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View Full Version : Have any good buying stories?



PurdueRifleman
08-20-2010, 03:18 PM
I'd like to hear them if you have the time! As for me, I've got a couple:

The first is about the previous owner. When I first saw what would become my marauder sitting on the lot at a Chevy dealership last January, I immediately put all plans on hold and requested a test drive. After I finally convinced the salesman that she wouldn't find the keys for the black Mercury Crown Victoria on the sales lot, I took the car for a spin. When I got back, she started telling me about the car's history and such. She made some claim about how the previous owner was 85 when he died while he owned the car and the usual bs that dealers give you about how it was only driven to church on Sundays, etc.

Fast forward 5 days and I owned the car after beating the salesman down 3K on the price which, in all fairness, wasn't difficult since I had the advantages of knowing more about the car and 4.5yrs of argumentative rhetoric under my belt :grad:. Anyway, I started looking the car over for a few items and discovered the previous owner's death certificate in the glove box. Crap, she wasn't kidding! The man was 85 when he died of acute leukemia in Muncie, IN. Further inspection of the vehicle revealed a favorite's CD filled with Conway Twitty, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and then a few old disco songs that I couldn't identify. This wouldn't be all that unusual except that those are my favorite artists, especially The Hag. I also discovered some sort of congratulatory certificate from SCT for a tuner that had been removed; the OBD plug left hanging. Must have been a hell of an 85yr old man!

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Apparently, I wasn't the only one interested in the car. I later found out that both my neighbor and the husband of the woman from the bank who gave me my loan for the car were seriously thinking about making an offer on it. Then, this June, I put the marauder in a car show in Seymour, IN and met another man who had wanted it. We talked for a while about the car and he told me to swing by his office later the next week and he had about $50 worth of stuff to give me that was related to the marauder since he figured that someone who owned one ought to have the stuff.

Among these items was the original poster that I guess came with these cars and was in nearly mint condition with very light creases. The other item was printed on FoMoCo letterhead that had some information about the 2003 marauder. Cool story, I know.

That's what I've got. Let's hear what you all have!

Joe Walsh
08-20-2010, 03:53 PM
When I was looking for my Marauder, I found a dealer with just one Marauder on the lot.
It had been test driven and had 100+ miles on it.

I said: It is not a new car!
He said: We can sell anything with less than 250 miles on it as 'new', at the MSRP sticker.
I told him that I wasn't buying the car and I that I wanted one with less than 10 miles on it, right off the transporter truck.
He asked why?, and I told him that everyone who test drove it probably beat on it hard and that I wanted to break in the engine.
He then went on to tell me that all new engines are made out of chrome moly and do NOT need a proper break-in period.
:rofl:
I left the dealership after that comment.

I then stopped by Safford Lincoln Mercury and they had 7 Marauders on the lot...all of them right off the truck!
I got my "pick of the litter" with only 6 miles on the odometer!...........:banana:

tbone
08-20-2010, 03:56 PM
You have exactly 61 years to live.

Big Black Beast
08-20-2010, 04:17 PM
hmmm...interesting and sad. At least the car ended up w/ someone who appreciates it.
Sadly, it seems, in situations like this, cars end up in the hands of relatives who just don't care and beat on them.

FordNut
08-20-2010, 04:18 PM
After trying for months to buy one locally and getting the "premium vehicle" adjustment for a $40k+ price I finally found one on line. It was in Florida at Delray Lincoln Mercury in Delray Beach, Florida. Priced below book at $27k, fully equipped with the CD changer and trunk organizer. It was my Christmas present to myself, the wife and I got a one-way rental car and drove down the day after Christmas. Got there and it was exactly as described. I asked about a spare key and the salesman, Bill DeBlasio, went right in and got one cut then came back out and showed me how to program it. Unfortunately we couldn't drive away in it that night, the salesman had stayed after closing time to meet us and they couldn't close the deal until the next day. A nice dinner and a night in a motel room, then first thing the next morning she was mine!

LIGHTNIN1
08-20-2010, 06:26 PM
There are those rare case where the 85 or 90 year old just drove them to the doctors offices. The first one I looked at was in the paper and local, the one I should have bought.I just waited too long.The paper ad said it was RED and I wanted one of the other colors. I did not call for a week for that reason. Finally I said I will test drive it anyway. I got there and it was SB.They made a mistake in the ad and did not check it.The car had 10K miles.The owner was a retired engineer and had all the maintenance papers.This guy was 90 Yr along with his wife.His son was taking care of the sale and said when his Dad bought the car he and his wife wanted something PEPPY and new so they both liked this car. The father had decided it was time for him to quit driving so reason for sale. Someone got it for $14K.

MrBluGruv
08-20-2010, 06:37 PM
I bought mine stripped of a number of the factory parts exclusive to the car (center caps, exhaust tips, OE floormats), had a tear in the back seat, a few spots of chipped paint, didn't have spoiler, and had a crushed empty can of monster in the center console. They didn't want to come down on price from 13K with 57K on the clock, they said they already put too much into it.

Since then, I've restored all the missing parts (not always OE), done a number of mods that make it distinctly mine, and driven it non-stop. For as many problems as I've had with the car, and the times when I've considered trading in for a more common/less maintenance-intensive car, I honestly can't bear the thought of ever parting with it.

kmastl
08-20-2010, 08:42 PM
I have bought both of my marauders from members on this site...

Glockafella - Eli
300A
1 of 997 - Matt
04 SB w/ sunroof

Both buying experiences were excellent and the cars were in great shape.

twin03
08-20-2010, 09:33 PM
The vary first Marauder I looked at was a black 04 with 55,000 miles on it at East West Lincoln Mercury in Lanham Maryland in 2007. This baby had everything. Heated seats, sunroof, etc. I had just got off of work to take a look at the Marauder. The sale person was an elderly black man in his late 60's. They ran my credit, got photo copies of my driver license and would not let me test drive the Marauder. I never had bad credit. I was entering my third year as a police officer, and I was in the DC Army National Guard at the time. I asked him why I could not test drive the Marauder. He stated "The dealership insurance would not allow me to test drive it, but I could drive it and you sit in the passenger seat". My credit union advised them that I was pre approved for a vehicle loan for $28,000 and they were selling it for $21,500. As I was getting up and leaving the dealership, they tried to apologize. The vary next day, I went to Rich Mortin's Annapolis LM dealership to look at a 2003 black Marauder. They treated my like a man, and a real customer. I test drove the Marauder along with my twin brother, and came back into the dealership and purchased it. Weeks later, the old man from East West LM dealership called me and see if I still wanted to buy the Marauder. I told him that I just bought one from his competitor Rich Mortin's and no thanks..He was vary upset, and went along the lines as if I should have bought a Marauder from him because I was black. I lost it... I told him "you did not let me test drive the damn car because I was black"....LOL

rayjay
08-21-2010, 03:37 AM
twin03, that kind of treatment is BS & disturbing...