By Guest Blogger Xfire Cliff
Chrysler Crossfire Questions? The great debate amongst Crossfire newbies and veterans alike. “Is the SRT-6 worth it?” “Can I make my NA faster?”
Very long post ahead.
Answer: yes to both but there’s a catch. Allow me to explain.
You’re already owning/driving a low volume production car. Doesn’t matter the year, color, options, engine, transmission, it’s a rare vehicle. To put it into context, there were less crossfires made in its 5 year production run than Corvettes, Mustangs, Audi TTs, Nissan 350Zs, and virtually any other car in its price range at the time of production. You own something unique. Despite being a sales flop when they were new, they’ve held up quite well over the years and there are still nice examples running around.
Now, factor in your color, your transmission (especially if you’re a manual driver), and the year of your car, and now you’ve got an even rarer version of a rare car. For context, I owned one of 254 Aero blue roadsters with a manual transmission and gray two tone interior for 2005 (or so Chrysler told me via email). That’s a neat little bragging right to throw around at car shows!
Finally, let’s get to the elephant in the room, the great debate, the SRT-6…. A very low production number, made for two model years with 98% of them made for 2005. The 2006 models are the rarest, and hardest to find, and the Uber elusive Alabaster White SRT that’s hiding somewhere in Europe is like the unicorn poop of the crossfire world, never to be seen by our eyes but I digress.
What do you get for your money, sometimes doubled the cost of a NA? You get power and a lot of it comparatively, a hand built supercharged AMG engine, a beefier automatic transmission, stiffer suspension, bigger brakes, nicer seats (unless it’s the cloth seats which are the nicest), a 200MPH speedometer, the fixed rear wing or “whale tail” as some call it, larger diameter exhaust which adds some sound to the car (and into the cabin), and the scooped front bumper. How much more is all this worth? Well, it’s up to you. For me, it’s worth a few thousand dollars more, but not double the cost of a nice NA.
It’s for the people who:
1. Wanna go fast at any moment
2. People who want to modify and make more power. This car excepts modifications easier and produces more power than the NA ever could and that’s just facts.
3. Exclusivity, that feeling you have something special-ish.
4. The potential worth down the road, as a collectors piece.
It’s not for people who:
1. Can’t afford the extra maintenance and the ever looming fear that the ALREADY low production car with its low production parts go bad, and you find out that some things cost astronomical amounts of money. For instance, the power steering pump costs over $800 new. An NA power steering pump is less than $150.
2. Couldn’t care less about the power. It’s just not worth it if you aren’t going to use it.
3. The exclusivity again, because it draws even more attention, good and bad.
4. Not For the manual elitists. You won’t drive it because it’s missing a pedal. I get it, but you’ll forget about it after a couple miles.
Ok, now the flip side. How about the NA cars? A stock, manual crossfire is an absolute blast to drive. It’s a tad quicker than the auto but gets worse fuel mileage. Can you make it faster? Yes, but be aware: the gains made from modifying your NA will not give you much in the way of power. 10-25HP at the most. In my opinion, the best mods for an NA is platform and handling. Good tires, good brakes, better shocks and springs. This turns an already fun canyon carver into a canyon slayer. When the road gets twisty, these cars shine. In fact, you’ve all heard about the Tail of the Dragon right? If you’re a good driver, you can make a SRT driver sweat a bit seeing you on their tail through 318 turns. My very best driving experiences have been behind the wheel of an NA. The other big factor that makes the NA a great buy is the cost of ownership. Right off the bat it’s a cheaper car to obtain, and it’s missing all the exclusive parts that come on AMG cars. For some, even myself, that’s a plus. Not needing to worry about a wearable part going bad and not being able to find it is a huge plus for many people.
Side note: I haven’t spoken on the roasters at all but it should be known that roadster ownership, regardless of trim level, comes with its own issues. Top sensors, the top itself, leaky seals, etc. But the fun you get with the top down makes all that worth it.
