After driving the Xfire and the g35 then finally the Z, I found the Z to out perform and more accomodating than the Xfire. I am a Chrysler employee and could got the Xfire at a great price, I felt that my 6' frame was not comfortable in theX fire.

The Z has much more room for a two seater and the performance is fantastic.

I do believe the Xfire is beautiful and luxrious but not enough room.

Thanks for everybodys input.

I will see you at the light.

 

you may see us at the light...but if your Z is next to an Xfire...nobody will see you...

 

I had a 350Z for a while. It was an AWESOME car. I miss it. You will definitely enjoy it.

 

My objective is not to be seen its to be comfortable.

 

I would forget anyone that makes any smart remarks. You made your choice and I agree with you. The Z is much more comfortable for taller and larger people. If thats what your looking for than you picked the right car.

If you looking for an exclusive car, than the Xfire is the choice. I like the looks of the Xfire more, build quality and materials are better. Yes the 350Z is much faster, but the downfall is that there will be one at every block almost.

 

EVS Motors... well said!!! 8) 8) 8)

 

Good luck with the Z! But be ready for tire problems,recalls and trans problems.

 

Make : CHRYSLER Model : CROSSFIRE Year : 2004
Crash : No Fire : No Number of Injuries: 0
ODI ID Number : 10045617 Date of Failure: November 6, 2003
Component: POWER TRAIN:MANUAL TRANSMISSION
Summary:
CHRYSLER CROSS FIRE 2004. THE MANUAL TRANSMISSION VIOLENTLY SLIPS OUT OF FIRST GEAR INTO NEUTRAL AFTER THE CAR IS MOVING THE VECHILE AND THE CLUTCH IS DISENGAGED. ALBEIT INFREQUENTLY. THIS CAUSES A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION, CROSSING TRAFFIC THAT ISN'T CONTROLLED VIA A SIGN OR LIGHT. OR, AT ANY STOP WITH SOMEONE BEHIND YOU. IN THE 1,500 MILES I'VE DRIVEN THE CAR SINCE I PURCHASED IT, I HAVE NARROWLY AVOIDED BEING REAR-ENDED THREE TIMES DUE TO THIS PROBLEM. THE DEALERSHIP'S SERVICE PERSONNEL HAVE OBSERVED AND VERIFIED THE TENDANCY OF IT TO SLIP FROM GEAR, (HOWEVER CHRYSLER STARS REPONDED THAT THE PROBLEM WASN'T FREQUENT ENOUGH TO REPAIR). LEAVING EACH START INTO TRAFFIC IS THE CHANCE OF A COLLISION.*AK

Check to Request Research. Submit below.

Make : CHRYSLER Model : CROSSFIRE Year : 2004
Crash : No Fire : No Number of Injuries: 1
ODI ID Number : 10049441 Date of Failure: December 7, 2003
Component: AIR BAGS:FRONTAL
Summary:
2004 CHRYSLER CROSSFIRE MY SON WAS DRIVING THIS CAR, LOST CONTROL AND HIT A POLE. HE SUFFERED A CONCUSSION AND FACIAL LACERATIONS BECAUSE HIS HEAD HIT THE STEERING WHEEL BEFORE THE AIRBAGS DEPLOYED.*AK

Check to Request Research. Submit below.

 

Hope you're joking about the Z. :?: :?: :?:

What kind of problems are they having with the Z??? It sure sounds like your talking about Crossfires, especialy after having the transmission swapped out at 2.6k miles, the radio, the glove box lock, wind noise, the crappy seats, and the eight day wait for a tire. I've never had that many problems on a new car as I am with #2815... the first year model excuse doesn't fly either, it's based on seven year old MB SLK.

Although I don't care for the current incarnation of the famous Z car (nor the 280ZX), I am a great fan of the original. My '77 280Z was overall the best vehicle I've owned. A great car to drive and easy to work on with alot of room under the hood. It broke my heart to sell it of all things because I was being reassigned back to Japan.

If they're having problems with the current model, I'm really sorry to hear that.

PS: Please don't take me wrong, even with all my first month of ownership blues, I love my Xfire!!! (Everything has been fixed except the seats).

 

I don't care how well it performs.... It's still Japanese and until we have fair trade with Japan I won't even consider them.

And as far as performance. They haven't shown me much in an auto-cross environment. And in Road and Track tests the 350 Z is a little quicker, but not devistatingly quicker. The Z is only faster in a straight line. Wait until the aftermarket gets going. It won't take too much to make the Xfire just as quick. And it does look much better than the Z.... IMO

 

The 350z has MANY more problems with its manual transmission. The problems with the Crossfire transmission are fairly limited, while the problems with the 350z transmission were very widespread. Some people had to have their transmission replaced 3-4 times, and the problem wasn't jumping out of first, it was complete transmission failure. Plus, many are reporting the clutch being worn out after less than 15k miles, although that could be because of the driver, but A LOT of people have reported this. Plus, pretty much EVERY 350z has a problem with tire feathering, where the outside of the tire was wearing out at a much faster rate than the inside, and many tires had to be replaced with under 10k miles on them. Plus there were a number of other issues with the 350z.

