Hey hows it going? I have some questions about these beautiful cars! Ive always loved the look of the crossfire but after doing research and reading up on them I might have changed my mind. I came to this site in order to get answers from real owners.

I heard many downfalls about Crossfire:

- Maintenance and repair work will cost a fortune!!!
- Reliability is POOR
- Parts and Tires are EXPENSIVE
- Poor handling
- It takes premium gas (Will cost a lot to run)
- Chrysler= ****
- Most of the car is a downgraded Mercedes
- 350Z, WRX, M3, Miata, s2000, mr2, RX8 --- Are all better cars!?!?

I would like to hear the HONEST truth from you owners out there. I love the look of the XFire, but after hearing all of that, I am thinking twice. I need to make up my mind soon, I need a daily cruiser car. I was thinking about getting a used 04-06 with less than 50K miles.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

Like all cars, there's good and bad. The good, there's no better looking car for the price. Reliability is as good as any other car. I use mine as a dd all year around and have no problem in New York City snow on the stock Contis which by the way have nearly 50,000 miles on them. I don't consider using premium either a positive or a negative. If you're worried about the extra 25 cents a gallon then the Crossfire isn't the car for you.

The bad...parts are getting tougher to get. Chrysler doesn't seem to make many body parts so if you're hit most likely the car will be totaled. And yes, the car can be expensive to service. Oil changes cost me about $80 and I do them myself. Eight quarts of Mobil 1 but then most cars use at least six so the difference is only about $25 and that's every 7000 miles or so. I'd stay away from the 2004 models since they seem to have some first year problems that the later models don't, especially if you're going for the manual.

No matter what you decide, good luck.

 

I appreciate the response!!! I would like to hear other opinions and more info!

Thanks a lot

 

-Yeah, if you pay someone to do it
-No
-Parts no, tires yes
-No, unless you drive supercars every day
-Yes, it takes premium but its not too bad on gas (20+ MPG mostly city driving)
- Thats more of an opinion than a fact, I'm not crazy about many of their other cars.
- Yes, it more or less has the drivetrain of a '98+ SLK.. Not really a good or bad thing, just a thing.
-Better in what sense?
The Z is more powerful but is a more cheaply produced car.
The WRX doesn't really compare (Sti is a different story).
I don't like M3's and I'd be more worried about maintainance on one of those.
the miata might handle better but doesn't really compare in terms of power, comfort or anything else that makes a car a good daily driver.
s2000's are better sports cars to drive on a track but are very small on the inside and doesn't make the same torque.
I haven't looked into Mr2's enough to compare, but I know I don't want one lol.
Rx8- no torque, burns oil.. not my kind of car either.

The crossfire makes a great daily.. I'd rather drive one than any of the other cars mentioned as a daily. If I were going racing with the car every week, I probably would have chose something else. It doesn't make scary power, but the engine makes good torque, so you can pass people without revving it out to 8k..

 

I just purchased a second Crossfire for my son becouse in my opinion its a lot of car for the money, mine has never been to the shop except for routine maint. (purchased new with 35,000 miles on it now) The car that I just purchased should take him through his last year of high school and well into collage. good gas mileage. and a warranty is available in many cases.

 

Awesome response!! Thanks a lot


More opinions and detail please?!?!?!?!?! THANKS

 

I sent you a PM if you don't mind answering some Insurance questions based on the experience with your son. thanks

 

- Maintenance and repair work will cost a fortune!!!
This is subjective. I will tell you that I was quoted about $700 for a brake job to turn two rotors, replace two rotors and pads, and ABS sensors.

- Reliability is POOR
I haven't owned mine long enough to comment.

- Parts and Tires are EXPENSIVE
Again, parts is subjective. I have seen a full set of tires installed with TPMS kit go anywhere from $600 to $1000. This is on par with a lot of sports cars.

- Poor handling
Completely disagree. I took some tight turns this weekend on a road trip and the car felt very stable with every turn. I am very impressed with the handling.

- It takes premium gas (Will cost a lot to run)
Like stated before, if you buy a premium car you pay a premium price for gas. If you can't afford the gas, you can't afford the car.

- Chrysler= ****
It's mostly a Mercedes so...you be the judge.