I’m a diehard crossfire enthusiast and live, breathe, and crap these cars on a daily basis. So much so my obsession has rubbed off on my wife and she bought a rescue NA to play with. No matter the Crossfire you own, you’ve got an awesome car. Don’t think because it isn’t the top dog on the trim level sheet that you have a lessor car. If you’ve stuck with me through this insanely long post, you’re probably an enthusiast and are pretty happy with your car.
At the end of the day, my personal experience has told me that I can have fun in any version of the crossfire. Best seats in a crossfire are the cloth buckets in the base model, FACT.
Nice post. It covers the difference between the different models and trim level really well. I enjoy listening to people debate the differences between the NA vs the Supercharged engines. Then there are the peddle pushers vs the automatic transmission folks. It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you reside on the passion for these Crossfires are equal.
It has been my experience that after a long day of driving the tight curves or the high speed sweeping curves most of the owners spend the evening together eating and drinking and just enjoying ourselves.
As recent buyer of ’06 blue NA coupe, I’m pleased. Wonderful styling lines, seats fit like a glove, love those wide sweeping highway curves at speed. Working on a couple issues common to most 16 year old cars, but looking forward to a lot of miles touring.
Update my prior reply; tight turns pushing my NA Crossfire coupes’ limits are more fun. In June we joined the 2022 Fun in the Ozarks event. Began to gain a feel for what she can do without upgraded suspension. Come on 2023!
Accidently, found my 2005 (first yr production) Crossfire Roadster Limited in that cool deep metallic blue Jan 2022, 3 weeks before my birthday! Found it while surfing a former clients auction yard online, just goofing off! Only 25,452 original miles. Was familiar with the coupe, my X had one. Never ever thought Id see a roadster like new! It was unbelievable, and I knew I had to buy it! $9K plus tax! The original alarm was cooked, causing the battery to drain.. original owner didnt know how to fix, put new battery in, and wanted to get rid of it. I found Mercedes newer alarm module, fixed in 20 minutes! Its a joy to drive and I modified the interior plus backup camera, new mirror! It’s a sweet ride! Never dreamed I could own a rare convertible like this Crossfire Roadster! (no place to tag pics)
I own a 2005 SRT Roadster. I was surprised to learn from your article that a manual transmission could have been gotten in a SRT model.
He didn’t have it in his post that a manual could have been ordered in an Art model ,because you could not order an SRT with a manual only an automatic . He did say ( I get it for you pedal smashers .the SRT is missing the third pedal .
He didn’t mention a few of the issues that do come with Higher mileage cars , like the Harmonic balancer pulley separating and wobbling ? It is made up or three pieces the outer ring with the serp. Belt grooves a rubber piece and an inner piece mad of steel
The rubber piece is glued between the other two pieces and over time the glue will fail and start to come apart .Also ctr. Bearing issues and U-joint issues as well as transmittion issues ,in the automatic .( Btw the sam SRT automatic could and was ordered for my N/A . It is a slap stick style that can be manually shifted ,but is still a 5 spd automatic .
Great article…please let me know more about the 2005 MT6 as I just purchased mine 3 months ago. I need a good vender for parts as well.
[email protected]
Hi Kimball,
I get all my regular parts from FPC EURO look under 2003 MB SLK320. When it comes to Upgrades I go to Needswings
https://www.needswings.com
https://www.fcpeuro.com
https://blacktopyc.com/product-category/crossfire/
I have a 07 black base model with manual trans 70k on the speedo I love my car the SRT is cool but like the article says I couldn’t afford to fix it if something needed replaced mine will chirp tires in 1 2nd & 3rd which satisfies me I love driving been teaching my 12 year old son how to drive it he’s gonna look good driving it when he gets older
I have n/a coupe about sixteen years now, just love it, great car, but merc electrical not so good (rcm) failed, but that’s about it.
