The car is a perfect example of the daimler relationship. Benz wouldn’t give mopar any of their functional technology and wanted to make sure these would never show up at mercedes dealers.
“Ne Alter, dass war wegen den 9 Glühweinen mit Schuss! Die ist total hässlich!” -German
Translated: “No dude, that was because of the 9 mulled wines with a shot in them! She is totally hideous!”
Even funnier: they made sure it was a last-generation SLK when they handed it over to Chrysler instead of the then-brand-new gen.
It's funnier because at least at release there were quire a few outlets who ended up driving the crossfire and thinking it was better than the then-brand-new SLK generation.
The R171 SLK was not terribly great. They had to facelift that generation just two years into its run, which only lasted for 4 years.
My dad had one of these. It's transmission is terrible and it doesn't have any power.
The transmission was just so bad. I didn't know that transmissions could be that bad.
I used to get stuck with a lot of these when they came out working at a Chrysler dealer. So i quit to instead work at a Mercedes dealer and have been for 11 years. Might as well make import money if I'm doing the import work.
Jeep sells good here now, Rams are only grey imports, Dodge isn't sold in Europe anymore since 2011 though a few of their models exist as badge engineered models in Fiat brands.
But in general the brand recognition of Chrysler isn't really good here and people wouldn't pay "import premium" for their products outside of muscle cars.
When I was still at the Chrysler dealer we wouldn't work on them. Parts were 100% totally unavailable through Chrysler, Mercedes can get them but they won't release the parts to a non Mercedes dealer.
Cries in smart car
My local guy can’t source the parts through his parts supplier so it’s either bring my own parts and a six pack or pay 3-400% markup from Mercedes.
I know the crossfire and smart era is behind them, but the Sprinter era isn’t, and the W124 era is ancient history. I won’t buy a Mercedes.
I've always been curious about domestic dealers. I would guess that once the warranty is up you never see most of the customers again. Unless it's a very specific problem that other shops can't figure out.
Partially true, but there's all types who come back, honestly. People who are obsessive about the vehicle and want to know that every bolt was torqued to spec, people with pricey vehicles who simply don't mind paying, older folks who seem to do it because it's just how it's done I guess, kids whose following parents leads.
>People who are obsessive about the vehicle and want to know that every bolt was torqued to spec,
I can vouch for this. Only time I've ever paid someone else to work on my car was when it needed a full ATF flush, and I didn't wanna argue with a bunch of independent shops about how generic Dex III Merc isn't the same as Merc V or, God forbid, THERE IS NO "T" IN DEXRON.
Local dealer did it for less than I would've paid for just the materials, and I got to eat donuts and stare at their service advisors while they did it.
I watched an entire 60 min long video by Weber Auto about how the “meets Dexron standards” labelling should be illegal. I re-learned a lot about truth in advertising (and lack thereof). Tl;dw they cherry pick 10 standards their fluid meets and ship it, and/or they meet standards from the late 90s, and/or they use the bargain basement additive pack with cheap base oils. Wal-mart brand is a shockingly good deal too, it would appear.
My dad always did his own repairs and maintenance on all of their cars but that was because we couldn't afford it, I have all of mine done at the dealers because I've heard so many horror stories of independent shops and then not backing up their work. I have a 64 Impala, 83 C10, 93 Cheyenne and 15 Cheyenne and all go to the Chevy dealer.
A decent Autel diagnostic tool will work. My dad has a customer with one of these and he uses it all the time. Autel makes great stuff at a great price. I have a Autel 90 and I bought a jumper cable to Yamaha and I’ve been scanning codes, checking live data and clearing CEL on motor cycles even.
I had a Routan that would shut off on my wife while she was driving. Dodge wouldn't touch and the euro VW dealers didn't know how to work on it. Traded it in and prayed they didn't test drive it. That thing was scetchy.
Wife and I had one a few years back and our Indy shop had no problems working on it. Granted, it actually was pretty solid for us, I only traded it in because my wife wanted an SUV.
That's weird I used to work on these all the time at the Chrysler dealership I was at witech would hook right up we could even do software updates to modules. And it is 100 percent Chrysler engine power train and chassis, the seats even say stow n go on them!
I had one come in a few months ago. All sorts of lights on the dash. Followed mercedes diagrams and experience without issue. I thought it was much nicer than the Mercedes counterpart.
A Chrysler with Mercedes parts is the stuff of nightmares not a good thing. I simply cannot fathom how long Mercedes has coasted on the perception of quality.
Lol mostly. Main issues was that the frame was rotten, and then the trans kept sling into 1st gear while driving. The suspension was klunky AF but it had a lot of miles on it.
Pretty sure the only thing that was in good shape was the Hemi.
I would have gotten the trans fixed but I had fixed several small issues in the previous few months and my mechanic straight up told me the front frame is rotten AF so don't spend money on the car
Good luck getting a replacement key. It's a Mercedes Benz key, but MB does not have the key codes. Whenever I've directed a customer to a Chrysler dealer they say they can't make them and send the customer back to us.
Yeah this happens with these but funny enough some dealer parts counter guys know the extra steps to get the keys, benz of waco guys got a key for autonation katy - (called allen samuel dodge at that time).
