Hi everyone!

Just signed up here because I've taken an interest in possibly buying a Crossfire. I always liked them, and remember considering one instead of the '07 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT I wound up buying new instead. (That turned out to be a mistake, since the Eclipse started having some engine problems in the first year, plus I just found I wasn't enjoying the car as much as I had hoped to. The fact it was front-wheel drive was one thing.... since I guess in my mind, that always made it a "fake sports car" of sorts.)

Anyway, fast-forwarding to the present? I stumbled across a few dealer listings for various used 2004 and 2005 Crossfires and realized their prices really weren't all that bad anymore -- even with relatively low mileage.

I didn't see a single SRT-6 though, until one just popped up for sale at a dealership yesterday. It's a red 2005 with just under 40K miles on it. The dealer *just* listed it on their website though, so the asking price isn't even available yet. It did, however, let me do a complimentary CarFax on it, which reports everything clean *except* one accident that apparently happened about 6 months ago. It say it was a front end collision.

I imagine with 7 year old cars, you're going to have a lot of them that have been in at least a minor fender-bender before -- but it's unfortunate I can't get any more details on just how bad this accident was.

If the car looks and drives ok, and the dealer isn't asking a price that's way out of line, I think I may want to trade off my '07 Jeep Patriot 4x4 towards this thing!

Any advice from SRT-6 owners, in general? Can I reasonably expect to drive one of these as a daily driver to/from work (about 15 miles each way) and use it to run errands and such? Or do most of these have somewhat low mileage because they're just not that reliable or well-suited to such things? It sure seems like they didn't hold their original value too well over the years -- so I'm wondering if there's a "catch".

 

First off welcome to the forum.

The "catch" is its not Mercedes nor Chrysler and was produced in somewhat small numbers for a very limited time. They werent publicized much either.

Regarding the one your wanting to look at... I would bring a mechanic or take it to a shop to have it checked for frame damage. It may look and drive good for now, but you will be hating life down the road cause it seems like they got in a crash and immediately traded it or sold it.

Good luck with whatever happens, even the NA is a quick go get em machine.

 

Thanks for the quick reply and welcome!

What you're saying makes sense.... I may just be smarter looking at the regular Crossfire Coupes instead of trying to get an SRT-6, anyway. I found one of those nearby with a completely clean CarFax, only 1 owner, and all maintenance records (since it was all done at the same dealer they traded it in at).

Just from what I read on old Motor Trend reviews and the like, though? It sounded like reviewers generally thought the non SRT-6 version of this car lacked "about 50HP" to be really fun or sporty?

How are the insurance rates on one of these? Do they really run up the rates because of the SRT-6 designation, or are all of these fairly inexpensive to insure these days (due to their age, etc.)?

 

First off, welcome to the forum! Secondly, there were no red SRT-6 models that came from the factory (it doesn't mean this one wasn't painted). Check under the hood and look for the supercharger (you'll see SRT-6). Look to see if it has a fixed wing or if it is retractable (you cannot miss the SRT-6 wing).

SRT-6 will definitely give you a kick in the pants when you hit the accelerator. The N/A (non-supercharged model) still has nice acceleration and handles quite well.

 

Look on ebay or car.com or autotrader. You may have to drive a bit to see the car, but there are quite a few srt 6/s to be had.

 

Welcome.
I drove an NA for 3 yrs. It was a 6spd car and a few easy mods added 50hp and it was a riot to drive.
I think you would do well with either one.
Prices vary greatly so shop around.

 

Welcome, I had a somewhat similar situation where I was about to purchase a Crossfire but ended up in an 07 Mitsubishi Galant Ralliart, which is exactly the same as the Eclipse GT (engine, drivetrain, suspension, etc) except with 2 extra doors. I felt the same way about the FWD, even with the 260hp... I now drive a 6 speed N/A coupe and love it... its also lighter than both the Galant and Eclipse which really lowers the disparity between the two hp ratings... and as The Beep says, there are a couple mods that will get the hp up pretty quick

 

Hi itsky. Another differentiator between the NA and SRT-6 is the front chin spoiler to help maintain downforce. Cheers!

 

And the wheels....
NA's have 7 spoke ( except the 'Special Edition' ), SRT6's have many more spokes and are polished, not silver painted.

 

All of this info is great. Thanks guys!

I wasn't aware that the SRT-6 Crossfires never came in red. I did a Google search on the VIN number listed for the one I saw for sale, and sure enough -- it showed up as previously listed on eBay for sale as a blue vehicle, and was even referenced a couple of times (back in the 2009 time frame) on this forum! It's definitely been re-painted. (I suspect as part of whatever repairs were done after the accident it was in.)

The dealer selling it got back with me and offered me an "Internet special price" of around $15,800 for it. Given the fact it has the wrong paint color and was wrecked before, and clearly had at least 4 previous owners, I'm going to avoid it.

I suspected there was an active "modding" community around here, even for the NA Crossfires, but I haven't had the time to read enough to learn much about all of it yet. You say 50HP is achievable with simple mods? That would probably be enough to make me happy. What kind of additional expense are we talking about though? I've modded quite a few cars in the past, and my experience has almost always been the same. Unless the car is turbocharged, the best "bang for the buck" has always been a custom tune. (Doubly so if an automatic transmission computer can be reprogrammed as part of it to improve the shift points!) Otherwise, you constantly run into the old story about needing to upgrade the intake and exhaust (quickly getting you up over $1,000 - $2,000), only to gain a total of around 10-15 HP, possibly only high in the RPM range at that.

