A Chrysler Crossfire for less than the cost of an iPhone.
Discussion
A few months ago my midlife crisis began 10 years too soon and I started to get a hankering for a 2 seater with a little bit of punch, but challenged myself to do it for Bangernomics money.
Perusing through Autotrader, Marketplace and eBay through the endless lists of SLK's, MG TF's, MR2's, Z3's and Z4's I spotted something I hadn't thought of in years, the Chrysler Crossfire. Immediately I went to YouTube to watch the reviews and determined that it wasn't very good. That's it then, I wanted one.
After joining a few owners clubs on Facebook and putting some feelers out for local cars, I determine that there isn't one within 350 miles, and for a sub 2k car I didn't really fancy travelling too far. Low and behold the next morning a message appeared in my inbox: "We've got one we're selling, needs a bit of love, I need it gone as I live on a ship and we're moving in a few weeks, £950, but I'll do a deal to help you get it to the North"
A few days later we agreed on £600 for the car and I received a quote of £250 to have it transported up to me in Newcastle, and so begins the journey of an almost universally hated sports car for less than the cost of the new iPhone.
It's a 2004 Coupe automatic, and having finally had the chance to tinker with it today I'm pleasantly surprised. Being effectively 85% an old Merc, mechanically it seems absolutely fine. The engine is smoother than a smooth thing, the gearbox is fairly old fashioned but also fairly seamless and it holds the road very well. The bodywork is where things really need some love, the rear arches have rust (not helped by the Florida spec chrome strips someone fitted to try and mask it) and the pop up spoiler has started to flake, the wheels need a refurb too. The rest did polish up fairly nicely.
Quality is a mixed bag. The doors shut with a nice thud, the boot lid weighs more than Gibraltar, the seats are very nice and the stereo is fantastic, but almost everything else is fairly terrible. Most of the dashboard appears to have been made using melted down boxes of Black Magic and the cup-holder makes the single loudest, scariest noise heard by human kind since Krakatoa went bang. For under a grand I can't complain, but if I'd spent £30k in 2004, I'd have been a little bit miffed.
That said I do like it, it wafts like an old Merc and the engine makes a lovely noise, as a sports car I can see why it's terrible, as a GT however, I think it would be more at home. My aim is to sort the body work out and keep it as a second car for trips over to the lakes.
Perusing through Autotrader, Marketplace and eBay through the endless lists of SLK's, MG TF's, MR2's, Z3's and Z4's I spotted something I hadn't thought of in years, the Chrysler Crossfire. Immediately I went to YouTube to watch the reviews and determined that it wasn't very good. That's it then, I wanted one.
After joining a few owners clubs on Facebook and putting some feelers out for local cars, I determine that there isn't one within 350 miles, and for a sub 2k car I didn't really fancy travelling too far. Low and behold the next morning a message appeared in my inbox: "We've got one we're selling, needs a bit of love, I need it gone as I live on a ship and we're moving in a few weeks, £950, but I'll do a deal to help you get it to the North"
A few days later we agreed on £600 for the car and I received a quote of £250 to have it transported up to me in Newcastle, and so begins the journey of an almost universally hated sports car for less than the cost of the new iPhone.
It's a 2004 Coupe automatic, and having finally had the chance to tinker with it today I'm pleasantly surprised. Being effectively 85% an old Merc, mechanically it seems absolutely fine. The engine is smoother than a smooth thing, the gearbox is fairly old fashioned but also fairly seamless and it holds the road very well. The bodywork is where things really need some love, the rear arches have rust (not helped by the Florida spec chrome strips someone fitted to try and mask it) and the pop up spoiler has started to flake, the wheels need a refurb too. The rest did polish up fairly nicely.
Quality is a mixed bag. The doors shut with a nice thud, the boot lid weighs more than Gibraltar, the seats are very nice and the stereo is fantastic, but almost everything else is fairly terrible. Most of the dashboard appears to have been made using melted down boxes of Black Magic and the cup-holder makes the single loudest, scariest noise heard by human kind since Krakatoa went bang. For under a grand I can't complain, but if I'd spent £30k in 2004, I'd have been a little bit miffed.
That said I do like it, it wafts like an old Merc and the engine makes a lovely noise, as a sports car I can see why it's terrible, as a GT however, I think it would be more at home. My aim is to sort the body work out and keep it as a second car for trips over to the lakes.
I love these. I looked at buying one in 2005 but just couldn’t commit to it but have always had a soft spot for them. They were made in Austria I think and underpinnings were Merc SL if my memory serves me well. The bodywork in my eyes is a real no compromise design, the lines in the bonnet and the boat tail showed a real confidence. These will only become a modern classic in my view. Looking forward to your updates.
finlo said:
Steve421 said:
Mikebentley said:
Didn’t they have bigger rear wheels than front?
It's based on the R170 SLK and shares pretty much all of the oil-y bits with it. Built by Karmann in Germany, and yes, the fronts are 18, rears are 19. 
I always thought they looked good, but as they had the first generation SLK running gear complete with recirculating steering box they were never going to be a sports car.
But as a GT at £600 how wrong can it go?
And it's definitiely different so I hope you enjoy it OP.
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