Fuel Door

[mercfirst]

Hello.

I took delivery of my '03 (300A) three weeks ago. The ride has less than 700 miles on it (which is a story unto itself), and I'm VERY happy with it. I do have a couple of minor issues, however, for which I'm seeking words of experience, which are as follows:

1) The opening end of the fuel door isn't quite flush with the quarter panel when it's closed, sitting up maybe 1/4". Searching this site, I didn't come across any discussion concerning this issue, so it's probably a unique anomaly, but if anyone has experienced this, then I'd appreciate it if you could tell me whether or not you've had a dealer resolve it under warranty. The door otherwise works fine, and if I'd be risking matters becoming even worse by letting a dealer fiddle with it, then I'm inclined to just leave well enough alone.

2) The car's black (to y'all's great surprise, I'm sure) and I've got several minor paint scratches, which I believe are reasonably superficial. I'm somewhat aware of the paint quality issues with a number of '03 300A's, and I'm interested in knowing what my chances of mitigating my scratches are with rubbing compound, or making matters worse, and whether or not there's a particular brand of compound that I should go for.

Thanks in advance for sharing thoughts.

[bigslim]

Hello.

I took delivery of my '03 (300A) three weeks ago. The ride has less than 700 miles on it (which is a story unto itself), and I'm VERY happy with it. I do have a couple of minor issues, however, for which I'm seeking words of experience, which are as follows:

1) The opening end of the fuel door isn't quite flush with the quarter panel when it's closed, sitting up maybe 1/4". Searching this site, I didn't come across any discussion concerning this issue, so it's probably a unique anomaly, but if anyone has experienced this, then I'd appreciate it if you could tell me whether or not you've had a dealer resolve it under warranty. The door otherwise works fine, and if I'd be risking matters becoming even worse by letting a dealer fiddle with it, then I'm inclined to just leave well enough alone.

2) The car's black (to y'all's great surprise, I'm sure) and I've got several minor paint scratches, which I believe are reasonably superficial. I'm somewhat aware of the paint quality issues with a number of '03 300A's, and I'm interested in knowing what my chances of mitigating my scratches are with rubbing compound, or making matters worse, and whether or not there's a particular brand of compound that I should go for.

Thanks in advance for sharing thoughts.
The problems you have are the same ones that a lot us had expressed. I had a 2003 blk MM and the paint quality was less than perfect. There were scratches form the dealer. My fuel filler door never fit flush with the fender. My 2004 silver MM has much better paint and the fueler door is not a remote release so it fits better. Good luck with your car.

[89VERT]

I had the fuel door problem as well .
The dealer got it almost flush .
Not exactly where it should be , but really close .
I'm not sure what they did , but the service advisor said that was the limit of it's adjustment .
If I had to guess , I'll bet he pulled the door off , bent the hinge a little and called it a day .

[Marauderjack]

You can bend the hinge very easily....Mine was "****-eyed" too....Give it a try!! :beer:

Marauderjack :bandit:

[Shaft333]

Mine gas cover is off too. At first I thought it wasn't closed. Now I ignore it. I know I should probably have to turn in my "Official Car-guy Membership Badge" for claiming that "ignoring" is a suitable fix.
My paint sucks too. They must've bought this paint used before they put it on our cars. I'm ignoring this too for now.
All this certainly helps writing those monthly checks a bit easier. Well, that and the pleasure of driving it!

Congrats on the new car... 700miles? And I thought I was doing well when I got mine with just under 10,000.

[jgc61sr2002]

Congrats on the purchase of your new Marauder. :D 700 miles, care to share the story?

[mercfirst]

Thanks all for the insight re my fuel door. Revisiting it today, I've probably overstated how much it protrudes. In fact, it's not even 1/4", and I've pretty much decided to leave it be. ...still wondering, though, about my chances of minimizing the few paint scratches that I have with rubbing compound. That I will give a shot.

As to my "story", I actually started following the MM before it was even on the street, and was very interested from the get-go, especially since I've always liked American muscle, especially Fords, my first car being a '69 Cougar ragtop, and eventually buying two more, another '69, with the 390, and a '70. The 1st and 3rd Cougars had the pedestrian 351 Windsor, but it was hard to argue with the old Cougar style. Anyway, the one thing that I didn't like about the upcoming MM was that it wasn't going to come in a standard shift version, and when the MM actually hit the market, I was also disappointed with what I kept hearing about off-the-mark performance. My interest waned a bit, but I've never actually raced anyway, and the looks and sound of the car simply recaptured my interest, so I started somewhat seriously pricing new and very low mileage used ones last Aug.

