We report on VLT/UVES high-resolution spectra of four members of the old metal-rich open cluster NGC 6253: a main-sequence star, two red-clump stars and a blue straggler. We performed equivalent width analysis and derived Fe, Si, Ca, Ti, Cr and Ni abundances as well as abundance ratios. For our main-sequence star, we obtained a metallicity of ? (rms), whereas for the two giants we found that our metallicities are on average +0.19 \ub1 0.13 (rms), lower than what was determined for the same stars in previous studies. We also found that, within the uncertainties, the abundance ratios of \u3b1 and iron-peak elements match those in the solar surroundings, with the possible exception of Si in two giant stars in our sample. Based on observations ...