by external limitations on the process. It is possible, for example, for the management, engineers, test and QA to all do a bang-up, perfect job, and the result still comes out shoddy.

The difficult part is being able to come out with a well-engineered, high quality product at a reasonable cost.

Quality is concerned with meeting goals, the question is who sets those goals? In some cases it's the customer, in some cases it's management. Sorry, more off topic rambling

 

I can't complain about my car, but I wonder if there is a way to tell which day of the week the car was assembled?
Good German engineering vs. Schlitz the assembler.

 

The Engineers here won't like this, but Engineering and the specs they define drive the cost of a product - also manufacturing capability is a factor on cost drivers. The design also becomes the 'goal' for QA assessment. Quality Control is the inspection and capability of the process, Quality Assurance is the systems that are set and defined to assure success - Planning for success - that should be 'management's' goal...ISO says "Planned Arrangements" - a great idea...I always follow the thought that a failure to plan is a plan to fail...

 

I have only one gripe with my 04 Coupe. For the two weeks outta the year it freezes here in Texas the dadgum seat heaters didn't work !

Oh and I can't seem to wipe this silly perma-grin off my face

Just my Dos Centavos !

 

I love my Xfire stock. I am no automotive genius but this certainly seems like enough car for me.

1. The cupholder thing is a wee bit annoying, but it just gives me a great reason not too allow drinks in my car.

2. My GF is constantly pissed at me b/c I can't stop driving my car. When I'm not driving I like to take frequent walks to the car just to make sure everything is good with my Crossfire.


My GF calls me a hypoCARdriac now, but I don't mind