Mine's been a real pain in the *** due to vital systematic replacement of inferior factory parts.

First I had to buy a 181 pulley, tune, tuning cable, intake etc. Next I had to buy a SL55 fuel pump and colder plugs. Next I had to build a gauge pod and install gauges, sensors, and a Dashdaq. I've had to buy sheet metal manifolds and drag wheels and tires. I also had to replace the heat exchanger and pump. This car hasn't been cheap at all to drive.

 

I usually cut my loses and sell when they start nickle and diming me to death like yours has!

 

Congrats! Post pictures please!

Crap or otherwise – its’ difficult to get over when some one just walking by took a sudden turn at your car and screamed, “what a beautiful car!” on the next parking lot I over heard another comment: ”look at that – what a car!” etc ….

 

I had absolutely nothing but no trouble with my NA, so I went and got an SRT. Again, nothing but no trouble.
You just can't rely on these cars to be trouble.
I'm really disappointed - not.

 

Are Mercedes-Benz crap? I have tested every R350 in miles and can't find one worth a damn. My price point is $20k. Can"t find one that gets over 25mpg either.I am at a loss. Don't know where to turn. Can't sleep. Can't get out of bed before noon. What am I to do.

 

being in the Midwest and looking for an xf sucks, I've also done some looking for a little while now all the xfs in a 10-12k price range either have way to many miles or owners on it or have horrible problems in terms of exterior/interior damage , of all xf's I've looked at in Chicago and the Chicago land area I found 1 that was is in great shape , sounded beautiful drove perfectly but the only problem was the ad never said the trim or price , it was an srt an 4k out of my price range sad day for me , was like the universe teased me with perfection Lol
good luck finding your xf , I'm still on the hunt

 

Man, you have some of the best XF hunters right there in your backyard, and you haven't used them yet.....Chicagoland XF's, time to help this guy out... Looks like he is in the 10-12k price range....

 

Dunno if this would work for you, or what the used import requirements are, but maybe take a look in Canada. Im in Alberta, and the 2004 silver blue 6spd coupe I found for $10,500 made me the 3rd owner. The first one did car shows, as depicted by the little metal carshow plates in the engine compartment , and the second was a lady who always put it away in the garage in October, and took it out in May. It had 81000k on it (50000miles) one of the highest mileage ones id seen actually, and is in beautiful shape with few blemishes. Many xfs I see for sale have VERY few miles and those ones are in the 12-15k range. Kind of a different twist to import cars, since we usually go to the States for vehicles because the weather keeps them in better shape, however that means you can drive em year round and pile the miles on too. Good luck in your hunt.

 

Is Chicago land xf a forum ? Haha I've been absent from searching for a while because I was continually let down but now that summers here finally the used market seems to have opened up however prices seem to have gone up as well , and 10-12 can be worked with as long as after my trade the price is around 7-9900 which is a long shot haha

 

If you're in the Chicago area, and need help with picking out a crossfire, just message me. I'd enjoy helping out new owners of the car, and welcoming them to the crossfire team.

 

i have an 08 that i bought with 6,000 miles on it and have put 42,000 on the odometer and havent had 1 problem, besides wrecking into some trees! haha. got that body damage fixed and its still trucking, runs like a tank and hit 4000+ rpms almost everytime i accelerate! i can't stay out of the throttle on this car, a lot of fun and the engine has taken my abuse so far!

 

I have owned a xf for 6 years, put 80,000 miles on it and up until things went bad it was a great car. If you have $$$ just to throw at what should be cheap fixes(I.e. I had toget my ignition switch changed, the part u put the key into locked up. I took to the dealership it cost me $1200 and a month without my car, also had tranny issues and a broken window another $1600 and month without the car again.) so if you want to spend crazy money and not be able to drive your car for a month at a time go ahead buy one, but I would recommend a 350z or 370z due to the fact there are so many more around parts gotta be cheaper and unless u opt for a srt6 they have a ton more hp

 

WOW!

apparently hadn't read the "Stickey Key Fix" thread .....free!

Love my XF, best car I ever had....EVER!
BTW....can ya put a price on FUN!

 

Yea, I had my key lock up like that - cost $90 for a tow home and I fixed it in 90 minutes myself.

And I'm a mechanical near-incompetent! Ya gotta USE THE RESOURCE that this place is!

(See post above for the link) C'mon man! You have 6 posts in all the time you've been here?
You have been missing out - and I'm not sure why.

Also PLEASE BE AWARE that, from all indications, the replacement lock assembly has the same design flaw that the original did! I'd have the modification done ASAP - just print the PDF in the link above and take the car to any mechanic you trust - DO NOT GO TO A DEALER ! Up to two hours labor is all it will cost you.

