lol really????..OmG..
cmon man...you just turned the tide of my thought process....so it's not a fun stick?..I don't wanna feel like ive been working at mill for 12 hours because I drove it for 3....are the autos as ballsy as the sticks?...would any of you agree that a stick is not as fun as you thought it would be..???.

 

The stick has the worst 1-2 shift I've ever experienced. But everything else is light, almost too light. The dual mass flywheel is great though. I wouldn't trade it for an auto IMO

 

isn't the auto tiptronic?

 

Still missing that 3rd pedal though

 

If I owned a stick in one of these cars, I would have done trashed it by now. I changed to auto back int he late 70's when B&M came out with their 1st beefed up 400. I have never looked back. I have a few sticks since those days, but they still didn't perform with the auto. I am a drag racer, but even the few times I do go play on a road course, I can make the auto perform. The auto of today are even better, with firmer shifts, and instant shifts, I wouldn't hesitate...and in fact looking real heavily at the new Z-28. In drag racing, during that shift, you lose valuable torque cutting your time slip...a few 10ths.

 

The trannys in Crossfires are the weak link in fun. I can't speak to the manuals as I have only driven SRT 6's (more than a half dozen). The auto tranny may be a good one but the way it is programmed for the SRT 6 makes it nothing but frustration (except on the kickdown on WOT). The same tranny in my old Jag XK was a heck of a lot better but still not perfect.

I have a hard time understanding why there is so much difference in the same tranny but different programming.

 

Near as I can tell the automagic is the same one that is in my Grand Cherokee. Works well there and 0-60 is in the 8's.


Six speed was used in the Jeep Wrangler and for negotiating tricky shelfs, a super granny low gear is handy. I use first mostly up my driveway and the tight right hander into the garage or for mall crawling. Probably also good for parades (they have a "cruise" down in Old Town and even after putting a centerforce in the Judge, always get a cramp. This seems nice.


For daily driving I just start in second having found no smooth way to use first in traffic, too low for acceleration and a ginormous gap to second. May be me but have yet to do a smooth first->second shift in slow traffic. (4k in first is barely 20 mph and drops 1500 rpm for second).


Really think it should have about a 2.60:1 rear gear - first might become useful and 70 mph would be under 2k in 6th.


That said it still is a lot of fun, just could be more.

 

Regarding prices, my understanding is that the price guides such as black book, NADA etc are reflections of the market, they don't set the market. The actual prices are set at auctions, and those prices are reported by the guides. By necessity, the guides are published, monthly, AFTER the auctions occur, so the guides actually lag the current month's activity. So in any given month, current prices might be falling or rising (seasonality, demand, model year changes etc) and those changes are not reflected in a current guide.


Also, the guides, to my understanding, don't take into account sales between individuals. So there is an entire buying and selling market that does not report to the guides. Hence "private party" pricing in one or more of the guides. But how do the guides calculate those prices? I'm not aware of any individual sellers who report their transactions to guide publishers. I believe that there are about 30 or 40 million vehicle transactions in a year; about 14 to 16 million are new vehicles, the rest are used. The used market is split between dealer sales and private party sales. So even if private party transactions only account for say 1/3 of used car sales, that's still 6 to 8 million sales that are not reflected in the guides.


When I look for a car, a nationwide search on a site like Autotrader will give you a good idea of where the current market is. Granted, many, if not most cars are optimistically priced. But the lower third of price range for the specific make/model under consideration will indicate the most competitively priced cars. If "the book" says the price for a car of a certain year and mileage is $10k, but out of 100 cars of that make and model/mileage/equipment for sale nationwide, there are only one or two priced at $10k for that year and mileage, and the rest are higher, it seems to me to indicate that the market has moved away from last month's book value and is moving higher in such a case.


Other times you'll see the same cars advertised for months, and lots of "price reduced" flags on the ads. That would seem to indicate a softening market for that vehicle, wouldn't it?

 

Good point Andy, and the "Black Book" is updated weekly.

 

I bought mine a year ago. A comparable base model for sale through CarMax right now is the same price, a little less mileage but not much. Given CarMax may not be the ideal place to purchase but through a dealer that will negotiate a lower price, how does one calculate "price dropping". Perhaps it's about demand for the vehicle?? CarMax advertises a multiple point check of every vehicle and they say they reject vehicles that don't make the grade and they do not negotiate - even the Crossfire. The Crossfire, according to parts managers (Mercedes and Chrysler) is a pain, did not make me feel very good looking for a door module (failure this weekend), but I still like the uniqueness of the vehicle. I originally found a Crossfire at a dealer that I was seriously considering, low mileage great condition but the idiots rotated the tires so when we test drove, the front wheels rubbed on turns. Of course they dropped the price considerably and I took a pass. They took it in on trade, have no idea of how the vehicle was maintained and certainly did not know the vehicle. if I paid a bit more from a private party a year ago, I felt that the vehicle was well kept (receipts, etc.) not to mention 4 new tires and a new front windshield that I was told originally had some dings. You just have to weigh the pros and con, pay now or pay later. If you can acquire the extended warranty from Chrysler, buy it!

 

I bought a new 07 Limited 6 spd for $23K in Dec. 07.....liked it so much a year later I found a new 08 Limited automatic for my wife for only $17K. I put 89,000 FUN miles on the stick by April of 2013......but after grandchildren started arriving it was clear we needed an SUV. Since the automatic was still very low miles/pristine......I reluctantly let the 6 spd go. Trick to smooth shifts was to keep the rpms up. Another reason I kept the automatic was it was almost the very last XF built before production stopped on Dec. 17, 2007.

 

 

forget the cars I wan that house !!!!! Dam nice place !!!!

 

I almost died painting the damn thing, there's another 9 feet in back ....walkout basement......that's being up almost 27 feet to the peaks in back. Maybe it was all the beer I was drinking ......mowing the 2 acres = 3 cans.

 

Don't think I could duplicate my house. Will have been here thutty yar in Jan. 2000 sq ft living, 2000 sq. ft att garage. Four garage doors and just put in a lift. In a development with sidewalks & covenant.

 

2000 sq ft garage.......what's that hold.....like 6 cars? That's big.

 

Is in three segments. Front holds two DDs & small work area, back has one plus electronics bench (O'scope, signal gen, tube testers, power supplies). Side (largest) has RV and two cars plus work area (tools, press, brake, and such).


Planned most when had house built. Hard part was getting through neighborhood architectural review board but little is visible from street.


Have this instead of a pool.