So, I was doing some research and I went to the good ole Kelly Blue Book.com and did a trade in and retail value of my car. When I bought the car new, I paid 20k, while the window sticker has a nice 30k price on it. After looking up the trade in, which in excellent condition, was only $9,700 bucks. Retail was about $12,000. Does anyone else think that this car has totally lost its value? It's kind of sad that a 2006 sports car designed and built by mercedes has depreciated $20,000 in the two years i've now owned it since buying it new in 2007 (left over). Oh well. Just my 2 cents.

 

Not to be a an a$$hole, but where have you been? The resale value of XFs have been dropping like rocks over the last 12-18 months....

I mean damn, you can buy a pristine SRT coupe for $15-$16K that was over $40K new....

 

It might be interesting to watch the market. I bought a 06 Linited Coupe Nav with 15K miles on it for around $14500 could have got a better deal, but that sounded fine to me.

I looked around quite a bit and noticed that for a period , maybe a year or so the market was flooded with stock even to the point that there are new 08 and even new 07's on lots in the low $20's. Preowned, you could get your pick, I think this was because of

1. Chrysler Fear and the future (warranty, parts, etc etc)
2. MPG as gas prices rose
3. Discontinued model

To the point where at those price levels, the car was a "steal" in my opinion.

On the bright side, in the last few months the inventory seems to be decreasing and the pricing pressure downward is slowing. Dealers are pushing back harder on pricing. At the end of the day they only build so many, if parts (Merc or otherwise) and skills to keep the cars on the road are OK, then prices may move upward, just don't expect to make any money of your car anytime soon.

 

If you think the price curve stings a little over the last 2 years you should look at the curve from 35K in '03. It's a Chrysler. What did you expect? You bought a 35K car for 20K. Shoulda been a clue.

 

I think there are 2 factors at play here, both of which are related. First, many people don't want this car. To many, it's just an expensive chrysler that doesn't perform that well for the money. So unpopular cars don't usually have stellar resale values--think Saab. And then we are at the point in time where Chrysler was/is completely giving the cars away when new, which will also impact resale.

So you take cars that don't appeal to many people in combination with sales prices for new versions that are well below MSRP and you have a recipe for poor resale. You don't buy a Crossfire because you are going to make much if you decide to get rid of it!

 

Looks to me like the prices on these cars are stabilizing a bit.
Note thought that the values, since new, have dropped drastically for some time now.
My SRT6 Roadster stickered for a hair over $51k (I believe). I picked it up at the end of '06 with 3,450 miles on it and the value had dropped by almost 40%, which was sweet for me since there is no way I would pay close to $51k for the car.
Over the last 2.5 years or so, the value has dropped another 30% or so (mileage is now 7,355).
I am a bit surprised that the values have continuously decreased so drastically, but they will bottom out . . . . someday, and maybe even rise.

 

It will be interesting to see if the value of these cars ever do rise and if they do, will it be for all cars, or just the more limited SRT6 version? I think right now we are still well within the phase of most people thinking the car is simply an after thought and terribly uncompetitive in its class. People are going to have to look past this for these car to ever go up in value. I was at the Greenwich Concours D'Elegance a few weeks back and saw a TON of cars I never even knew existed! Maybe the crossfire will settle into this sort of position--valuable not because of performance but merely because of history and rarity. Of course, this is in contrast to something like a mkIV Supra turbo which is an instant classic for a number of reasons, including performance. People may have to wait a good 15+ years before the crossfire is really ever given a solid look. There are plenty of cars that have sold well, have excellent performance, and are generally well regarded that still exhibit a decline in value despite being much older than the crossfire.

 

The depreciation factor is exactly why I was able to buy a Crossfire in my price range I was looking to spend. Buy low, sell high... I bought low, and don't plan to sell and really don't care where the value ends up. For now, I am loving every minute of owning this car and you can't put a price on it. Besides, most cars are an expense, not an investment. Drive it and enjoy it, life is too short.

You also have to think beyond the car... look at all the great people you get to meet at the events and GTGs. Just this forum alone is a great asset.

James

 

That is exactly why I bought mine. It's a 2005 ltd coupe with 5600 miles on it. just got it a month ago for $15k. Economy is in the tank, Chrysler is in the tank, Crossfires were overpriced and not popular, and with the economy, demand for 2 seater cars is way down.

 

I'm more than happy to say I've put out $40K for 2 brand new ones in the last 18 months....(stickers =$74K).

Saying these were ever overpriced......? Obviously since most brands are billions in debt.....it cost them more to produce the products than they were able to sell the products for......$40K for 2......= great value!!!!!!