 

Your experience is your experience, but it sounds like you have not used any of the info on this site that could have saved you a lot of money. The XF is not a common car, so parts new or used are expensive. I did not want a car that is as common as a Focus or Pinto. I drive this car on weekends and it has delivered exactly what I wanted, It makes me smile everytime I drive it. I have not done the " Ignition Key fix" yet, but will as soon as I can loose enough weight to get under the dash. This is a great little car, can drive 80 MPH with AC on and still get 28 MPG, looks great, is fun to drive. When we go to the local ( Houston Cars & Coffee) shows it is one of maybe 5 XFs there among Porsche, Vettes, Mustangs by the hundreds. If you want salt grains then buy them, but I wanted something that everyone else did not own. We are so lucky to own one of these great cars, smile be happy.
It sounds to me like to you a car is just a car, but that is not the case with me. I love it and it gets treated as such!!!!

 

Sounds like from now on I need to get on here and see if others can help with my problems with the xf. And I wasn't trying to put the car down but my experiences with it have not been great, although I was young(18) and dumb when I bought the car. At first I could only find $325 rear tires and over $100 oil changes even done by myself. I love the way the car drives and handles, no other car is like it. But literally here are my current problems with the car:
1) rear end going bad, whines very loud while decelerating
2)fried wiring to alarm, radio, interior lights, horn etc etc. fuse practically welded itself into the fuse box
3)can't fuel up, gas sloshes bad. went to gas station one day and couldn't put more than $0.50 of gas in my tank at a time. I have not heard of any other xf having this problem
4)engine ticks due to low oil from gushing oil from over tightened or under tightened oil filter. Got the leak under control
5)automatic transmission started slipping out of gear, got it fixed it worked for a while but slips out of gear now(again)
I am sure there is more but I haven't driven the car in 2 to 3 years, I just keep it hoping that one day it will be worth more than I payed for it. I had a chance to buy the same year(2004) z06 corvette with ??? miles or a 2003 mustang cobra anniversary edition with 13k miles or the 2004 Chrysler crossfire I bought with 46k miles they were all the same price when I purchased for $25000, and within years the xf I have wasn't worth $7000. But had I bought the other cars they'd still be selling for near what price I payed 6 years ago

 

sounds like your car was messed with ( MODDED) by someone that had no idea what they were doing.
First the problem with the oil filter is that it is probably installed wrong. There is a ' THREAD" showing how this is done properly. Buy oil and filters when they are on sale, I usually pay $4.99/qt and use "Fleese filters" Ebay $6-9.00 Each.

The rear end whine, may be from low grease level, but putting it in now is probably of no use. Try it though, whine may not be too bad. Sounds like it will need to be replaced. Go to" The Crossfire Shop" he can get a good rear end at a decent price, maybe he will have mercy and let the part go cheap.

The fuses being welded in , is from way to much current going through, Contact 180 on the forum to see if he has any ideas. Sounds like someone tried to install a different radio or some other accessory and shorted it out on the install and fried some wire. You could still have a big problem waiting to happen. May be able to buy a wiring harness from "The Crossfire Shop" to replace either all or part depending on how bad it really is.

I just put "General G MAX A3s" on my car, $1,000 mounted, balanced, TPMS rebuild kits, tax, etc, installed. Not cheap, but you don't want cheap when you are running 120MPH or so. Did that when I was young and dumb, but not anymore.

Last but not least find some of the Forum members that are near you, they are always glad to help. That's how i learned to change my oil the first time. Only take your car to a really good shop that knows Mercedes, stay away from dealers, Chrysler or Mercedes, they love to see you come through the door. Most of them don't practice safe sex, so be prpared to get stuck BAAAAADDDDD.

I am without a clue on your gas tank problem, but I bet it has been modded for some reason and really messed it up. Get another tank and filler neck from "The Crossfire Shop". Run out all the gas before you remove it and make sure you are a very long way from any ignition source, a long way!!! This can burn down your house or garage and fry you up too, be very careful. You can do almost anything on the car yourself, but you have to learn how to do it first.

Hope I have been of some help, enjoy the car!!!

The guy that owns "The Crossfire Shop" is a forum member and a good guy, I know he will be a big help to you

 

Don't worry about it. Our cars are more likely to have problems if you drive it every day. My car is by no means a problem child... but it has spent more time getting kinks worked out than any of my other cars. My new camaro went in a few weeks after I bought it for a few minor issues. Then not one problem for nearly 90K miles. My new Jeep had just one issue with the wiper not working. Not one other problem in 3 years. My crossfire had all the typical problem within the first 5 years. I can't tell you the long list of problems. I got all the kinks worked out and expect more issues in the future. But I am not trashing our cars... I love them and that is why I am not selling it. The love is still strong after 7 years of ownership!

 

Your shifter problem is probably the cablegoing to the transmission is messed up or loose or the shift handle mechanism in the car is messed up some way, problably installed wrong. That should last almost forever. " The Crossfire Shop" after you check it out.

 

RCM solder job??? Please explain so I can give mine a look. Thanks again in advance!!!