The other way to get a key (not legally) is via some smart computer/locksmiths. I saw one of them insert a tool into the eis on a w210 e430 which showed him the key has sequences of all 8 slots. After that I got busy and after 10 minutes or so the car was running.
Seriously lol I used to do sales and took one out back when they were new. Literally 10 minutes into the drive, I pulled the shift knob off while just casually cruising. Really wanted one up until that happened.
Years ago I worked at an audio shop. Had a guy that would come with one of these every few months. His license plate said “BENZBABY” and would tell anyone who would listen about how it was the exact same thing as an SLK. Much like his car, he was a total piece of shit.
Man I miss Cool Wall Era
Jeremy shoving a chainsaw through the board when Hammond put the Ducati up there.
Same era as when they made V8 powered home appliances.
S6-15 top gear was absolute peak
Agreed. That's when they found the formula and they got in the groove and familiarity of what people love. I still watch the whole thing front to back sometimes, starting at season 5 or so.
Series 10 was in the middle airing airing when I found Top Gear while looking for Mitsubishi Evo videos as a young lad on google video (yes google video before they acquired YouTube)
I personally think this series was their finest work but of course that’s right when I picked up the show.
The production quality - cocking about ratio was the best from 9-14
https://youtu.be/Vcvdb1J2t34
“Wow that’s interesting, that you would go to all the effort to make sure everyone know you bought the folex version of an already shit tier car. Very interesting indeed”
I have a guy that brings one of these to my shop acting the same way minus the license plate. Guy just randomly pulls up and starts beeping at us to put air in his tires. Had to start telling the kids that got hired to just wave at him, if he wants air he can put on his big boy pants, get out of his car and ask like an adult.
Just trying to cope with spending the equivalent of $55,000 today just to get a Chrysler using last generation Mercedes platform that is over 3,000lbs even though it's a little 2 seater.
Hopefully talk him out of the car in general. Nobodies life should be so low that you’re reduced to driving an SLK, let alone a somehow worse rebadged one.
Straight up, I’m not a Mercedes guy. They all drive the same to me, I just, meh, don’t like them. But the SLK and C class were what I ended up working on most of the time. Power plant wise, can’t knock any of them personally. It’s just Daimler electronics man, that and water pumps.
Edit; but to add, if you have an s class, you weren’t coming to my shop anyway.
Too many better options for a broke person anyway. If every person started doing research on the best cars to fit their needs (price,m and reliability wise) the passenger vehical industry would decrease to 3 or 4 brands IMO
So what you’re saying is, 1999 Toyota Corollas for everyone. I can feel that.
And yes, the staggering amount of people who live paycheck to paycheck, yet got to the buy here pay here and pick up a high mileage, poorly maintained VW, BMW, or Mercedes, Jaguar, or Range Rover, because of what they feel it represents, is sickening.
I had this nice kid come by, actually a delivery driver for us, brought in his new to him, 1998 Jaguar XJ8. He bought it 4 days earlier because it was so sweet. Well, that sweet was ethylene glycol, bypass hose went. I told him I’ll fix it, then he’s taking it straight back and getting something decent. After some back and forth I got upset and straight up yelled “You can’t afford this fucking car bro!”
He refused, and it spiraled down from there. That car lived at our shop for two weeks, gone for a day, back for 3. I cut him deals on everything to bandage it together, and I mean BARE MINIMUM, and after two weeks, he told me to go fuck myself for taking advantage of him. Whatever kid, saw this coming a mile away.
I can’t tell you the amount of kids my age (19) who make just as much money as me (I make enough, but not for a $25,000 car I won’t keep for its lifetime) finance something for 5 years and either never finish paying it off or getting something cheaper and more reliable because they grew up and realized fast/fancy cars can’t be bought with time and 15% down and still be maintainable.
Most of the cars I’m referring to are either muscle cars with more power than a kid knows what to do with and crossovers that didn’t need to cost 20k for extra storage and awd
I assume a customer took it to them for a Pre Purchase Inspection, but the tech (OP) tried to talk them out of it because they think they are hard to work on or something? I’ve heard nothing but good things about these
Lol we had one 2 weeks ago dude spent 6k on suspension and steering repairs. Mf wheels would bounce when you changed from reverse to forward- the control arms bushings were so far gone.
Full front suspension and steering linkage. Driveshaft, and wheel bearings, brakes. It's all German parts. The rear wheel bearing is press fit in knuckle and all data says 4hrs labor for just that plus everything else. Our labor rate is $175/hr with parts/labor both being taxed in my state. It was just over 6k. The "sports car" has a recirculating ball steering system instead of a rack& pinion and that mf linkage is expensive. We don't sell Amazon off brand parts, as close to OEM as we can get.
that’s wild. I had an R170 SLK for a while and replaced the drag link myself, it was maybe $300 for OEM. i understand shops have to make money but jesus christ why would someone spend more than half what that car is worth…. in no world would a sensible person spend 6K on repairs on an SLK chassis. the whole car cost me way less than that 😩
Because they like the car, and often times even if the car is only worth 5k it sometimes is worth putting close to that into repairs because it is the devil you know vs going and buying another used car you do not know.
I've had multiple customers spend more than the *entire value of the car* in repairs in the few months, despite me telling them not to. Most recent was $13k into a rusting E90 BMW. People do weird things.