 

All cars have problems of one sort or another and it always looks worse on a bulletin board like this because frankly, not many paople come to a board to write loving prose about their last drive down to the mall - no they come to bulletin boards to either ***** (excuse me), or ask for help when something goes wrong - "a little noise has suddenly appeared...." etc etc - so when you put all these little quibbles together people get the idea that the car in question is a piece of s..t.
The vast majority of drivers - no matter what car - are just out their driving and enjoying the machine that captured their imagination and wallet, going to the dealer doing the maintenance - everyday life for Pete's sake - sorry Pete wherever you are.

 

mightyjlr wrote:

"...The 350z has MANY more problems with its manual transmission. The problems with the Crossfire transmission are fairly limited, while the problems with the 350z transmission were very widespread. Some people had to have their transmission replaced 3-4 times, and the problem wasn't jumping out of first, it was complete transmission failure. Plus, many are reporting the clutch being worn out after less than 15k miles, although that could be because of the driver, but A LOT of people have reported this. Plus, pretty much EVERY 350z has a problem with tire feathering, where the outside of the tire was wearing out at a much faster rate than the inside, and many tires had to be replaced with under 10k miles on them. Plus there were a number of other issues with the 350z".

Wow!!! That is bad news for the Z. I really hate to hear that!!! :cry: :cry: :cry: I haven't been following automotive news like I used to. Where did you get the information, car mags, reviews??? What other problems are they having???

 

Stormbird,

I beg to differ with you. I have been driving and owning cars since 1966. Never once have I experienced all the problems I did with #2815 within the first few weeks of ownership.. "All" cars do not have the problems some of us have experienced.

Yes, I found this board because I was having a problem with my transmission and yes this type of forum does tend to enlarge a problem. I have made my share of complaints and gave my share of praise. That is what this forum is for... talking and sharing info on our Crossfires, good or bad, but mostly good. Others who are researching the car can come here and find out the good and bad points of the car and make up their minds.

Still, with all the problems a lot of us had we wouldn't trade our Crossfire... me included. :wink: :wink: :wink:

 

AZ:

Of the problems you mentioned about your car, only the transmission is related to the SLK. Everything else would be first year startup bugs of a new vehicle (radio, wind noise, glove box lock, seats). As far as the tire, how did D/C convince Michellin to use a tire that was not released yet?

Except for the tranny, these problems are just annoying. Now the post about the air bag not deploying is a bit more serious, and I would like to hear more about the final results of the investigation....

 

jsisabella,

Yes, I agree the transmission is the only issue related to the SLK. Still in my book, the other bugs are due to rushing a new model to production. As I said elswhere... "it is not what I'd expect from a $35,000 vehicle". That price may not seem that much to a lot of folks on this forum, but it is the high end of what I'll ever be able to afford. I've had much better luck with my 10 year old Honda Civic SI which was built in Canada.

As for the tire... I contacted DC about why tires are not readily availible for the Xfire. They said it was an issue to take up with Michelin which I did.

A supervisor in customer realations told me he and many others within Michelin are very ticked the higher ups in Michelin and DC allowed the Pilot Sport 2 tire to be installed without having enough in stock to ship to customers that need a replacement. I was offered and recieved a "goodwill" discount from Michelin for the inconvience of waiting eight days for a tire.

The two problems you mentioned looked as tho they came from the NHTB website were you can post complaints. If it is the site I'm thinking of, it only list the complaint. I've never seen an investigation result.

 

AZ:

I think we all know this car was a "rush job", and that is my point. Except for the tranny, which hopefully is fixed for you, there really are not any bad problems that we are aware of with the car, just some annoying bugs. And it looks like D/C is going to take care of all of them, which makes me happy.

And $35K is a lot of money to anyone. This is my "daily drive" car, and so far I am really pleased with it.

I am sure that the Honda Civic had some startup problems in it's first year as well. I have had a few first year models, and they all have. My 1981 Dodge Rampage had a fuel line routing problem that would stall the car when it got hot. The 1986 Chrysler Laser had a problem with the driver side window mechanism. The 1991 Dodge Stealth had a cabling problem in the wiring harness going to the door. These things got fixed, and I moved on.

All of these cars were expensive to me as well, but I drove the hell out of them. The Stealth was 10 years old and had 175K miles on it when I traded it.

I guess I tend to look at the positive. You have the coolest car available in our price range, you got a discount from Michellin, and YOU LIVE WHERE IT IS WARM, so you can keep your car clean!!!!!

Put in a Rolling Stones CD, and go for a nice long drive. It will have to make you feel better.

:-)

 

Thanks for the idea but if I felt any better I'd pop!!! Yes the transmission was changed and so far it's doing great. Hang in there, a few more months and you'll have a few nice days in between raindrops... :wink: :wink: :wink:

And yes, it is a cool car... just had to get all the bugs out of mine. It will be in my garage for a long time to come.

 

[quote="lnm6999"]After driving the Xfire and the g35 then finally the Z, I found the Z to out perform and more accomodating than the Xfire.


Congratulations on your purchase. The Z was my first choice until I saw the Crossfire. The Z is an awesome car and I wish I could have one in my garage sitting along side my Crossfire. See you at the light, sometimes dumb blind luck wins out over horsepower :wink:

 

lnm6999 wrote

"My objective is not to be seen its to be comfortable."

Then a mini van would've been a better choice.