Was at the Barrett-Jackson auction Sunday looking around the at the new Chryslers. Was told by Chrysler rep at show that '06 is last year for crossfire!

Did get a look at the Firepower concept. What a cool ride. Hope it ain't a pipe dream.

 

That would be a great thing for us current owners. We would likely go the way of the Prowler and resale values would really start to kick up in a few years...

I think this rumor's been around the mill before; how knowledgeable/trustworthy is this rep?

 

Uh, not my experience...Back in the 80's Ford brought it's european Sierra to the USA. Sales were slow even though it was/is a great car. I bought an '85 for a deeply discounted price (sound familiar?) Ford "orphaned" the car after 5 years...I fell asleep at the wheel and totaled my '85, ended up upside down by about 6 grand...today you can buy a cherry Merkur for less than 4 grand, I still love these cars and have never spent more than 3 grand for one...I love the Crossfire and I'm just waiting for this rumor to become official before I take the plunge.
The american market as a whole just doesn't appreciate sports cars anymore if it isn't a Japanese car...very sad.

 

...have you looked at the resale values of the Porsche Boxster, Audi TT, BMW Z3 (or Z4)? Take a look at even the SLK, which trades substantially higher than most used Crossfires even when a comparable SLK320 has a half decade under its belt. Clearly, the market has a certain affection for German cars these days. That may prove to be a saving grace in the long term for Crossfire's resale value. That, and the fact that (no offense) the Crossfire is far more appealing to look at than any Ford Sierra (Merkur) ever was. It's an interesting car, and always will be.

 

Juddz, I agree totally about the european/German comment. It's just that historically the American market doesn't give the same affection for rebadged cars...A "real" Sierra brings more than a Merkur, A Ferrari brings more than a Dino, A Volkswagen Rabbit even brings more than a Dodge Omni...
I also admit that the Merkur's styling is a little dated, but hey, it's twenty years old!
All I'm saying is, expect the bottom to drop out (book value) if/when DM orphans the Crossfire...as to whether or not they'll rebound, only time will tell but the odds are against it...I can't think of too many examples other than homologated race cars...

 

I would debate the collectibility of both the Rabbit and the Omni (other than the GTI and Shelby versions, respectively, of which the Shelby is definitely the more desirable and expensive of the two). But that is not the reason why I will disagree that the Crossfire is destined to a low market value years from now.

Here's a test. Price out a mint condition Camaro (of the most recent vintage) with the 5.7L V8 and the six speed. Now, price out a Mustang that is comparable in terms of vintage, condition, and equipment. We aren't talking SS here, so that precludes any Cobras in the comparison. My guess is the Camaro is going to be the more expensive of the two. This, despite the fact that the Mustang was much more popular when new, and was never dumped. The reason? The Camaro (stock) is a more serious performance car than a plain jane 4.6L Mustang. It has another liter of displacement, another gear in the transmission, and a good dollop more hp and torque.

By the same logic, the Crossfire should be more valuable than some (not all) SLK's down the road. Why? A Crossfire coupe (with its stiffer body shell, better wheels and tires, and standard 3.2L engine whilst the Benz came standard with a 2.3L SC, and lower curb weight) is a better performance car than the Benz ever was. Better looking, too. The saving grace for the Benz will be the novelty of the folding hard top, and perhaps as you mentioned that three pointed star on the hood.

 

Kelly's list the difference between the last year Camaro Z28 and The Mustang GT of the same year as 1k difference to the good for the Camaro, so one would have to agree there, although I don't know what the original sticker difference was...
I also compared the last year Alfa 164 (1995 in the USA) to a BMW 530i (1995) an "orphan" to a model still available...again, I can't remember original stickers but the cars are very close in specs, Alfa = 8,800 and the Bimmer = 11,700...
I'm not trying to cause concern, it's still possible to get service on Citroens and Peugeots in the USA, I'm just saying that the Market Perception historically is unfavorable when this happens...
Regardless, the Crossfire is a drop dead gorgeous car, put together by a quality manufacturer and will still be a great car no matter what the market thinks...I just think it's a bad "investment", as are 98% of the cars out there...

 

So true, 98% of the cars ever built were bad investments! It is only the very rare few that appreciate to amazing heights. There are a ton of muscle cars in the $40K range, that sold for a mere fraction of that new. And, even these are bad investments, when you consider what that $40K is in 1967 dollars, and compare it to the original sticker. A lot of times, if you are lucky, it will have just kept up with inflation. Now, compare that to a good investment, say you took the same amount of money in 1967 that it would have cost to buy a new Mustang, and imagine what it would have done in a growth-oriented mutual fund all these years. That would have been a good investment.

Some guys got very lucky by keeping an original hemi car around (and now its worth six figures), finding a mid fifties gullwing SL in a barn, etc. But, stories like that are very few and far between. More common is the sob story of some guy that had such and such, sold it when he went off to Vietnam, and has secretly longed for it back every time he has signed on the dotted line for another practical sedan since. I don't have that problem, since I grew up in the eighties and nineties (far from the automobile's golden age!)

