I'm thinking of buying a Chrysler Crossfire..........

[eclectic]

Originally Posted by garcon

So you've ruled out Mercs and MX5s on basically car snob grounds, but we're the snobs?

Why not an MX5? For that budget it really is your best choice for a proper driver's car.

If you can find one, how about a 200SX?

No, not snobbery, I just think that Mercedes has lost its way, the SLK is beyond my budget for a good one and I like the Crossfire styling, (now that remark will probably have me ducking behind the parapet!).

BUT......................, perhaps the attempted 'merger of equals' with Chrysler was too much of a distraction from their core engineering skills?

MX5? Sorry if I summarily dismissed them, I think they are great, but I was looking for other ideas that might have slipped me by.

Are Crossfires really that awful? Built in Germany by Karmann on an SLK chassis?

Only reply to that if you have actually driven one please!

[eclectic]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

You could have compacted that into "It's American"

But it isn't!

Its as Merc platform and was built by Karmann in Germany, apparently.

[eclectic]

Originally Posted by JHamilton

OMG I just read this. DO NOT BUY A CROSSFIRE. If you want a similar experience with better build quality, find yourself a nice Lada Riva.

Did you own one then?

[garcon]

Originally Posted by eclectic

No, not snobbery, I just think that Mercedes has lost its way, the SLK is beyond my budget for a good one and I like the Crossfire styling, (now that remark will probably have me ducking behind the parapet!).

BUT......................, perhaps the attempted 'merger of equals' with Chrysler was too much of a distraction from their core engineering skills?

MX5? Sorry if I summarily dismissed them, I think they are great, but I was looking for other ideas that might have slipped me by.

Are Crossfires really that awful? Built in Germany by Karmann on an SLK chassis?

Only reply to that if you have actually driven one please!

Fair points.

If you want something vaguely interesting for under ten grand you're right that Merc probably isn't your best bet!

MX5 is the 'obvious' choice - and my own car history shows a consistent aversion to that.

[grantp]

Originally Posted by eclectic

But it isn't!

Its as Merc platform and was built by Karmann in Germany, apparently.

Iirc when it was introduced it was based on the platform before the then current SLK which was, at the time, a relatively old design.

So as a then 'modern' car it perhaps lacked a little engineering credibility. Now, some years down the road, that may not matter so much.

No matter who built it I suspect it is reasonable to assume that the specs were aimed at the US market to fit with what Chrysler represented and so the overall feel of the thing would have been Americanised.

However I have never owned or driven one, so my comments may hold little weight.

One problem, however, might be parts availability.

Some years ago I bought a VX Senator. a '93 model, 4 years old when I got it. Great thing but expensive bits started to fail at around 150k miles and at 175k quite a few of the 'features' were playing up and a rear wheel arch was getting rusty.

I liked it enough to consider a refurb project but when I heard stories about basic components becoming unavailable - wheel bearings and the like - I thought better of it.

There were, apparently, about 25k Senators sold in the UK and many more on the continent (as Opels of course). Yet within a handful of years of it being discontinued and despite being the product of a mass manufacturer parts availability was a problem and, being reputed as a large luxury car, its value had sunk to very little.

So I chopped it for an Omega which could have been a nice car but was actually mechanically a pile of junk. Such is progress.

Sometimes the reality of a cheapish older 'fun' car is not as good as it may seem.

I got about 75k miles out of both the Senator and the Omega but the Omega had 40k fewer miles on the clock to start with and cost a lost more to keep on the road during my time of ownership.

Whether the same issues of parts availabiity would apply to a Crossfire used as a fun car I don't know. Sometimes low mileages create as much replacement stress as high mileages. I think I would do some checking though before taking a plunge.

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by eclectic

No, not snobbery, I just think that Mercedes has lost its way, the SLK is beyond my budget for a good one and I like the Crossfire styling, (now that remark will probably have me ducking behind the parapet!).

A woman at work has just bought an 04 plate 230SLK for around £3K

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by eclectic

Did you own one then?