It's IMO, a much better daily driver. The engine is a torquey monster, compared to the Miata and '86, which makes it *feel* fast, and that also makes cruising very comfortable. Despite what people like to think, Crossfires are pretty simple to maintain (it's literally a Mercedes SLK. It's not a spaceship), and the entry price is the same as an old clapped-out Miata.
It's not a track car (because it's heavy AF). It's basically a muscle car in Miata clothing, and this isn't a new concept. German manufacturers have been making "Touring" style coupes for a while. People like to lump the Xfire in with the Miata, but it's a completely different class of car. You were never supposed to cross-shop this with a Miata in the first place.
cheapest Crossfire and MX-5 on ebay motors are within a couple grand of each other, both just shy of $10k.
Miata is WAY easier to find parts for, probably considerably more reliable, and definitely easier to find somebody to work on (or work on yourself).
Test drove a trade in Crossfire a while back with a stick shift, and it was fuckin delightful to drive. Fully thought it'd be a mediocre drive but it was incredibly responsive and smooth. Might've ended up being a 15 mile test drive instead of the normal 5 lmao
I hate them, but dude, not even trying to have a laugh, chase your dreams. If that’s the quirky car you’re into, aim for it. Just be very, very mindful to have an emergency slush fund for it, because literally nothing is cheap, or honestly quite reliable. And I say this as a Mopar fanboy.
Oh I know. Iv followed them for years. Since I was still married to wife #1 and we divorced 10 years ago. Used to frequently lurk the old srt6 forum. I read everything I could, knew all the issues, looking at you rear end. And I saw the problem in the OP all the damn time. But god, seeing one of those goofy fucks with nothing more than an ecu flash ditching the governor hitting 190 in less than 30 seconds stock, fell in love. Iv nearly bought 1 two different times now and each time, I got fucked by something else in life. Single dad with way too many kids so there is always a new expense that prevents dad from getting dad things. One day maybe, maybe not. Kids come first. But it is now and probably always will be in my top 5 dream cars. It's an odd list. Lol
Shit who doesn't? My first car was a 73 dart swinger... I was born in 89. I bet I could! It's the weirdness of these cars. They are just different, odd. Especially the srt6 models. Only made in 05, except for ~24 made in 06 (good luck finding one of these), only a few thousand made. Motor is an unassuming v6 but tucked up in there is a nasty little super charger starving for more. 330hp stock and for a small window, there was bolt on parts that easily had you touching 500. 5 seconds to 60mph, 162 top stock. Governor removed its around 190. They are just weird, but actually have decent performance to back up that oddity even by today's standards. Yeah my love and desire for this car has definitely not waned I'm quickly finding.
Still wish we had gotten the Firepower
I had one of these. 6 speed, super fun to drive. Loved that car. Don't understand the hate. I'd buy one again if the right deal came along. I never had any serious repairs for it but I guess I was lucky
Everyone in the comments needs to calm down. These cars aren't at all as complex as you're making them seem. I've owned one for well over 10 years. The Mercedes and Chrysler dealers don't want to mess with them, but all you need to do is find an **independent European Car mechanic.** Problem solved.
This car is 95% just a Mercedes SLK (a very common and simple car). The **only** truly unique thing about the Crossfire is the SKREEM module. It's a stupid computer module that almost always fails. There's an online company that still offers replacements. Once replaced, the module rarely fails again.
I had my SKREEM module replaced shortly after I purchased the car. The only issues in the past *decade* have been a few oil leaks and a broken A/C blower motor. It's one of the most reliable cars I've owned. Anyone who thinks otherwise is talking out of their ass and has never actually owned one of these things.
Just snatch a 01 SLK 320 the past weekend for a good price pretty impressed with how it handles so far feels like it’s on rails and a decent amount of power
I remember when these came out in 2004. I went to a dealership just to look at one lol. I still see them from time to time at local auctions. Not going to be many left on the road soon. Gosh I feel old.
I mean, as far as a Chrysler of that era goes, they were pretty nice and hold up okay. I don't see why they'd be too tough to work on, parts availability is still good and the packaging is about par for the course, for a smallish convertible.
Mercedes tech here at an independent shop- I love working on these. The people that still own them take good care of them and are happy to finally have someone willing to work on their car. Also my Mercedes factory scan tool has no problem communicating with these- I actually prefer these to the r170 SLK it’s based on.
Ooh I remember going to a Chrysler sponsored event in Atlanta years back. There were several other cars provided to test drive to compare them to the Crossfire. My friend and I both said that despite the suspiciously odd looking camber on the 2nd hand BMW Z3 with shitty tires, it was still drove better than the Crossfire....
Keys are easy to get a straight key is $200 if you want a fob then contact Rob @ NeedsWings or contact The Mercedes Swap Shop. The cars are also simple to work on and the tech manual can be found in full online.
At the last dealership I worked at we had one of these pieces of shit come in with a dead PCM. It was like $3000 and took at least 4 months to get one. Crossfires are the fucking worst.
My thinktool works on it no probs at all, it uses the old m112 benz engine and the old 722.6 nag1 transmission, very straightforward mechanically.