Totally unrelated, its nice to know there is another member on this forum that has taken the trouble to price out Alfa Romeo 164's. This one has made my list of "wants" as well. Citroens are too much trouble to keep sealed up (a mineral oil plumbing nightmare). However, Peugeot 505 turbo sounds kind of fun, doesn't it?

 

This doesn't surprise me one bit, think about it, produce the car for 2 additional years and keep discounting them or just cut your losses now. Because this car is of higher quality than the Merkur XR4Ti I don't think its going to drop like a brick for resale, but I could be wrong.


I'd like to get myself a good 88' or 89' XR to have as a "toy" and someone was right when they said a nice one could be had for about $3K. I was on a sight once and some of these guys got them really lookin' good, adding Sierra parts and one guy even went as far to have a 4x4 Sierra shipped over here and converted, thats true commitment IMO!

 

If we wanted a car with good resale value, we should have bought a Toyota. It's all about value and reliability.
Problem is Toyota doesn't make a sexy sports car.
I for one am happy to "pay to play".

 

Although not my cup of tea and sexy is in the eye of the beholder, there is the Toyota MR2 Spyder...

 

Once again let me post the e-mail i got from Karmann concerning the Crossfire. Where do we keep coming up with the "end of the line for the crossfire" stories.

-Here Is The Email-
"Dear Customer,

If I understood you right, you want to know if the "Chrysler Crossfire '06 model" exist?

Until now Karmann produces the "06 model" up to july this year,
then comes the model change to "07"!

Questions or comments please let me know."

Mit freundlichen Grüßen / With Best Regards

Albrecht Roth

Wilhelm Karmann GmbH
- Vertrieb/Kundendienst - / - Customer Service -
Karmannstrasse 1
49084 Osnabrueck
Telefon: 0049 (0) 541/581-2334
Telefax: 0049 (0) 541/581-132334
Mobil: 0049 (0) 151/14635314
E-Mail: aroth@karmann.com
http://www.karmann.com

 

I do not sense panic from Chrysler for the future of the Crossfire.
I guess lackluster sales does not in itself create cause for concern. Maybe they do not buy into what the forum seems to but then they are armed with plenty of research and studies.
Chrysler in particular stands alone at this point (given recent events) in keeping its finger on the pulse of the public.

 

... I guess I don't really care if Chrysler continues to build these cars. I already got mine brand spankin' new, don't plan to sell it, and don't plan to buy another one!

 

I'm in danger of going off topic now, but I have to defend Merkur's quality both the Xr4ti and Scorpio are great cars when you compare them to other cars of their era...my '88 XR is a daily driver, will eat 5 liters all day, gets great gas mileage and is pretty darn crash worthy (personal experience unfortunately).
And I totally agree with the comment about Toyotas...look at the mid 80's Celica's....UGLY.

 

I must admit that I find this site amusing. When did the allure of a specialty car become so intertwined with its resale value. I purchased a Crossfire for my daughter to commute from UCLA to our home in central California and am of the opinion that it is just wonderful. It replaced a 122,000 mile BMW 318ti which was purchased new for $24,000 and sold for $4,000.00. Its market value during our term of ownership had never entered my mind. The BMW was remarkably trouble free and worth every penny. I was just uncomfortable with my daughter driving a 122,000 mile car. The Crossfire is a Mercedes Benz SLK with a cute body and is a lot of car for the money. The reality is that cars depreciate and no original purchaser of any of the collectible cars mentioned in this thread ever had resale in mind when they bought them. They bought them because they were fast or went around corners well or just looked great. They drove them for awhile until something faster, or cooler came along and then dumped them for the latest and greatest. All present Crossfire owners have a pretty nice specialty car which they may or may not have been able to afford without the deep discounts. My unsolicited advice is to revel in this good fortune and enjoy an inexpensive entry into the elite arena of exotic vehicle ownership. The opportunity may not come again.

 

This topic seems to come up often. If you want to buy a car for good resale and not gamble, don't get something that is brand new to the consumer until you think it meets your standards. I agree with most of you, the majority of us didn't buy this car for resale. Just buy what you enjoy and don't try to justify it to anyone. You can never make everyone happy!
One thing I was wondering about Chrysler, when I was at the Detroit auto show, I seem to remember that there were 3 crossfires in their display. Were they trying to get more exposure for them so they can sell the cars that are sitting in the lots, or maybe trying to create more interest to maybe build them longer?

 

Well said. 99% of cars depreciate, period. Do not delude yourself into thinking this is an appreciating investment cause it isn't. What it is a whole lot of fun to drive!

 

I've been very fortunate to always have been able to buy new cars. I buy them new and drive them until they start to fall apart. I don't worry about resale; by the time I sell my cars they are so old and worn that they go cheap. In the meantime, I enjoy the snot out of them...

 

I agree Puckster, very well put. I don't think I ever bought a new car thinking about how much resale value I would have when it came time to unload it. Besides, I usually put to many miles on my cars to ever expect much resale anyway.
I plan on keeping our Crossfire for a long time, but who knows, something else could come out tomorrow to make me change my mind. Still, the Crossfire is so much like my very first brand new car (that I still have) maybe it's just the "type" of car I'm most comfortable with.