If all goes well...I'll be flying out Friday to drive home a SB Marauder...

[MercLSU]

https://i.imgflip.com/2wybn2.jpg

[BUCKWHEAT]

good for you. enjoy it.

[crownvic97]

Congrats! I can imagine the excitement!

[RubberCtyRauder]

Info..details...

[Bronxxx]

Have a great trip! I will be driving down in my Marauder and may need to fly home.:alone:

[lji372]

:beer: haha i love it!!!

[MercLSU]

2004 silver birch marauder. 95k miles which is higher than I wanted, but the price is well below the top of my budget. I've been looking casually since this time last year and a good bit harder for the last six months. I'd narrowed it down to two cars, this one and another with 65k miles. Over the last month this one was reduced in price several times and after the last price reduction interest jumped up but I was luckily first in line. The 65k mile car has remained fairly steady and would have ended up costing me roughly $4k more between it being pricier, higher taxes, and shipping costs.

Both are from dry climates but the 95k (South Florida) car has always been garaged and the owner of the 65k car (Airzona) has stated his car has not been. Thus the exterior / interior of the 95k mile car is probably one point higher on a scale of 1-10. Couple that with it being 2/3 of the cost, I pulled the trigger. Barring some unforeseen circumstance or the owner outright lying about something major (highly doubtful after talking to him), I should have it home about 1-2 AM Saturday morning.

I'm pretty particular and the only real cons I consider the car to have are:

(1) The pinstripe; this was dealer added so I imagine removing it now would be an issue due to paint fading
(2) Rear bumper sag below the tail lights; common issue and if it bothers me enough I can fix it
(3) No spoiler, but I can add one
(4) Front license plate bracket; I'm assuming this will leave four holes in the front bumper so I'll probably leave it
(5) One small ding in the quarter panel that can probably be fixed through paintless dent repair

[Seneca]

Congratulations that's a clean sb resembles my recent purchase of a sb with light flint interior as well, its wearing on me

[CoreyM75]

I’d leave the pinstripes, those are actually kinda cool.

[mad man]

Nice car if you look there is still some nice cars out there got mine last year with 8k on it and it came from Kansas city always inside :)

[RubberCtyRauder]

Looks like a good find. Congrats!

[1Marauder]

Wow...

Super clean! Stripes arnt too bad and I like the "Marauder" in the stripe at rear of car.

I think if you took off the pinstripes... And the paint underneath were more fresh, and slightly different, it would be supercool! Ghost stripes!

[Ms. Denmark]

Congrats on your new SB!

[Agent2006]

A real beauty. Nice going!

[MercLSU]

In general the car was as advertised. As particular as I am there were some things I found that bugged me; fortunately they were relatively small and none were deal breakers. Driveway to driveway was 715 miles. Not a ton of fun after a 5:00 AM flight, but I made it. I've driven vehicles maddeningly slow to crap-your-pants fast, rattle your teeth stiff to cushy as a couch...but my first impression is that this car is a really nice mix of all of those cars in their stock form. The wheels are turning as far as plans for the car, but for once I'm going to stick to the plan and keep things stock and simple until the F250 and Mustang are "done".

Though I'm legal to drive it, I've kept any other trips to a minimum and within the neighborhood until I can get it properly registered in Louisiana. Once that's taken care of in the next day or two, I'll transfer car seats and prep it for daily driver duty. The 64 cents the previous owner spent on each cheesy drilled rotor is pretty obvious, so I'll want to change those along with the pads. The rubber is new but the car wasn't aligned because it drove "straight as a whistle". :confused: I could go on and on but I don't want to dog the seller who I feel gave me a good deal and was as up front and honest as they were able to. What I mean to say is that I'll probably start a thread about "Crazy things the previous owner has told you"...

[Agent2006]

Great score! ----the hardest part of getting in registered in LA, is waiting in line at DMV...(I was 8 years living in Baton Rouge/Addis...) maybe you'll run it down at NPR in Belle Rose...was only $10 bucks on WED nights...

[1Marauder]

In general the car was as advertised. As particular as I am there were some things I found that bugged me; fortunately they were relatively small and none were deal breakers. Driveway to driveway was 715 miles. Not a ton of fun after a 5:00 AM flight, but I made it. I've driven vehicles maddeningly slow to crap-your-pants fast, rattle your teeth stiff to cushy as a couch...but my first impression is that this car is a really nice mix of all of those cars in their stock form. The wheels are turning as far as plans for the car, but for once I'm going to stick to the plan and keep things stock and simple until the F250 and Mustang are "done".

Though I'm legal to drive it, I've kept any other trips to a minimum and within the neighborhood until I can get it properly registered in Louisiana. Once that's taken care of in the next day or two, I'll transfer car seats and prep it for daily driver duty. The 64 cents the previous owner spent on each cheesy drilled rotor is pretty obvious, so I'll want to change those along with the pads. The rubber is new but the car wasn't aligned because it drove "straight as a whistle". :confused: I could go on and on but I don't want to dog the seller who I feel gave me a good deal and was as up front and honest as they were able to. What I mean to say is that I'll probably start a thread about "Crazy things the previous owner has told you"...

Glad you made it home safe! Car looks FAB!

Unless buying from a member here, most folks who bought these cars simply treated thwm as regular cars (money pit), and over the years most cheaped out on even small regular things when faced with normal expensive repairs... So your new thread will be a great one.

Can't wait to hear more!

Marty O tune, brake kit (or steel braided hoses min), SBC camber bolts mod (if needed to align) Monroe severe duty shocks (or KYB), and watts link and rear control arms are generally the first modification most members will list.

[chief455]

I'd leave those pinstripes. 5000 other SB out there that are stock, and those little stripes are tasteful unique.
clean car with 96k for 2/3 cost of a 65k car? you did the right thing.
Low mile cars can be the opposite in 'driving' value to a higher mile car.
Drive it and enjoy it!

[Invective]

Congrats on your recent acquisition. Pinstripes look good, car appears very clean overall. How about a custom plate for the front? Consider an aftermarket moonroof? Maintenance up to date? The anti theft tire valve stem caps with the Mercury logo are crap - stay away from them. You can buy custom valve stem caps with the Mercury logo on them through eBay for a fraction of the price.

I picked up my immaculate, low mile example in Michigan about this time last year - the cooling system, transmission had never been serviced since new and the differential was serviced in 2006 when an axle seal was replaced. Had all of this brought up to date before I left Michigan for North Carolina. Marauder has made the desirable pilgrimage to Mo's Speed Shop in Dallas, GA twice and a few minor gremlins repaired in the meantime.