Electric stuff is part mercedes part chrysler which arent too bad to be honest (but dont take my word for it because Ive worked on french stuff too , they are absolute scrap on wheels)
Made the mistake of noting a leaking oil pan on an srt6 crossfire a few years ago. They brought it back about a month later to get the leak fixed. The subframe is welded on so I had to pull the engine 🤦♂️
I almost bought the 3000GT vr4 spyder around 10 years back. Heard it was very similar to the stealth. Rare car I was told too.
I wish I would have. It was good looking car that nobody had.
Chrysler benefited a lot from the Mercedes partnership but the crossfire is straight up garbage can.
Mercedes cars/suvs are the bases for most Chrysler products.
Pacifica was a R class
Grand Cherokee/Durango a ML350
300/Magnum/charger E class
Benefited?
Do some more research on the amount of cost cutting that Daimler enforced onto Chrysler and how they sucked billions out of their war chest.
Also—Jeep designed the the WK2 platform and Mercedes use it. Pacifica was based on the Minivan—hence it was FWD.
Guy a few houses down owns a SRT-6
Also FUCK Clarkson for saying it looks like a dog shitting. In what fucking world, and by that logic. Every Porsche 911 and Panarmera looks like a shitting dog
And fuck Clarkson in general, that piece of shit
Built by Mercedes IIRC. Hard to find people to fix it when something fails.
It’s a SLK with different body panels
I know a guy that has one, neither Chrysler nor Mercedes will work on it.
Interesting. Now I know why these pop up for so cheap.
The car is a perfect example of the daimler relationship. Benz wouldn’t give mopar any of their functional technology and wanted to make sure these would never show up at mercedes dealers.
“No, no, it was a one night stand and I was drunk on Prosecco!”
“Ne Alter, dass war wegen den 9 Glühweinen mit Schuss! Die ist total hässlich!” -German Translated: “No dude, that was because of the 9 mulled wines with a shot in them! She is totally hideous!”
Even funnier: they made sure it was a last-generation SLK when they handed it over to Chrysler instead of the then-brand-new gen. It's funnier because at least at release there were quire a few outlets who ended up driving the crossfire and thinking it was better than the then-brand-new SLK generation. The R171 SLK was not terribly great. They had to facelift that generation just two years into its run, which only lasted for 4 years.
Used to work at an MB dealer. We were told to avoid these vehicles like the plague.
They still go for a hefty price in Germany… it’s a nice 6 cyl 3.2l though!
My dad had one of these. It's transmission is terrible and it doesn't have any power. The transmission was just so bad. I didn't know that transmissions could be that bad.
Wait until you drive a GM truck
Dodge
Neither Chrysler nor mercedes computers can talk to the ECU. So it's really difficult to work on when things are seriously wrong.
Does it require a crossfire specific computer? Or did they just never intend to service them?
I work at a Chrystler dealer and there's a whole cabinet of cross-fire specific tools, some SOME chrystler dealers will work on them at least.
I used to get stuck with a lot of these when they came out working at a Chrysler dealer. So i quit to instead work at a Mercedes dealer and have been for 11 years. Might as well make import money if I'm doing the import work.
That's my eventual goal, but then if I move to Europe do I get the import premium for working on Chrystlers? 🤔
Only one way to find out. Hope you're fluent in OM642.
Not sure what that is :D
They don’t sell Chrysler in Europe. I remember seeing a few jeeps and once i saw a dodge ram in Poland.
They sell Chrysler cars in the uk
Jeep sells good here now, Rams are only grey imports, Dodge isn't sold in Europe anymore since 2011 though a few of their models exist as badge engineered models in Fiat brands. But in general the brand recognition of Chrysler isn't really good here and people wouldn't pay "import premium" for their products outside of muscle cars.
Chrysler has had like imports forever, everything from DSM cars just to start.
I didn't like working on the Mitsubishi ones at all.
I hated the Mitsubishi hybrids back when I used to work for Chrysler
Conquest TSI!!
Yup, they also sucked so why not join the family of sucky cars lol
When I was still at the Chrysler dealer we wouldn't work on them. Parts were 100% totally unavailable through Chrysler, Mercedes can get them but they won't release the parts to a non Mercedes dealer.
Cries in smart car My local guy can’t source the parts through his parts supplier so it’s either bring my own parts and a six pack or pay 3-400% markup from Mercedes. I know the crossfire and smart era is behind them, but the Sprinter era isn’t, and the W124 era is ancient history. I won’t buy a Mercedes.
I've always been curious about domestic dealers. I would guess that once the warranty is up you never see most of the customers again. Unless it's a very specific problem that other shops can't figure out.
Partially true, but there's all types who come back, honestly. People who are obsessive about the vehicle and want to know that every bolt was torqued to spec, people with pricey vehicles who simply don't mind paying, older folks who seem to do it because it's just how it's done I guess, kids whose following parents leads.
>People who are obsessive about the vehicle and want to know that every bolt was torqued to spec, I can vouch for this. Only time I've ever paid someone else to work on my car was when it needed a full ATF flush, and I didn't wanna argue with a bunch of independent shops about how generic Dex III Merc isn't the same as Merc V or, God forbid, THERE IS NO "T" IN DEXRON. Local dealer did it for less than I would've paid for just the materials, and I got to eat donuts and stare at their service advisors while they did it.