- Most of the car is a downgraded Mercedes.
Is there such a thing?

- 350Z, WRX, M3, Miata, s2000, mr2, RX8 --- Are all better cars!?!?
Each of the cars you mentioned will have their ups and downs and there is also a swing in cost between the Crossfire and these cars. The Crossfire was a $40k car when it was new and you can get them with low miles for a fraction of that today. I looked at the 350Z while shopping for my next car and settled on the Crossfire because it's a rare beauty and fun to drive. You see a dozen 350Z's a day, how many Crossfires do you see?

 

I'm not very mechanically inclined. Is that a good deal on the rotor replacement? Thank for the reply

 

Hey hows it going?

If I really thought you cared, I'd tell you.

I heard many downfalls about Crossfire:

- Maintenance and repair work will cost a fortune!!! If you take it to the dealer for every silly thing that comes up, yes. So, how is this different from any other car?

- Reliability is POOR If you sit here and read thru the forum, you might get that idea - but it's just not true. Sure, some have problems (like my locked trunk from last fall) but everything is fixable, most of it at home if you have even moderate ability - like myself.

- Parts and Tires are EXPENSIVE Yea, tires for sports cars are a bit costly. And parts thru a dealer are high, but there ARE other sources.

- Poor handling I'll leave this one alone - I can only compare it to trucks and vans (my other vehicles) and the Ford Crown Vic I once owned. But of course, I disagree with your statement.

- It takes premium gas (Will cost a lot to run) If the extra 30 or 40 cents per gallon is too much for you, I suggest you should not own a car in the first place. Sorry my friend, but this seems silly - way more silly than anything I've posted here (other than telling everyone I was getting married 3 months after meeting her). $3.50 per tankful is not "costing a lot".

- Chrysler= **** First, I don't really agree. But second - just WHAT about this car is Chrysler? THey did not build it, and it' has a powertrain from a Mercedes.

- Most of the car is a downgraded Mercedes Downgraded? No, maybe a bit OUTDATED, but it's not a cheap version of a Mercedes.

- 350Z, WRX, M3, Miata, s2000, mr2, RX8 --- Are all better cars!?!? On what basis do you make such a general blanket statement? Sure the 350Z is a cool car, but I mean REALLY - a Miata? Again, this is a blanket statement that is hard to respond to.

I've put 15,000 miles on mine in 13 months and am so overly happy that I am considering another (much higher mileage) Crossfire for a second car, as my pickup is gone now. (Hate to put too many miles on the Roadster).

Go test drive about 5 Crossfires ... ignore the sales guys' pleas for you to buy one, just drive them and see what you think. Or show up at a GTG and see if some of us don't let you drive our cars... that's how I got hooked - drove three XF's one sunday last year and bought my Roadster less than 14 days later.

I was sold.

 

I agree with downwardspiral, spot on with his rundown. I have owned or know people that have owned all the cars you listed. I love my Crossfire, it is a drivers car, no doubt. I have a limited so it does not have the power an SRT does, but the power it does have and the thrill of driving it is worth every penny. Every time I take it out it gets noticed, I have even caught a couple of 350Z owners and RX-7 owners eye balling it!

I used to race but now I have a family and have stopped but I feel confident that if I need the power (reliability) to get out of a traffic situation, I have it. If you decide to buy, there is always someone willing to go and look at the car if you cannot, I will do this if you find one near Bristol,Tn. Anyways, we all love our cars and plenty of people drive them everyday, all cars have problems, but overall they are great!

 

I've owned my Crossfire for about 5 months now and absolutely love it. I bought it from my dad who went and bought another because he loved it so much. I have an '05 Base Coupe with the 6-Speed and it is simply amazing.

The handling is excellent in comparison to anything near the price range on stock equipment. Same for the braking. The torque is just about perfect for a DD. Not too much where it blows you off the road, but enough to make you smile everytime you drive it regardless of distance. It's comfortable enough to take long trips. There isn't a single thing I dislike about my Crossfire. I will have mine for a long time, and the only reason I would get rid of it would be to afford an SRT-6.

Plus, the community of Crossfire owners is simply incredible. You will never have an issue or question that these people won't be able to assist you with.

