Hello everyone, thank you for looking.
My son (23) is really keen on buying a Crossfire Coupe and keeps sending me links to ones he fancies, so I was planning on going with him to take a look at one or two.

I'm good at checking the obvious, like rust, dinks, scratches, tyres, caliper rust, underbody, general overall cleanliness of the engine compartment, pipe joints, etc, and all of the ones he is showing me have full service histories and low mileage.

Any advice on what to look out for in terms of potential problems later on?
I guess I'm thinking of things like steering, brakes, suspension. Do any of these, or other areas, have tell-tale signs to look out for?

I will go up and down the forum to gain as much information as I can for myself, but I'm guessing owners are the best source of expertise.

Thank you. philchave

 

Be certain it comes with two functioning keys.

 

Check vin numbers for recall on drivers air bag replacement; only some where effected.
Open door and look under door at rubber seal for rust.
Take it for a drive; wing up at 65, down at 45. Use the s/w switch on the automatic and run through the gears manually.
Check to see if anti theft alarm/siren functions when red patch on key FOB is pushed; applies only on North American sold cars.
If you have a diagnostic scanner plug it in and scan the car as a Mercedes 2004 slk 320 (it is an AMG slk 32 if supercharged) Stored codes? active codes?
There is a large plastic pan under the engine. Is it clean?
Run the A/C and heater.
If it is a roadster has the rear window been replaced or the entire top? Window is a know issue.
I would check the area under the rear trunk for water. There are several methods; check it out via the search box upper right on the forum.
Ask if the sticky key fix has been completed and search for it using the box upper right. RCM soldered or replaced? Crankshaft Position Sensor original? Search CPS.
These cars run well and the engine is very durable, but you have to be willing to do most of the work yourself, as they are an orphan child to both Chrysler and Mercedes; Best bet if you must is to use an independent garage that specializes in Mercedes.

 

If your 23 year old son wants one of these cars he either needs a big bank account to pay for repairs and maintenance or a big set of tools and mechanical ability to take care of and work on one of these things himself. If he has neither, he should look for a different car. There's a reason these cars are so cool and yet can generally be found really cheap with low miles compared to lots of others.

 

ZIP439 has given an excellent summary of what to look for, These cars are expensive to repair if they have problems. However, they are very reliable. I have owned a 2005 roadster since 2014 and have spent about $1500 on repairs from a reputable independent repair shop. Tires are expensive and wear out quickly.. DIY repairs are easier due to this website. USE IT!

 

Watch for flood damage.
Lots of flooded/insurance cars on the market. This car and water don’t work well together

and it was stated a few threads earlier. Get one with 2 key fobs.

 

Zip439 put together one of the better & concise "what to look for" aspects when buying a Crossfire. Well Done! My input above just clarified several of the issues that existed but not in all model years. And I've probably missed a few.

 

Then make sure that, if the recall is valid for the particular car you are looking at has already been done.

If you buy the car and take it to a dealer for the recall, be prepared for two possible outcomes:

1) They screw up the car and cant get it fixed. (They can mess up anything when tearing into the car - including the Air Conditioning).
2) They find "non-covered safety issues not covered by warranty"; this will cost you. Only the airbag replacement is covered, if they find any issue that is 'safety related", depending on where you live, they can hold the car until you agree to pay up.

Others have encountered both issues.

 

When I had the Takata Airbag replaced on my 2007 Coupe (I took it to the local dealer after they ordered the new airbag, received it & notified me that they had it), the 1st thing the Service Advisor did was open my driver's door & connect to the OBD2. I asked what he was doing and he said he was looking for any codes so they could address those issues while the car was in service. I told him that there were not any codes (I checked for these before I left the house) & told him to get the hell out of my car! Just replace the air bag, which was what I was there for & nothing else.

Now when the work was completed (which took about an hour or so), I was paged over the intercom that my car was ready. When I approached the Service Advisor, he told me my car was parked outside along the side of the building just outside of the 1st garage door. After signing paper work, I walked to my car & the Service Tech that performed the airbag replacement was waiting for me by the car. He told me he wanted to make sure I got the car & drove it away. Said he didn't want to leave it in the normal customer area as he knew I took good care of the car by the way it looked (inside & out). Really I nice guy, one of 2 Crossfire-trained Service Techs on staff and we talked for a few minutes. He no longer works at that dealership & I know they got rid of all their Crossfire-related tooling as they didn't want to service these cars other than simple stuff (e.g., oil change). Not sure I would trust them to do that service!

 

Great story.

But this conclusion is what I hope newcomers to this site really catch on to.

 

Where are you located to shop? I have an 05 NA coupe, auto trans, factory red with lots of up to date maintenance items (brakes, rotors, headliner, oil catch can, tires, etc.) that I'm thinking of selling. I'm 83 years young and just don't drive like I used to. Car is in excellent condition, inside and out. If you think you might be interested give me a note here, or a private message.

Jim