Carmax in Atlanta is still selling X-fires at $28,500 and $29,500 after the $2,500 rebate. The even have one manual under $28K!

Good time to buy.



Dallas

 

wonderdallas,

i agree. it looks like the rebates 'expired' on 3/1, but they were reintroduced on 3/4. i got my new autostick at carmax (orlando) for $29,079. i was a little skeptical at first about the pricing considering all the dealers in maryland i 'negotiated' with were at least $1500 more. but the deal went very smoothly and the car is great and only had 12 miles on it. it was well worth the plane ticket there and 900 mile drive home to save some serious $. i'm surprised more people aren't getting there cars there. especially since you don't have to go through all the typical bs that most dealerships put you through during the negotiation process.

rob

 

When I got mine a few days before March, I thought the rebates were going to run out also so I purchased locally for only $500 over Carmax Atlanta prices. The 'rebates' wern't being mentioned around here except one dealer relatively close advertised it so I bought it there. Now almost all the dealers are $29,995 for Autostick and 1k less for Manual. Its funny how the february rebate is now a march rebate. For these prices I wish I could afford a second Crossfire. Maybe the talk about some problems is scaring potential buyers.... I think if they get a later VIN (like me) then they should be okay. Yes, I know many VIN's below mine are fine, I just mean as a general rule of thumb.

.............Cars I used to like till I saw and fell in love with CROSSFIRE:

Mercedes SLK - Still like 'em but Crossfire 'IS' one with new looks and style.
BMW- Z3, Z4, 3 series etc.
Audi - TT, A4
Nissan 350Z (bam, they're everywhere)
Mazda RX-8 (looks good for a ricer but.....
Corvette (still cool but you see 'em everywhere)
Viper (Still cool but who needs that insurance payment or has $80k)
Boxter - but how do you get to the engine?, it has two trunks :shock:

 

I too was wondering why sales are not too steller. Not sure that discounting is a good thing in the long run. For those looking for great re-sale value, they may be wondering where the bottom is. Honda and VW to name a couple, have tried to avoid these large advertised discounts, fearing product devaluation. One factor to consider is it is a two seater, which is fine by me, but not to the masses. Then you have limited vision out the back. You have possibly less inside space than some are looking for. There again, I think it is OK. I do not like paying for premium gas, so add that to a gripe I'd have. In California, we are already hit with a fourty cent extra cost for all gas grade. Actually compared to Texas, we are about seventy cents a gallon higher. Someday, I really must move to America ;-) Another factor in slow sales could be that it is a radical design, and people are afraid to be or think different - well many are any way. The Chrysler Airflow failed. May need more advertising. First year out cars made by the big three typically have some sort of problems. While this one is made in Germany, it has a Chysler name plate, and many are leery first run cars from that company. Hope for better times for Crossfire sales. Would be neat if they make the Razor and the Sling Shot cars too!

 

Actually I feel I can see all I need to with the mirrors. I just keep 'em adjusted where I barely see the edge of the car and its great.

I have to admit I was looking at buying a pre-owned SLK or new RX-8, but driving the Crossfire was the factor that completely sold me on this wonderful machine. If anyone reads this that is hanging in the balance of deciding between this or somthing else, test drive them both and then you will know. Do u other owners agree? I feel like a kid with a season ticket to DisneyWorld when behind the wheel. :mrgreen:

 

The advertising on this car was horrible! :cry: I heard they fired the advertising guy who came up with the Celine Dion ads.I tell people I bought a Crossfire and they say whats that.You have to be a chrysler fan or read Motor Trend and Car and driver to know about this car.The average guy or gal on the street doesn't know what a Crossfire is. :cry: I think their trying to sell off the car with rebates before the 2005's come out.

 

don't get me wrong.... so far i love my crossfire. but after the initial wave of buyers who pay the full price to have the first one on the block there has to be something that results in continued strong sales. the rebates are probaly here to stay. here's what i think are some of the issues that explain why people aren't lined up to buy a crossfire. some have already been mentioned by others.

1. small advertising budget. i've yet to see a crossfire on the television or radio (i don't watch the apprentice).

2. the mercedes components are not talked up due to branding issues. if the general public knew the underpinnings were existing mercedes items, sales would likely be higher. however, if dc advertised this fact, it would be at the expense of mercedes sales and pricing. like when toyota made prizms for chevrolet. most people still bought the very similar corolla when they could have purchased the prizm for considerably less. ironically, the chevy is actually slightly more reliable because all were produced in the same factory vs. 2 factories for the corolla.

3. the msrp is higher than the competition, and arguably higher than it should be. (not trying to hurt anyone's feelings). dc's investment in the crossfire is mostly skin deep. they can make them cheaply since most of the components are already in the parts bin. $35K is more than the majority of potential buyers will pay for good looking sheet metal. another pricing issue is that all crossfires come fully equipped; there's no entry level. you can get rx-8s and 350zs that msrp well under 30K which gets buyers in the door to buy their fully optioned vehicles in the $32-$35K msrp range.