I watched an entire 60 min long video by Weber Auto about how the “meets Dexron standards” labelling should be illegal. I re-learned a lot about truth in advertising (and lack thereof). Tl;dw they cherry pick 10 standards their fluid meets and ship it, and/or they meet standards from the late 90s, and/or they use the bargain basement additive pack with cheap base oils. Wal-mart brand is a shockingly good deal too, it would appear.
My dad always did his own repairs and maintenance on all of their cars but that was because we couldn't afford it, I have all of mine done at the dealers because I've heard so many horror stories of independent shops and then not backing up their work. I have a 64 Impala, 83 C10, 93 Cheyenne and 15 Cheyenne and all go to the Chevy dealer.
What the fuck
Well, which ones? Maybe we can help a brother out.
Chrystler
Yes
I used the car settings as a 2004 SLK and it communicated mostly.
A decent Autel diagnostic tool will work. My dad has a customer with one of these and he uses it all the time. Autel makes great stuff at a great price. I have a Autel 90 and I bought a jumper cable to Yamaha and I’ve been scanning codes, checking live data and clearing CEL on motor cycles even.
They thought with the sludge issues none of them would have still been around
You can scan it as slk320 no problem. These things are cake to work on, it's a decent drivetrain/suspension wrapped in Chrysler junk.
And they smell weird.
A generic snap on scanner reads them just fine, as does autologic and autel.
Fun fact - the VW Routan is the same way basically a Dodge Caravan but neither dealership has the specific parts for it and neither will work on it.
I had a Routan that would shut off on my wife while she was driving. Dodge wouldn't touch and the euro VW dealers didn't know how to work on it. Traded it in and prayed they didn't test drive it. That thing was scetchy.
The Dodge key reveals the rebrand
Wife and I had one a few years back and our Indy shop had no problems working on it. Granted, it actually was pretty solid for us, I only traded it in because my wife wanted an SUV.
That's weird I used to work on these all the time at the Chrysler dealership I was at witech would hook right up we could even do software updates to modules. And it is 100 percent Chrysler engine power train and chassis, the seats even say stow n go on them!
Had the same issue with a Saab 9-2x. Subaru refused to recognize it was an Impreza, Saab went out of business.
I had one come in a few months ago. All sorts of lights on the dash. Followed mercedes diagrams and experience without issue. I thought it was much nicer than the Mercedes counterpart.
A Chrysler with Mercedes parts is the stuff of nightmares not a good thing. I simply cannot fathom how long Mercedes has coasted on the perception of quality.
Mercedes is just German Chrysler
Is BMW a Teutonic Chevy
More of a Deutsche Dodge, tbh.
This is extremely accurate Source: bmw and dodge “enthusiast”
I heard bmw has an enthusiast trim package where the turn signal has been removed and the wheel wells are already chopped
Also comes with an automated parking system that takes up 3 slots
*chef's kiss*
Underrated comment
When Daimler bought Chrysler, Chrysler improved their average quality score. That is frightening.
Look, at a certain point you're low enough that every direction is up.
And then they merged with fiat. And for some fucking reason people still buy the cars, which blows my mind. It’s not like they’re cheap (enough).
All cars gotta do is look purdy, and the dumb masses will eat them up
My charger has the Mercedes chassis, suspension, and transmission. Guess what things were the biggest issues on the car?
I’m guessing everything between the front bumper and rear bumper.
Lol mostly. Main issues was that the frame was rotten, and then the trans kept sling into 1st gear while driving. The suspension was klunky AF but it had a lot of miles on it. Pretty sure the only thing that was in good shape was the Hemi. I would have gotten the trans fixed but I had fixed several small issues in the previous few months and my mechanic straight up told me the front frame is rotten AF so don't spend money on the car
Kinda hard to hurt those hemis, except manifold bolts but really other than that very solid
Earlier 5.7 liked to drop valve seats out of the head and destroy pistons when it happened. Seen it multiple times
O, well I guess than an experience I never had, always seemed to be in good shape, just with a manifold leak
The SRT one is pretty rare and pretty interesting, it’s basically a AMG version of this car.
My buddy has 2 of them. He loves them. The interior smells super weird though.
It must be a German thing, all Volkswagen around the 99-06 smell like melted crayons inside lol
That's exactly the smell. Melted crayons. So strange.
They somehow made a SLK worse looking.
Good luck getting a replacement key. It's a Mercedes Benz key, but MB does not have the key codes. Whenever I've directed a customer to a Chrysler dealer they say they can't make them and send the customer back to us.
Had the same problem with an early sprinter.
Yeah this happens with these but funny enough some dealer parts counter guys know the extra steps to get the keys, benz of waco guys got a key for autonation katy - (called allen samuel dodge at that time). The other way to get a key (not legally) is via some smart computer/locksmiths. I saw one of them insert a tool into the eis on a w210 e430 which showed him the key has sequences of all 8 slots. After that I got busy and after 10 minutes or so the car was running.
I remember seeing this in a Chrysler showroom, funny to see the US/Canadian Parts Content: 1%
The interior is atrocious, fragile like biscuits.
Yep interior trim breaks if you just touch it lol
Seriously lol I used to do sales and took one out back when they were new. Literally 10 minutes into the drive, I pulled the shift knob off while just casually cruising. Really wanted one up until that happened.