No I had a coworker that had a SRT6 for several years. He loved it. I hated it and thought that it embodied everything that was wrong with Chrysler and Merc during that time. Maybe I am being wistful, but there were just too many better options for the same (or less) money 7-8 years ago.

The interior though... jeebus

[eclectic]

Originally Posted by Tim Falce

A woman at work has just bought an 04 plate 230SLK for around £3K

That sounds good, high or low mileage?

[Tim Falce]

Originally Posted by eclectic

That sounds good, high or low mileage?

I think it was around the 100K+ mark although it does need a boot respray due to an estranged wife marking it slightly.

[GORDON STREETER]

I've got a woman customer with an 03 plate SLK that has done less than 20k that she has had from new. WHY ?

The main problem with buying "oddfish" cars is the availability of parts as the aftermarket won't cater for them apart from filters and brake pads etc.
The major car manufacturers only guarantee spares for 10 years.

[Adam43]

Merc are pretty good with the spares. Obviously not everything for anything is available immediately, but there shouldn't be a problem. Especially with that model.

[GORDON STREETER]

Merc are good for their spares because they don't change the mechanical parts much between the newer models as they come out.
Some of the parts have run for 30 plus years, if it ain't f****d don't fix it

[GORDON STREETER]

Back in the late 60s when I ran a garage with my brother we had a 230SL Pagoda that had seen better days and used it as a vehicle for collecting spares.
I happened to see on a site the other day an advert for a genuine MB new front grill for one, just short of 3 grand !!!!

[garcon]

If you still had that 230SL Pagoda and cleaned it up a bit, you could sell it and buy another villa!

[GORDON STREETER]

Originally Posted by garcon

If you still had that 230SL Pagoda and cleaned it up a bit, you could sell it and buy another villa!

The way things are at the moment property-wise I could buy two or three !

[SALEEN S7R]

What about a Nissan 350z? Super fast car and lots around for under £10k. Either that or a Mazda RX8? Other than that there are plenty of other fast cars around, although hot hatches like the Focus ST, Clio 200 cup, Megane etc.

[eclectic]

I was at the car auctions yesterday at Ingliston, Edinburgh. A very quiet sale day, few cars and fewer buyers.

An 06 Mazda RX8 50,000 miles, engine light on on dashboard, missing a repeater indicator light, with mot until august was unsold at £1,100!

[mountainstar]

Originally Posted by eclectic

I was at the car auctions yesterday at Ingliston, Edinburgh. A very quiet sale day, few cars and fewer buyers.

An 06 Mazda RX8 50,000 miles, engine light on on dashboard, missing a repeater indicator light, with mot until august was unsold at £1,100!

Sounds like a Wheeler Dealers deal to me. You could have bought that and fixed a few problems and then flipped it for a profit.

[JHamilton]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Sounds like a Wheeler Dealers deal to me. You could have bought that and fixed a few problems and then flipped it for a profit.

I love that show.

[garcon]

Originally Posted by mountainstar

Sounds like a Wheeler Dealers deal to me. You could have bought that and fixed a few problems and then flipped it for a profit.

Possibly.

Or you could have been stuck a grand or more deep into a lemon that needed another five or six grand spent on it (or more).

If the seals are properly gone on that engine, it's beyond repair. New engine or break it.

[Knowlesy]

Originally Posted by GORDON STREETER

[IMG][/IMG]
Well for £400 what a steal ! I think I'll keep it for a while as they aren't worth a fortune but terrific to drive

This will be my first car. I adore them.

[GORDON STREETER]

It handles and goes well, more to the point it's 100% reliable, the only downside is that it hasn't got power steering which could be a minus if I want to sell it.
A good car for no money !

[b1ackcr0w]

Originally Posted by Knowlesy

This will be my first car. I adore them.

Owned a Black SE one of them. Wonderful, wonderful things. Worth every sneering hairdresser comment, worth having no luggage capacity. Changing gear is miraculously transformed from a mechanical action into an almost sexual experience.

[Adam43]

They are just fun.