apl175

So I cheaped out, and rented a "Hyundai Accent or Equivalent" from LGA this morning.

Found a German-made Chrysler Crossfire in my spot instead, with bad wiper blades and mis-aimed headlights (of course I didn't realize this until I left the Hertz facility).

Interesting thing, is that it's a 2005 model, with a VIN code suggesting it was built in October of 2004....about 16k miles on the clock (and Hertz Sirius radio).

Somehow I don't know if I was given an upgrade, a downgrade, etc. (I've received 2007 Hyundai Accents here or maybe a Kio Rio in the past)

Tummy

I was told that the fleet typically gets turned over twice a year. Spring and Fall/winter.

The Crossfire is a special case where they could not sell the cars at retail. Chrysler even tried blowing them out on Overstock.com at one point. After that they stopped production for the 2006 model year, since they didn't not sell all their 2005 models. Then finally dumped a lot of them to fleet sales we're seeing now.

DWilliamson5002

THe VIN number will not tell you when the car was built. The 10th digit will be the last number in the model year. Therefore a 7 means 2007. The first 3 deal with the manufacturer. The next 4 to 8. Tell engine, color, tranny, etc. Then the next 3 are checks, year, and build plants. Then the next are serial numbers for the car. Dont think you can tell from the VIN the month/year of build.

I also think the Crossfire is a special deal with Hertz. Sales went to crap and Chrysler must have given Hertz some $$$ to keep them beyond the time limit for the lease. Unless all Hertz cars are on a mileage lease.

Also that may have been a risk car that Chrysler would not take back and with the low miles Hertz keeps renting it.

MikeBU

Is the key fob clear or yellow?

apl175

Hrmm, my mistake. I had a Mercedes friend look at the car and he told me that it was built in October of 2004. I had thought he looked at the VIN to determine this. But oh well - the keyfob does say "05 CRSF" on it (and it's a clear one).

I had to change it to a local rental today, and the counter person looked up the car and was puzzled as I was at the age of the car. But then he said according to the computer, it had only entered the Hertz fleet in late September of last year.

Maybe the theories of Chrysler unloading it at significant loss are true....

That being said, it's a decent car (aside fromt he wiper and headlamp issue I mentioned earlier), and I would far favour it over a 'stang despite it being a two seater.

It's definitely a confused array of Chrysler emblems and Mercedes-Benz parts and switchgear.

Tummy

Here were the sales numbers for the first half of 2007:

Chrysler Crossfire
Fleet sales: 1,825
Retail Sales: 760
Total: 2,585

70.6% sold to fleet.

For Chrysler, I'm sure ~5,000 cars per year is a terrible number and having the majority of them sold to fleets really kill the resale value.

When they were listed on Overstock.com, they had a price up to $8,900 below MSRP (MSRP starts at $29510), but they didn't have the SRT-6 model.