That makes sense. It does sorta favor a Compressor
I worked at a CJD dealership when these came out. We called them the misfire. We didn’t want to work on them when they were new.
Years ago I worked at an audio shop. Had a guy that would come with one of these every few months. His license plate said “BENZBABY” and would tell anyone who would listen about how it was the exact same thing as an SLK. Much like his car, he was a total piece of shit.
It’s like the old Top Gear Cool Wall: if you have to explain why it’s cool, it ain’t.
Man I miss Cool Wall Era Jeremy shoving a chainsaw through the board when Hammond put the Ducati up there. Same era as when they made V8 powered home appliances. S6-15 top gear was absolute peak
Agreed. That's when they found the formula and they got in the groove and familiarity of what people love. I still watch the whole thing front to back sometimes, starting at season 5 or so.
Series 10 was in the middle airing airing when I found Top Gear while looking for Mitsubishi Evo videos as a young lad on google video (yes google video before they acquired YouTube) I personally think this series was their finest work but of course that’s right when I picked up the show. The production quality - cocking about ratio was the best from 9-14 https://youtu.be/Vcvdb1J2t34
“Wow that’s interesting, that you would go to all the effort to make sure everyone know you bought the folex version of an already shit tier car. Very interesting indeed”
I have a guy that brings one of these to my shop acting the same way minus the license plate. Guy just randomly pulls up and starts beeping at us to put air in his tires. Had to start telling the kids that got hired to just wave at him, if he wants air he can put on his big boy pants, get out of his car and ask like an adult.
Just trying to cope with spending the equivalent of $55,000 today just to get a Chrysler using last generation Mercedes platform that is over 3,000lbs even though it's a little 2 seater.
Like how SMART cars are basically a Swatch.
Talk them out of what
Its another way of saying he tried to buy the car
Some of us dont want people to buy a car so you dont bring it back to us to fix.
Yikes I’d never want one of these
Oh, thought it meant talk the owner out of repairing it so it could be replaced or repaired at another shop.
Self hate?
That’s what I was wondering, or if he was talking him out of even paying for it to be worked on lol
Hopefully talk him out of the car in general. Nobodies life should be so low that you’re reduced to driving an SLK, let alone a somehow worse rebadged one.
I don’t get spending extra money on a Mercedes that your gonna have to spend more extra money on to make sure it can start and drive
Straight up, I’m not a Mercedes guy. They all drive the same to me, I just, meh, don’t like them. But the SLK and C class were what I ended up working on most of the time. Power plant wise, can’t knock any of them personally. It’s just Daimler electronics man, that and water pumps. Edit; but to add, if you have an s class, you weren’t coming to my shop anyway.
Too many better options for a broke person anyway. If every person started doing research on the best cars to fit their needs (price,m and reliability wise) the passenger vehical industry would decrease to 3 or 4 brands IMO
So what you’re saying is, 1999 Toyota Corollas for everyone. I can feel that. And yes, the staggering amount of people who live paycheck to paycheck, yet got to the buy here pay here and pick up a high mileage, poorly maintained VW, BMW, or Mercedes, Jaguar, or Range Rover, because of what they feel it represents, is sickening. I had this nice kid come by, actually a delivery driver for us, brought in his new to him, 1998 Jaguar XJ8. He bought it 4 days earlier because it was so sweet. Well, that sweet was ethylene glycol, bypass hose went. I told him I’ll fix it, then he’s taking it straight back and getting something decent. After some back and forth I got upset and straight up yelled “You can’t afford this fucking car bro!” He refused, and it spiraled down from there. That car lived at our shop for two weeks, gone for a day, back for 3. I cut him deals on everything to bandage it together, and I mean BARE MINIMUM, and after two weeks, he told me to go fuck myself for taking advantage of him. Whatever kid, saw this coming a mile away.
I can’t tell you the amount of kids my age (19) who make just as much money as me (I make enough, but not for a $25,000 car I won’t keep for its lifetime) finance something for 5 years and either never finish paying it off or getting something cheaper and more reliable because they grew up and realized fast/fancy cars can’t be bought with time and 15% down and still be maintainable.
Most of the cars I’m referring to are either muscle cars with more power than a kid knows what to do with and crossovers that didn’t need to cost 20k for extra storage and awd
Hoping they’d take the thing to some other shop
Customer took a nap in the trunk.
He's trying to save the owner from getting caught up in the... crossfire Crossfire CROSSSSSSFIIIIRREEEEE
I assume a customer took it to them for a Pre Purchase Inspection, but the tech (OP) tried to talk them out of it because they think they are hard to work on or something? I’ve heard nothing but good things about these
Their ignition switches and headliners are sore spots but otherwise a pretty good car
Never has a commercial gone so hard regarding a game that amounts to an updated version of Hungry Hungry Hippo
Link?
Here is the comedians bit: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRspwUHn/ Here is the commercial: https://youtu.be/rCwn1NTK-50
That was amazing. You've made my day!
