Crossfire Coupe vs other <20k coupes
Joined: Aug 2008
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Re: Crossfire Coupe vs other <20k coupes
I purchased my Red Roadster to import into BC Canada in July 08. When Exchange was even This car was driven ONLY in California, never saw Rain. These are fine machines, what are you thinking taking it out in other than Sun. Can't even get golf clubs in it, unless they are the passenger. Fortunately I am 65 and have other cars to do the bad stuff like snow which is rare in Vancouver BC area ( LIKE SEATTLE) In conclusion even Rain will not see this car. By the way you people in USA have it good, I saved $12.000 on my used 05, actually 06 original purchase date had 15M miles, Thanks for your large market buying power.
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Joined: Jun 2008
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From: King of Prussia, PA
Re: Crossfire Coupe vs other <20k coupes
My Crossfire is my only car. Then again, I drive about 4 miles to work and live in an area where everything is within 2 miles from my front door. If it snows I'm just going to work from home or hitch a ride with a co-worker. My last car was a 2000 Trans Am so this can't possibly be worse in the snow than that was.
The coupe trunk is actually pretty large for a 2-seater. My hockey bag fits back there, and I put my stick bag (padded cloth bag, of course) in the passenger area running back to the cargo area and they fit fine. I would think that you could technically fit skiis in a coupe, but it would scratch the hell out of the console and you wouldn't likely be able to have a passenger ride along with the skiis in there. I use 95cm Snow Blades for skiing and they fit in the back just fine.
As everyone here mentioned though, maintenance on the Crossfire is double or triple that of an ordinary car. Some of the prices I saw quoted here seem a bit high. Oil changes are in the $85 range. Tires can be had for about $750 (Tire Rack, Eagle F1's A/S). Parts are expensive as this is really a re-skinned Mercedes SLK, but if you buy a warranty that won't matter for a while.
For your purposes, the TC honestly sounds like your best bet. It is sporty, nice looking, passable in the snow (FWD), and has some decent storage space, plus maintenance won't drain your finances.
Test drive them all, buy what suits you.
The coupe trunk is actually pretty large for a 2-seater. My hockey bag fits back there, and I put my stick bag (padded cloth bag, of course) in the passenger area running back to the cargo area and they fit fine. I would think that you could technically fit skiis in a coupe, but it would scratch the hell out of the console and you wouldn't likely be able to have a passenger ride along with the skiis in there. I use 95cm Snow Blades for skiing and they fit in the back just fine.
As everyone here mentioned though, maintenance on the Crossfire is double or triple that of an ordinary car. Some of the prices I saw quoted here seem a bit high. Oil changes are in the $85 range. Tires can be had for about $750 (Tire Rack, Eagle F1's A/S). Parts are expensive as this is really a re-skinned Mercedes SLK, but if you buy a warranty that won't matter for a while.
For your purposes, the TC honestly sounds like your best bet. It is sporty, nice looking, passable in the snow (FWD), and has some decent storage space, plus maintenance won't drain your finances.
Test drive them all, buy what suits you.
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Joined: Oct 2008
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Re: Crossfire Coupe vs other <20k coupes
Thanks so much for the replies, guys! They were very informative.
I think the maintenance of the crossfire is going to be a bit too much for me. And I guess I have to consider convenience over fun this time. Although I've always liked the car, I think I'm going to go with a TC this time. But thanks for all the information ... maybe I will be able to join this nice community a couple years down the road with my second car.
Thanks again,
Ben
I think the maintenance of the crossfire is going to be a bit too much for me. And I guess I have to consider convenience over fun this time. Although I've always liked the car, I think I'm going to go with a TC this time. But thanks for all the information ... maybe I will be able to join this nice community a couple years down the road with my second car.
Thanks again,
Ben
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Re: Crossfire Coupe vs other <20k coupes
Originally Posted by bkunsberg
Hello all,
Nice to meet you. This is my first post, and I'm trying to make a car decision. I'm just starting my first job at Los Alamos National Lab next week. It's in the Rockies in New Mexico which has some really scenic drives, so I'd like to get a fun, small car that is also relatively cheap. This will also be my first car (before I used my parents Corolla), and I have to pay for it, so I'm trying to keep the price under $20k. I'm trying to decide between the Honda Civic, Crossfire Coupe, Scion TC, and Hyundai Tiburon. I don't think I will need 4 seats, so a 2-seater will also work for me.