Hi I own 15 crossfires, I just keep buying them, yes I sell a few, but I do keep the best of them, my favorite is a black coupe 04, automatic, yes I’m a stick guy. But this car is built for me, they are the best of the best car out there for the $$$. Fall I. Love ,drive one. Thanks . BILL ANDREOLI, SMITHTOWN NY
As a new crossfire roadster owner with the 6speed, I agree with you,an extra 50 pony would be nice,but not needed.
So I m gonna assume the manuals are the rarest especially in roadster form. I have a red automatic and a black manual both are coupes.
Owner of NA and SRT6. I could not agree more with this well written article. Clifford knows!
I totally agree with this article.
I love my Crossfire Convertible. I call it, Miss Quick. It can stay and play or get out the way. It can also pose and look pretty to surely turn heads. It has the curves and the moves.
Its a match made for the road.
You either love the car or you don’t, I bought a SRT-6 Roadster, 6 months ago and it is a blast. Your right about parts and cost. It’s stiff but is the most fun I have had in a car in long time. The best part to me it is a “toe tapper”. Tap your toe and your off like a rocket or just relax and put around town.
You either love the car or you don’t, I bought a SRT-6 Roadster, 6 months ago and it is a blast. Your right about parts and cost. It’s stiff but is the most fun I have had in a car in long time. The best part to me it is a “toe tapper”. Tap your toe and your off like a rocket or just relax and put around town.
Thanks for sharing, I have an 05 Roadster
Wish I had a standard transmission, but my Better Half doesn’t get the concept, and my way of getting her buy in was an automatic. So we share an 08 Roadster and both love it. I just love it faster.
Bought my 06 roadster while 2 dealer salesmen were arguing over it. Neither one could drive a stick, both wanted the car.
Thanks for the post! I’m driving a recently acquired ‘04 in Alabaster White. It is beautiful and fun. Any tips on sources for parts such as body hardware (latches are wearing out) and a second key fob?
Hey Norm,
I assume when you say latches you mean the door latches? To make it easy, go to FCPeuro and go to 03 Mercedes Benz SLK320, Interior, door, and you’ll see they have replacement door latches.
Regarding the key fob, there have been ups and downs over the years in pricing and availability. I’m not up on the latest info, Needswing is a source, and there are others. If you do a search in the crossfire forum you’ll see other suppliers mentioned. You have to send them your existing key though, so they can program the new one.
Check out our Crossfire apparel at https://blacktopyc.com/product-category/crossfire/
Thanks,
JW
For programmed key fobs, get in touch with James Smith or Josh Chase at Mercedes Swap Shop
I bought a ’05 Limited Convertible in January of 22 and absolutely love the car. I tis fun, turns heads, gets a lot of questions and is a really nice ride for the $. A good bang for the buck and 1 of 88 built for the US.
2006 White Crossfire Limited Convertible is now for sale. Hard to let it go. A new owner who appreciates it is welcomed.
Crossfire is Special,
Kai
Would anyone know how many 06 Roadster Limited 6-speeds were made?
Thank you
I have a 2008 roadster convertible, I need a rim, it was damaged by deep pothole, It was dark and raining hard, so I hit it. I am not through, squirrels got under hood Five times, ate up wiring EVERY TIME.
INSURANCE PAID FOR IT, BUT LAST TIME I TOOK IT IN TO GET IT WORKED ON, THE GUY WHO WORKED ON IT HAD QUIT, and so they could not find anyone else to work on it, needless to say the wiring is a mess.
I lived in southeast Ga. and NOBODY WANTS TO WORK ON A CROSSFIRE, NOT CHRYSLER, NOBODY, AND I DON’T have but 30,124 miles on her..
I am a woman Crossfire owner, and The Crossfire’s I have seen are women drivers also, not many Crossfires in Augusta, so that is the difficulty in finding some one who can work on them..
Anyway, are there any places that I can buy Crossfire parts?
Thanks
All the normal parts I need for my 2003 MB SLK320 are obtained from FPC EURO. Regarding Upgrades, I visit Needswings.
https://couponado.com/store/fcpeuro-com