4. the chrysler image - they don't make cars that should cost $35K. sure you can price a town & country minivan into the 30s, but they start in the low 20s. though the prowler was $42K it only became a chysler in its last year when plymouth went away.

5. its a very competitive market, and the crossfire is late to the party. i see crossfires stacked up on some lots, but i also see lots of rx-8s and 350zs. all three are discounted, though the 350z less heavily. the boxster, tt, slk, and even the miata have all had some success in the two-seater niche before some of the previous players (nissan, mazda, etc.) came back. it's getting crowded. 20,000 units may prove to be too many.

 

It is a bit troublesome to see the cars backing up on the lots. If this car turns out to be a one or two year only highbred things could get to be a pain in the azz and could be expensive down the road. It would be great if you could just put it away for twenty years as a collectors item. But for most folks thats not an option. It seems to me that chrysler is making no marketing effort what so ever with this car and no one seems to have an explaination for it. I dont buy into the idea that there is not a strong market for this type of car, it may be limited but there is a definate market for it.

 

If you study Bay, the closest thing to a pure market in this economy, the picture you get is that the dealers think this is a $32,000 car (Resrve Not Met....Reserve Not Met) but most of the public thinks it is a $28,000 car...at least right now. The perception gap + few sales. But sales of a car like this are also always cooler in Jan.-Feb. because half the country is not real keen on small RWD cars....frankly I don't car if it doesn't become the Next Coca-Cola. For me, the car (a) is worth more than the CarMax price and (b) says that perhaps I am not like all the purchasers of all the lookalike jellybean cars on the road. I think DCX should run ads using the Kinks song "I'm Not Like Everybody Else".....

 

Well - the Crossfire commercial on the Apprentice leaves MUCH to be desired. We watch it each week :? and cannot believe they show the same commercial week after week - and it is not even a good one!! The least DC could have done was come up with some outstanding commercials for the Apprentice to show off their outstanding car. (My 3 cents worth) :wink:

 

Trying to find w web page with my dealer -- a family friend, real down-to-earth guy -- we had to go thru the Crossfire multimedia tour on chrysler.com. It was EMBARRASSING. Chrysler seems to be pitching this car like the only folks who will buy it are rich corporate jerk-offs who slip into something more comfortable on weekends, i.e. silk shirts and gold chains to show off their grey chest hair....the voice-over reminded me of the first intolerable snob-appeal ads for the Infiniti....what is with the wine glasses they are selling as accessories? What DCX seems to be telling their dealers is that the typical buyer will be someone who buys this as their second or third car, only to boulevard around in on weekends, I guess while cruising for (or with) a trophy wife. They are totally ignorant of the auto-cross crowd... the artistic/poetic types who will make a buy decision and eat mac-and-cheese to own it, based solely on the killer looks... the middle-class value-conscious buyer that sees this as a great way to buy a Benz for less than Benz price with better than Benz styling....THIS CAR ROCKS AND ROLLS and Chrysler is pitching it like something only to be chatted about over port in the Union Club lounge....

 

Went by the dealership today... auto stick cars marked down to 31.5k and 6-speed 30.5k here in Phoenix.

 

Both the wife and I were shopping for new vehicles. We were test driving for her first. She'd already told me before we started that if she got a 4WD vehicle, we should get a "little 2-seat sporty car" for me (her words). Yeah, like break MY arm!

So, we pull into a combo Nissan/Chrysler dealership. She wants to look at Pacifica's. We see this 'thing' sitting up at the top of the hill, in profile, nothing else around it, and say to each other "what's that?". We walk up and look, it's a SSB manual that the dealership owner had been driving, marked down $5k from sticker. We say "nice", but I want automatic (I had ENOUGH of manual in Washington DC traffic with my 95 T-Bird). We try out some Pacifica's, and she doesn't like the seats. I'm over looking at Maxima's, and she gets in a Murano and falls in love. The sales rep takes us for a spin, and as we're pulling back in we ask about the Crossfire. Well, to make a long story shorter we drive off the lot that day with a 2004 AWD Murano and a Crossfire. Made that guy's day, I'm sure.

Haven't regretted either, though there are nits to pick on practically anything we could have bought.

The BEST part of owning a Crossfire? They ain't everywhere. I see Z's and TT's and RX's and such everywhere I turn. There's even two SLK's driven to my office, and boy are THOSE two jealous that I got their car for $15k less (even though they have a ragtop and I don't, which I couldn't care less). I really don't care if Chrysler sells scads of 'em, the wife and I both think we have a keeper here, something that in a few years will be a classic. I just wish they'd advertise enough to sell enough to keep it worthwhile to keep the line alive.

But NOTHING on the road has the style of a Crossfire.