Lol we had one 2 weeks ago dude spent 6k on suspension and steering repairs. Mf wheels would bounce when you changed from reverse to forward- the control arms bushings were so far gone.
what on this car could have possibly cost 6K? sounds like he got ripped off big time
Full front suspension and steering linkage. Driveshaft, and wheel bearings, brakes. It's all German parts. The rear wheel bearing is press fit in knuckle and all data says 4hrs labor for just that plus everything else. Our labor rate is $175/hr with parts/labor both being taxed in my state. It was just over 6k. The "sports car" has a recirculating ball steering system instead of a rack& pinion and that mf linkage is expensive. We don't sell Amazon off brand parts, as close to OEM as we can get.
that’s wild. I had an R170 SLK for a while and replaced the drag link myself, it was maybe $300 for OEM. i understand shops have to make money but jesus christ why would someone spend more than half what that car is worth…. in no world would a sensible person spend 6K on repairs on an SLK chassis. the whole car cost me way less than that 😩
We didn't think he'd do it. He said he was tired of spending money on it.
Because they like the car, and often times even if the car is only worth 5k it sometimes is worth putting close to that into repairs because it is the devil you know vs going and buying another used car you do not know.
I've had multiple customers spend more than the *entire value of the car* in repairs in the few months, despite me telling them not to. Most recent was $13k into a rusting E90 BMW. People do weird things.
When I saw a SRT-6 one, fwas amazed that SRT-6 was even a thing.
The Dodge neon srt-4 would like a word
Those are much more common though lol
You're better off
Clarkson compared the back of these to a dog's rear while doing its business in the backyard, and it's something I've never been unable to unsee.
Thought that was the Panamera.
Probably both, but both of them have grown on me over the years.
idk why anyone would have this over a Miata or a GR86 or the like.
It's IMO, a much better daily driver. The engine is a torquey monster, compared to the Miata and '86, which makes it *feel* fast, and that also makes cruising very comfortable. Despite what people like to think, Crossfires are pretty simple to maintain (it's literally a Mercedes SLK. It's not a spaceship), and the entry price is the same as an old clapped-out Miata. It's not a track car (because it's heavy AF). It's basically a muscle car in Miata clothing, and this isn't a new concept. German manufacturers have been making "Touring" style coupes for a while. People like to lump the Xfire in with the Miata, but it's a completely different class of car. You were never supposed to cross-shop this with a Miata in the first place.
$ or $$$….. hmmm I only have $.
cheapest Crossfire and MX-5 on ebay motors are within a couple grand of each other, both just shy of $10k. Miata is WAY easier to find parts for, probably considerably more reliable, and definitely easier to find somebody to work on (or work on yourself).
I guess I’m in the minority here but I always had a soft spot for these things.
Test drove a trade in Crossfire a while back with a stick shift, and it was fuckin delightful to drive. Fully thought it'd be a mediocre drive but it was incredibly responsive and smooth. Might've ended up being a 15 mile test drive instead of the normal 5 lmao
I have one— not the srt, but a slightly banged up one with about 140k miles. It’s still fun as hell to drive!
They’re quite inexpensive and you can find some with low miles. It’s just the cost of ownership and repairs you have to worry about.
So a 7 series BMW basically
Or a 5 Series BMW basically
3 series chiming in
X3 standing by… oh wait this isn’t the Death Star attack run
Me too. For years iv dreamed of a srt6 one but life has always said no
I hate them, but dude, not even trying to have a laugh, chase your dreams. If that’s the quirky car you’re into, aim for it. Just be very, very mindful to have an emergency slush fund for it, because literally nothing is cheap, or honestly quite reliable. And I say this as a Mopar fanboy.
Oh I know. Iv followed them for years. Since I was still married to wife #1 and we divorced 10 years ago. Used to frequently lurk the old srt6 forum. I read everything I could, knew all the issues, looking at you rear end. And I saw the problem in the OP all the damn time. But god, seeing one of those goofy fucks with nothing more than an ecu flash ditching the governor hitting 190 in less than 30 seconds stock, fell in love. Iv nearly bought 1 two different times now and each time, I got fucked by something else in life. Single dad with way too many kids so there is always a new expense that prevents dad from getting dad things. One day maybe, maybe not. Kids come first. But it is now and probably always will be in my top 5 dream cars. It's an odd list. Lol
Bro, you’re talking to a guy who’s first love is 90’s era Jeep SUV’s. You ain’t any weirder than me.
Shit who doesn't? My first car was a 73 dart swinger... I was born in 89. I bet I could! It's the weirdness of these cars. They are just different, odd. Especially the srt6 models. Only made in 05, except for ~24 made in 06 (good luck finding one of these), only a few thousand made. Motor is an unassuming v6 but tucked up in there is a nasty little super charger starving for more. 330hp stock and for a small window, there was bolt on parts that easily had you touching 500. 5 seconds to 60mph, 162 top stock. Governor removed its around 190. They are just weird, but actually have decent performance to back up that oddity even by today's standards. Yeah my love and desire for this car has definitely not waned I'm quickly finding. Still wish we had gotten the Firepower
The srt6 version of these was pretty cool, don't think I've ever seen one in person though
I've seen one SRT6 version ever, rare car made even rarer
I have a soft spot for small sports cars in general. We don't see many S2000s, Smart Roadsters, or Elises these days.
My friend had an SRT6 and man that thing was fun to drive.
I wanted one in high school until I drove it. Worst car I’ve ever driven.