I've test driven all of these; I didn't really like the Honda Civic, and the Scion had a little less headroom, but it was fine. Anyway, I had a couple questions regarding the Crossfire Coupe.
First, is it a good deal? (I'm looking at a used manual 2004 one from carmax that is about $13.5k with 26k miles on it.) That's a bit below all the others which will probably be about 17k. But I'd like to know the costs of owning and maintaining one... will I end up paying a lot down the road? What about insurance? How does it compare with the tiburon, which I feel is the most similiar of the four?
Second, is it reliable? Los Alamos is a really small town and it doesn't have any car dealers whatsoever, so if it breaks down and I can't drive it the 50 miles to Santa Fe, I'm in big trouble. I'm not looking for perfection; I'm just wondering if it's prone to problems (especially the manual 2004 version.)
Is it convenient? I've looked at the trunk of the Crossfire Limited, and it was tiny.. Is the Coupe any better? I just want to be able to fit ski equipment in it... (Would 6' skis fit in it at all? Is there anywhere I could put the skis in the car?)
Fourth, does it drive ok in snow? It sometimes snows a lot in the mountains. I don't need the best traction or anything, but in comparison to the other 3 cars, can it drive as well in snow?
Do you have any other thoughts/pros/cons for getting the Crossfire Coupe over .. say the Scion? Since this will be my only car, I'm a bit concerned about convenience and trunk size...
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
Nice to meet you. This is my first post, and I'm trying to make a car decision. I'm just starting my first job at Los Alamos National Lab next week. It's in the Rockies in New Mexico which has some really scenic drives, so I'd like to get a fun, small car that is also relatively cheap. This will also be my first car (before I used my parents Corolla), and I have to pay for it, so I'm trying to keep the price under $20k. I'm trying to decide between the Honda Civic, Crossfire Coupe, Scion TC, and Hyundai Tiburon. I don't think I will need 4 seats, so a 2-seater will also work for me.
I've test driven all of these; I didn't really like the Honda Civic, and the Scion had a little less headroom, but it was fine. Anyway, I had a couple questions regarding the Crossfire Coupe.
First, is it a good deal? (I'm looking at a used manual 2004 one from carmax that is about $13.5k with 26k miles on it.) That's a bit below all the others which will probably be about 17k. But I'd like to know the costs of owning and maintaining one... will I end up paying a lot down the road? What about insurance? How does it compare with the tiburon, which I feel is the most similiar of the four?
Second, is it reliable? Los Alamos is a really small town and it doesn't have any car dealers whatsoever, so if it breaks down and I can't drive it the 50 miles to Santa Fe, I'm in big trouble. I'm not looking for perfection; I'm just wondering if it's prone to problems (especially the manual 2004 version.)
Is it convenient? I've looked at the trunk of the Crossfire Limited, and it was tiny.. Is the Coupe any better? I just want to be able to fit ski equipment in it... (Would 6' skis fit in it at all? Is there anywhere I could put the skis in the car?)
Fourth, does it drive ok in snow? It sometimes snows a lot in the mountains. I don't need the best traction or anything, but in comparison to the other 3 cars, can it drive as well in snow?
Do you have any other thoughts/pros/cons for getting the Crossfire Coupe over .. say the Scion? Since this will be my only car, I'm a bit concerned about convenience and trunk size...
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Ben
- service availability
- cargo requirements
- weather
You're not going to have lots of problems but with any car, you will at some point need a place to get service. The Crossfire is unusual and not likely to be well serviced by a generalist.
If you really want to put skis it it, along with the rest of your stuff, it's going to be tough.
The cars are not made for routine snow conditions. I took mine over the West Virginia mountains and got out in one piece. The pickup truck that passed me all pissed off because I was going 10mph down the mountain ended up in a heap in the woods about 3 minutes later. It would have been me if I drove it like my Jeep...
Seriously, you probably want a Crossfire, but not for the conditions you describe. Not unless you can also afford a winter beater with a ski rack and a Ford or Chevy badge on it...
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