 

What kind of mileage is the Crossfire capable of reaching? Ive only seen max about 95k on one. Also would it be able to handle daily driving through all seasons (Snow, heat....) 25 miles a day. Thanks

 

More opinions and detail will be great.. Thanks

 

Come on, if you have not got enough information now to make the decision then your are not serious about buying and just wasting time. Not one person has said you would be making a mistake................... what more could you ask?

Any car now days could handle 100K without issues if maintained correctly let alone given the fact this is a merc powertrain etc. Your main issue would be getting it there without it being written off more than likely.

I have a VW Golf with 135K on it and it has taken 6 years to get it there using it as my dailey driver and thats about 70 miles a day so if you are looking at a 50K car it will take a fair while to get it to 100K with just 22 miles a day and by that time Im sure you would not really care.

We all love the car which is why we bought one and contribute to this forum. If we hated it it would have been sold by now and we would not visit here ever again.......quiet sure all the negative people have not hung around to help you anyway!

Just my 2pence worth from here in England!!!

 

Thanks for the reply. I would love to here more opinions of what people think of their cars and if they have any problems. I'm just trying to find some accurate info from multiply owners.

I appreciate the forums effort to help. Thanks

 

My opinion is your wasting our time.

 

If you feel like your time is being wasted. Why do you bother answering or looking at the thread?

 

In December 2007 I bought a new Limited 6 spd with a Lifetime Powertrain Warranty for $13K off sticker. After about 14 months I was still so happy with it that I drove 1,000 miles round trip in a snow storm to buy another new one ...a 2008 Limited Auto/Nav for my wife...$21K off sticker......& to this very day I still feel like I stold both of them !!



As a daily driver I've put 47,000 miles on the 6 spd....driven easy....it'll get almost 27 mpg..(I ave. 24.5 over the course of a full year)..I've had it up to 131 mph (in 5th)....got chicken to continue upwards..(needed new tires at that time). My wife's automatic ave's about 1 to 1.5 mpg less than the stick.

Only problem ever encountered was ...after driving 105 mph at minus 5 F on I-70 the fan kept running fast till the ECU reset itself.

The electronic stability control has saved us 3 times

 

Let's all be nice here. No need to turn this into a brawler's thread. I think some people are getting the sense that you're not really serious about buying a XF, that's why they're starting to get on your case.

You've gotten a lot of responses to your question that you will find typical of pretty much all of us. There's a reason why we bought this car, why the community for this car is so strong, and why some of us have bought more than 1. I personally would ****** up a few if I had the money.

Overall, this is a great car. It's reliable, well-built, and all around fun. It IS a sports car, so anything that comes with that turf you're more than likely going to experience with this car as well, i.e. poor gas mileage.

The best thing that this car has to offer is itself. You won't find another one like it- it's truly a unique car in it's own right. The looks are one-of-a-kind, and it does perform (especially for the money you'd pay for it). I got mine new in '07 for $19k. Try to beat that for a 2-seater, German-built, Mercedes-powered sports car.

As for maintenance, it's not astronomical, but if you can't afford to put new tires on it and give it the routine service it needs, you can't afford it. Tires will be expensive for any sports car. Oil changes will be more costly for engines that use synthetic (especially 8.5 quarts). The good thing about maintenance and repairs on this car is that a lot of work is fairly easy to do. I find myself surprised how easy it is to do work on it every time I have to replace something (mostly because someone else or myself broke it, not because it wasn't reliable). A lot of repairs and maintenance how-to's are written up here on the site.

The insurance is going to be a lot because of what it is, but that will depend on you the most (your age, driving record, etc.). I think mine is around $1600/year. If you get in an accident, it has a higher probability to be totaled because of lack of manufacturer support for the outer body panels.

If it seems that this car is unreliable because of the things you read on this site, remember that for every problem people talk about, there's thousands of others that don't have that problem. One thing you will see here are a lot of people talking about how much they love the car or the looks they get. Remember this is a community of XF OWNERS, not a place for people to come state their fanboy arguments. If you own a XF and aren't a a-hole, you'll be welcomed. We're also happy to help, as long as you're serious about your interest in purchasing the car.

Edit:

Also, I drive mine year round, even through the snow in Chicago/Peoria, IL. The car does remarkably well if you have a decent set of all-season tires.