 

We bought an 06 Xfire a couple of months ago (UK) and both the “book price” and advertisers prices (e.g. Autotrader etc) appear to have gone up over that period. The book price went up £200 within a week of us buying it. Three months ago when I told the guy who services our cars (and he owns a big independent service centre in the north of England) that I was thinking about buying a Xfire his exact words were “they are the deal of the century right now” – that convinced me that they were a good buy. Maybe the UK is bucking the trend, but after massive initial depreciation these cars appear to be bouncing back now that they are no longer in production (and there are very few over here anyway). The price/depreciation etc did however have little to do with us buying one, we just think that it looks great, drives well and frankly I don’t care if its worth peanuts, I would still want one.

 

Purchased my roadster brand new in April 2005 for $35k out the door including dealer warranty. So what's it worth now....maybe $15k? The good news is I have no plans to sell it so depreciation is only a paper loss and does not matter. The better news is I was able to buy two more Crossfires real cheap because they depreciated so much.

 

This is what happens when you drive a car that is listed as one of the top 10 automotive flops in history!! lol

No worries, I'll still blow the doors off just about anything on the streets, and most people have no idea what it is anyway. I was just asked last week who made it and how many mortgages did I have to take out to pay for it? Lol ahhahahaha

 

This is so true and echo's my thoughts exactly James.
Your right on with this post !!

 

Well I bought it new at the end of 06. Paid $20k. Obviously, I know the prices have been declining. I've been highly aware the prices have droped like flys. I just think that its pretty funny how a car manufactured by a german manufacture has lost its value so quickly. Take the Mercedes SLK model. Those cars are practicaly the same car, just different body and badging, but their value hasn't dropped so significantly. I've owned many cars and this car has droped in value more so than any car i've ever owned. Oh well, not really complaining, more just supprised about the drop in value. I don't plan to sell the car. Just making a comment about it. Sounds like the most of you were looking for a cheap sports car, sounds typical of a mustang buyer. I was just looking for something unique. I mean, if you want to go fast, this car isn't exactly your ticket. Turning heads and having people ask questions about your car is another story with the Xfire. But I don't really consider this car to be all that great of a bang for the buck considering is performance. Even the SRT isn't that great. But, It is a fun car none the less. Just not exactly worthy of being called a performance sports car.

 

"But I don't really consider this car to be all that great of a bang for the buck considering is performance. Even the SRT isn't that great. But, It is a fun car none the less. Just not exactly worthy of being called a performance sports car. "


Dude, you must be new to the forum. I'm afraid you are itching for a fight with those comments!

 

The pricing is really about marketing, or lack thereof, as prices are set by what the demand is, and usually marketeers are really good at making the market do whatever they want.

In this case, the Cross is merely the red headed child. I disagree about it's performance as a sports car, even the NA will keep up with alot of sports cars. Would you say a Triumph TR-6 is a sports car? Then the Cross will pound a 6 all day long in every category. Is it anywhere near a Viper? No, but IMO the Cross is much better than roughly 15% of a Viper.

In it's class, the Cross is one heckuva sports car, made better for me because it's really affordable, that I'm not getting sucked into crap because a marketer told me so. In this case I really think the marketers screwed up big time-if their goal was to make alot of money.

 

I think you could not be more wrong here, for many reasons.

The XF is a car for an automobile aficionado.

We were looking for a car that is fun to drive, looks excellent, is reliable and has some character. While I can say a fast mustang would be fun to drive, it possesses none of the other criteria. Do some searching on here and then go to a musang forum and see what the differences are....

 

wow your education of the SRT-6 must be lacking because it screams, is it a Viper,Vette, etc.. no of course not would I rather have a Viper or Vette no. I can't speak for everyone here, but I doubt that anyone that bought a Crossfire was really considering a Mustang. The Crossfire's biggest appeal to me was that you don't see any and it is greatly undervalued. I paid 16,250 for my SRT-6 roadster, if that's not bang for your buck then I don't know what is.

and as said before in this thread the Crossfire group is a great group of fun innovative people(excluding me, who is not at all)and I can only imagine a mustang group meet.

anyway just because a car doesn't have a gazillion horsepower doesn't mean it's not a sports car, it's all about pushing a car to the edge, it's not a dragster and although that's fun in it's own right, the real fun comes when you turn the wheel a little and stay out of a ditch

 

actually usmc, i'm probably one of the few that did consider the Mustang but that was just before I saw how inexpensive i could get into the Cross. I had found a beautiful 2006 Mustang GT, with the shelby stripes and side vents and spoiler, the flip up old style, not the horizontal, with only 9K on it. they had come down from 25 to 22 on it and it was in the only color I wanted on a Stang, that titanium with black stripes. but 22 was still too much and they wouldn't budge. then I went online and saw the Cross and I was hooked. here was a sports car that hardly anyone owns, for so cheap I couldn't stand it. So did a quick look around, found one in my own backyard with the same year and miles as that Stang, for 8K less AND twice the mpg's.. jeez, did I steal this car or what?????? never owned a car as much as I love the Cross. At times I wish I would have waited to find an SRT, but really, I like my NA just fine. And I have seen it in other peoples' eyes when they see the car that they think I paid about 40 for this little gem, and I just laugh inside and wouldn't dream of dashing their thought!