 

For the NA :
1. Needswings single CAI ( @ $450 )
2. 74mm throttle body ( $85 - $225 )
3. EuroTune ( on sale now, but usually @ $400- $500 )
4. Borla or Magnaflow cat back - ( good for the sound, don't do much, if anything for HP )
( Needswings has the MagnaFlow on sale at $500, about a $120 discount )
5. Under drive pulley set - I don't know too much about this.

Check the thread on the turbo project - that's about $3500

PS : There is a Chinese rip-off cat back now available in the $200-$250 range, but I have seen no reports on anyone trying it.

Where are you located ? Might be a member nearby to talk to.

 

kingtj,

I think you are making the right decision in staying away from this RED SRT-6. I don't think the price fits a car with 40k miles, a front end collision on its belt, multiple owners, and RED repaint.

I got my SSB (Sapphire Silver Blue) SRT-6 coupe about 3 months ago for $18500 - only 5,700 miles and no accidents. It was well taken care of with 1 previous owner.

Good luck!

 

A red SRT, huh? Someone let FUBU know we found his second car! All jokes aside, we have an N/A roadster and a SRT-6 coupe. The N/A will annihilate the SRT in cornering, but not a straight line. The gearing is better suited in the N/A for enthusiastic cornering, where the SRT can have a problem bleeding off speed. But I wont give up the 6 for anything, even if I'm a bit too big to be riding in it for extended periods of time!

 

Well, things are slightly more interesting with that SRT-6 in town. I got a follow-up phone call from the dealership's sales manager, and found out a few things.

First of all, he claims the car is actually silver, not red. He says all of the descriptions claiming it's red on their website and on other sites advertising for them was a misprint. I asked him if I could take a look at it after work, but was told they actually have it in for some service work right now, so can't show it to me right away.

I'm still pretty sure I want to avoid this car ... but they wanted to know when I might be available "after the middle of this week" to come see it. So I guess they really do plan on getting it ready for resale before much longer.

On the other hand, while doing all kinds of Internet searches for more of these cars, I've noticed a definite trend. Most dealers seem to try to sell a Crossfire convertible of any type or year for around $20-25K initially, assuming low mileage and clean condition. Then it will sit on their lot at that asking price for at least 30 days. Then they get motivated to offer a price reduction, and as soon as they shave another $3,500-4,500 off whatever they asked initially? The car sells in 24-48 hours.

It appears the same generally goes for Crossfire coupes, although with a situation where low-mileage clean ones will start a little bit lower priced (say $18,995 or something) and sell with a snap of the fingers if they do a price drop to more like $14,995.

The only ones below the $14K price point that still sit on lots for 30+ days seem to be high mileage (say 90,000 miles plus). For example, I saw one that's been on a lot for over 45 days at a price under $10K, but it has 180,000 miles or so on it.

My search continues though, currently with the idea in my head that what I'd *really* like to have is a Crossfire SRT-6 convertible -- though they're exceedingly difficult to find for sale at dealerships. (And honestly, I'd want to do a trade-in and financing for it, so way too much hassle for me to try to buy from an individual and sell the Jeep, paying off its existing loan.)

 

Math: 928 SRT6 roadsters sold worldwide.

Odds of your finding one at a traditional dealership that takes trade-ins: Slim to none.

If you really, really want one you will be sad for settling on something else. I drove an N/A coupe for about a year and loved it but continued lusting for the 6 and waited for the right deal. Save your pennies, be ready to move when the right one appears as a private party sale.

 

get what you want, as you won't enjoy it if you don't. We could argue the points of this being better than that all day long, but it is you that needs to be satisfied. Any dealer that wouldn't show you a car that is being worked on is hiding something. A sale is a sale. I would put either of my SRT up against any N/A in any cornering situation any day. Just have to get use to the auto stick for hard cornering. The ride will be stiffer, more harsh in the SRT 6, especially the roadster. She was build just a bit stiffer being a convertable. Good luck with your hunt, but buy what you like... You should get into a coupe in the 15k range, the roadsters will be more....I love both mine...

 

Am I the only one who caught this or did I not read the whole thread?
Unless somebody painted an Srt or swaped parts with an NA, red wasnt an option for the SRT. I would check close, weve seen some "fakes" on the forum and some dealers just throwing badges on any type of car calling it a limited edition. Take some pictures of the red one and someone on here can confirm if its a true Srt or not

 

You missed it ! itsky said :

First off, welcome to the forum! Secondly, there were no red SRT-6 models that came from the factory (it doesn't mean this one wasn't painted).

 

Black SRT-6 coupe with unknown mileage for sale in Winter Park, FL for $10,990. We have a N/A Roadster in Classic Yellow(KimPossible) and a Graphite SRT-6(me) coupe that you could probably test drive, if you live anywhere close, though it doesn't sound like it. Roadsters are for sale at countless dealerships in the Orlando area.

 

When I was searching, I found a 05 Gray 2-owner LTD Roadster with 28K and clean carfax for $13.9. Of course I'ld have to fly out to get it but didn't want that color and was really Jones'n for a 6.
Other dealers were routinely coming off their asking price by $3-4K.

The key here is to be patient and ready to pounce (and fly) when you see your girl.
Happy hunting.