I had always thought that the car was overpriced given the low-end performance question, and buying one was for me a complete act of mid-life frivolity, especially given my intention not to sell my trusty '98 Ranger, retaining it as my daily driver, so I sorta' had to quell my guilt by promising myself that I simply wouldn't pay more than $23K for one. The greatest temptation that I faced to break this pledge occurred this past Jan., involving a dealer in Vermont, who had a leftover, brand new (non-demo) '03 that he was willing to let go for $25K. I actually moved off of my number, to $23.5K, and frankly probably woulda' bit had he moved to $24.5K, but he didn't, and within only two or three days of our last correspondence, I spotted one on Auto Trader, held by an unaffiliated, small-town dealer in Georgia, with 629 mi. on the clock, for $23.5K.

I hopped on it immediately, and learned that in March '03 the car was bought brand new in Alabama for about $28.2K, by a gentleman who was two months shy of his 88th birthday! He passed away last September, the dealer acquired the ride from his estate several months later, and I ended up picking it up, sight unseen (except for images that the dealer took and e-mailed to me) for $21.5K! On top of it, the dealer kept the car for me in his showroom for two months after I bought it, because I was anxious not to take it 'til the worst of the New England winter was over. I had it shipped to me in mid-March for a very reasonable $550.

The car is in essentially new condition (including the interior smell.) I really cannot say enough about it, the dealer, and my outstanding fortune. Oh, and my earlier misgivings notwithstanding, the car has considerably more punch to it than I had expected it would. Finally, the fella who drove the car carrier that transported the beast was utterly enthralled over it, and wanted to know as much about it as I could tell him. He was also hauling an old, tired Plymouth GTX, clearly someone's upcoming project, and, like most of the folks here, had a true appreciation for American muscle.

[AzMarauder]

Thanks all for the insight re my fuel door. Revisiting it today, I've probably overstated how much it protrudes. In fact, it's not even 1/4", and I've pretty much decided to leave it be. ...still wondering, though, about my chances of minimizing the few paint scratches that I have with rubbing compound. That I will give a shot.

As to my "story", I actually started following the MM before it was even on the street, and was very interested from the get-go, especially since I've always liked American muscle, especially Fords, my first car being a '69 Cougar ragtop, and eventually buying two more, another '69, with the 390, and a '70. The 1st and 3rd Cougars had the pedestrian 351 Windsor, but it was hard to argue with the old Cougar style. Anyway, the one thing that I didn't like about the upcoming MM was that it wasn't going to come in a standard shift version, and when the MM actually hit the market, I was also disappointed with what I kept hearing about off-the-mark performance. My interest waned a bit, but I've never actually raced anyway, and the looks and sound of the car simply recaptured my interest, so I started somewhat seriously pricing new and very low mileage used ones last Aug.

I had always thought that the car was overpriced given the low-end performance question, and buying one was for me a complete act of mid-life frivolity, especially given my intention not to sell my trusty '98 Ranger, retaining it as my daily driver, so I sorta' had to quell my guilt by promising myself that I simply wouldn't pay more than $23K for one. The greatest temptation that I faced to break this pledge occurred this past Jan., involving a dealer in Vermont, who had a leftover, brand new (non-demo) '03 that he was willing to let go for $25K. I actually moved off of my number, to $23.5K, and frankly probably woulda' bit had he moved to $24.5K, but he didn't, and within only two or three days of our last correspondence, I spotted one on Auto Trader, held by an unaffiliated, small-town dealer in Georgia, with 629 mi. on the clock, for $23.5K.

I hopped on it immediately, and learned that in March '03 the car was bought brand new in Alabama for about $28.2K, by a gentleman who was two months shy of his 88th birthday! He passed away last September, the dealer acquired the ride from his estate several months later, and I ended up picking it up, sight unseen (except for images that the dealer took and e-mailed to me) for $21.5K! On top of it, the dealer kept the car for me in his showroom for two months after I bought it, because I was anxious not to take it 'til the worst of the New England winter was over. I had it shipped to me in mid-March for a very reasonable $550.

The car is in essentially new condition (including the interior smell.) I really cannot say enough about it, the dealer, and my outstanding fortune. Oh, and my earlier misgivings notwithstanding, the car has considerably more punch to it than I had expected it would. Finally, the fella who drove the car carrier that transported the beast was utterly enthralled over it, and wanted to know as much about it as I could tell him. He was also hauling an old, tired Plymouth GTX, clearly someone's upcoming project, and, like most of the folks here, had a true appreciation for American muscle.
Interesting.....
The dealer you dealt with in Vermont was where I picked up my Car. I wonder if they still have the left over '03 that you passed on!

Good work in finding a sweet deal tho! There are always some out there.... just a matter of finding them!

Welcome to the MM community!