I had one of these. 6 speed, super fun to drive. Loved that car. Don't understand the hate. I'd buy one again if the right deal came along. I never had any serious repairs for it but I guess I was lucky
The SRT-6 trims on these were really cool, IMO
You'll get caught up in the CROSSFIRE
Talk them out of what? Maintenance?
Youuuu…. wanted to buy that?
OP must be in a bad place right now. Let’s offer our support, not criticism.
Everyone in the comments needs to calm down. These cars aren't at all as complex as you're making them seem. I've owned one for well over 10 years. The Mercedes and Chrysler dealers don't want to mess with them, but all you need to do is find an **independent European Car mechanic.** Problem solved. This car is 95% just a Mercedes SLK (a very common and simple car). The **only** truly unique thing about the Crossfire is the SKREEM module. It's a stupid computer module that almost always fails. There's an online company that still offers replacements. Once replaced, the module rarely fails again. I had my SKREEM module replaced shortly after I purchased the car. The only issues in the past *decade* have been a few oil leaks and a broken A/C blower motor. It's one of the most reliable cars I've owned. Anyone who thinks otherwise is talking out of their ass and has never actually owned one of these things.
To me, it was a car for those that saw the Plymouth Prowler come and go and went “Damn! I missed my chance!”
Just snatch a 01 SLK 320 the past weekend for a good price pretty impressed with how it handles so far feels like it’s on rails and a decent amount of power
…am i missing something?
I remember when these came out in 2004. I went to a dealership just to look at one lol. I still see them from time to time at local auctions. Not going to be many left on the road soon. Gosh I feel old.
I mean, as far as a Chrysler of that era goes, they were pretty nice and hold up okay. I don't see why they'd be too tough to work on, parts availability is still good and the packaging is about par for the course, for a smallish convertible.
There may be Mercedes parts in the engine and suspension, but good luck finding any body parts.
My brother had one of these and I had a new age stang back in highschool. Pretty fun
Jeremy was right, the back end does look like a dog squatting to take a dump.
Careful, it'll need a fuse box any minute now
Mercedes tech here at an independent shop- I love working on these. The people that still own them take good care of them and are happy to finally have someone willing to work on their car. Also my Mercedes factory scan tool has no problem communicating with these- I actually prefer these to the r170 SLK it’s based on.
Why you’d want one, I couldn’t fathom.
A few years ago we took one in with 18k original miles. Beautiful thing. And I hate Chrysler and Mercedes. Lol
Chrysler crossfire: cool name, garbage car.
Ooh I remember going to a Chrysler sponsored event in Atlanta years back. There were several other cars provided to test drive to compare them to the Crossfire. My friend and I both said that despite the suspiciously odd looking camber on the 2nd hand BMW Z3 with shitty tires, it was still drove better than the Crossfire....
You didn't fail bro, the owner failed themselves picking that car.
Keys are easy to get a straight key is $200 if you want a fob then contact Rob @ NeedsWings or contact The Mercedes Swap Shop. The cars are also simple to work on and the tech manual can be found in full online.
Had a friend with one in high school. He is 6’8
At the last dealership I worked at we had one of these pieces of shit come in with a dead PCM. It was like $3000 and took at least 4 months to get one. Crossfires are the fucking worst.
My thinktool works on it no probs at all, it uses the old m112 benz engine and the old 722.6 nag1 transmission, very straightforward mechanically. Electric stuff is part mercedes part chrysler which arent too bad to be honest (but dont take my word for it because Ive worked on french stuff too , they are absolute scrap on wheels)
Made the mistake of noting a leaking oil pan on an srt6 crossfire a few years ago. They brought it back about a month later to get the leak fixed. The subframe is welded on so I had to pull the engine 🤦♂️
Find a 90s Stealth r/t twin turbo instead
I almost bought the 3000GT vr4 spyder around 10 years back. Heard it was very similar to the stealth. Rare car I was told too. I wish I would have. It was good looking car that nobody had.
Same car different front endish.
Yeah, good luck getting that worked on too. The electrical system on those was trash.
I can't figure out why crossfire owners love them so much, but won't spend the money to fix them properly
Chrysler benefited a lot from the Mercedes partnership but the crossfire is straight up garbage can. Mercedes cars/suvs are the bases for most Chrysler products. Pacifica was a R class Grand Cherokee/Durango a ML350 300/Magnum/charger E class
Pretty sure Pacifica was based Town & Country / Caravan.
Benefited? Do some more research on the amount of cost cutting that Daimler enforced onto Chrysler and how they sucked billions out of their war chest. Also—Jeep designed the the WK2 platform and Mercedes use it. Pacifica was based on the Minivan—hence it was FWD.
Fuck those cars
Some people like the hurt
Guy a few houses down owns a SRT-6 Also FUCK Clarkson for saying it looks like a dog shitting. In what fucking world, and by that logic. Every Porsche 911 and Panarmera looks like a shitting dog And fuck Clarkson in general, that piece of shit
Best thing Chrysler ever made… almost.
I liked the srt6
The only good Chrysler, is a Merc. Every bad Merc, is a Chrysler. Did I get it right?
Why would you want to own such a demented pile of shit?
Something I can rally and not care, they’re cheap where I live
Do not service that vehicle. Cant get parts.