thinkin bout buyin a marauder or 96 impala

[s805bgtymer]

well i previously owned a 96 impala an loved it but recently was hit by a drunk driver an had my car totaled..i have found a marauder locally for 23000 after taxes with 22000 miles its a 03...wanna know how the marauder is in comparison performance wise...it seems like a lot of the power is made after 3500 rpms so im wondering if the basic mods like air intake kooks header an exhaust an chip beef up the marauder down low like the same mods do to the impala....with 8500 down the dealer will give me a 4yr loan with payments of 270 a month..tell me whAT U GUYS THINKim 21 so im gonna be in this car for a minute..thanks in advance..

[LVMarauder]

Sorry to hear about you most unforunate accident. The Marauder responds well to Mods, but our powerband will always be higher than that LT1 you are used to. BUT you can alwasy move the car into its powerband a little faster with mods like Underdrive pullies and highstall, low weight torque converters. Chip will give you power and more importantly fix the shift points on the tranny because stock it hunts around and goes for 4th like it was going out of style.

Now, ive raced modded impalas and won, but never stock. I can only pass on what I have heard form here and thats stock vs stock the LT1 wins the 1/8th but the 4 valve wins the 1/4.

Nice to have more people my age here. :beer: :rasta:

[SouLRioT]

There a quite a few guys that owned impalas, so I'll let them tell you what to expect with a Marauder. But if you liked your SS you'll love the MM.

[Johng]

I currently have both cars, a 96 SS and an 04 MM. They are 2 distinctly different cars. The SS has a much stronger off the line accelaration then the MM. But the MM has a great mid range and high range performance curve. The Merc does not reach the level of raw performance that the impala has, but the MM is more luxurious! Good luck in your choice.

[s805bgtymer]

well if i go with the merc i would immidately would do an air intake gears an the ful kooks setup...would that put me at or close to 300 hp at the wheels..my impala had intake headers an exhaust plus dyno tune an it spun 292 at the wheels..im also wondering about the durabilityof it since i have read some of the problems owners have encountered on the forum

[jgc61sr2002]

Welcome to the MM site. :D :welcome: The newest Impalas (LT-1) are almost 10 years old. I would go for the Marauder.

[BillyGman]

When it comes to modifying the Marauder, I spent $4,000 in mods which included new gears (1st 4.10's, and then 4.56's) kooks headers and complete 2.5" exhaust package, aftermarket torque converter(Stallion from precision Industries www.converter.com (http://www.converter.com/) ) with a 3,000 RPM stall speed and while all of that brought the HP of my Marauder up to 300 at the wheels, the car still didn't take off from the line nor burn rubber into second gear like my brother's bone stock 100,000+ mile LT1 engine equipped 94 Buick Roadmaster can.


The LT1 engine is simply a torquier engine due to it's 70 cubic inch displacement advantage. If you want power down low like your Impala SS had out of a Marauder, then you're just going to have to spend th big bucks for a power adder. ofcourse my car now has more power at any RPM level than the LT1 engine cars do because of the Trilogy supercharger.

I'm not saying that the Marauder will never be as fast as your Impala SS was w/out a power adder, but it will never have the low-end torque that you Impala SS had w/out a power adder, and ofcourse a roots supercharger will give your Marauder more Low-end grunt than your Impala SS ever had. I also think that the Marauder looks waaaay better than any Impala ever did, but that's my opinion. Just keep your expectations realistic when it comes to performance mods. HP costs $$ and you only get what you pay for.

You'll do well by keeping that in mind while modifying an equally heavy car which has a 281 cubic inch engine under the hood as compared to your last car that had 350 cubes under it's hood. And 70 cubes is a substantial difference. I say this all the time on this board, and I'll say it again here....I only wish that I had supercharged my Marauder FIRST rather than LAST like I did. ;) ("Tallboy" is one of those who listened to me about that, and he supercharged his Marauder right away, and he's never regreted doing so, and he continues to thank me for guiding him in that decision)..think before you mod

[David Morton]

You're young so get the Marauder. You can always do stuff to any car. Sean Hyland Racing has a 322 c.i. version of our engine for example. Also, with a supercharger like some of the guys have done, you will be doing more for less money than most guys dream of spending twice as much. Besides, we have the technology advantage with the 32 valve DOHC heads, so as far as engine platform, I'd rather have ours than the LT1 any day, and I used to work for GM, Chevy, Buick and Pontiac and I believe what we have is a better design.

And the girls will be much more impressed with the inside of the car. Hell, just on that alone you can forget the first paragraph. :D

[BillyGman]

And the girls will be much more impressed with the inside of the car. Hell, just on that alone you can forget the first paragraph. :DAbsolutely. Supercharged or N/A...either way these are real cool cars. :)

[rookie1]

I currently have both cars, a 96 SS and an 04 MM. They are 2 distinctly different cars. The SS has a much stronger off the line accelaration then the MM. But the MM has a great mid range and high range performance curve. The Merc does not reach the level of raw performance that the impala has, but the MM is more luxurious! Good luck in your choice.

I went from an SS to an MM and ditto to the above.

The MM is slightly quieter at highway speeds, I would also give the nod to the MM in the handling dept though it has quirky alignment and tire pressure issues.
The MM is a better all weather car wit or without traction control. My SS used to get a little squirrely in the twisties when it was a little damp out and the MM seems better at this......probably due to tires.
Other than the off the line acceleraration you'll feel like your stepping into an updated version of the SS. The vehicles are strikingly similar.

[Shaft333]

It sounds like the dealer is giving you a good deal on the Marauder. I hope you negotiated a price rather than a payment - well anyway if there's no trade in this deal you're doing well.

I've never driven the Impala so I can't compare directly. I do know the industry fairly well though.

I love my Marauder. It's gorgeous. It is fun to drive. My only dissapointment is in the two months I've owned it - it has seen the dealer twice for warranty work. The paint is also lousy (this supposedly has been taken care of the non-black 03's and all 04's). I'm crossing my fingers that these are flukes and the long term quality is up to par.

[Marauder2005]

well i previously owned a 96 impala an loved it but recently was hit by a drunk driver an had my car totaled..i have found a marauder locally for 23000 after taxes with 22000 miles its a 03...wanna know how the marauder is in comparison performance wise...it seems like a lot of the power is made after 3500 rpms so im wondering if the basic mods like air intake kooks header an exhaust an chip beef up the marauder down low like the same mods do to the impala....with 8500 down the dealer will give me a 4yr loan with payments of 270 a month..tell me whAT U GUYS THINKim 21 so im gonna be in this car for a minute..thanks in advance..
Hello there I would have to say go with the Marauder, BTW you would'nt
happen to live in Newton, MA. would you? there is an Impala SS in front
of a house rear ended by a truck...

[MaLo03]

There a quite a few guys that owned impalas, so I'll let them tell you what to expect with a Marauder. But if you liked your SS you'll love the MM.
I agree with Bill, I owned a 96 Impala for a short time. It was purchased as an investment and sold quikly so I did not drive it much. I can tell you that I am more impressed with the Marauder. The Impala had that take off brut force, but the Marauder ,on the move, is smooth and quik and in my opinion, looks stylish, great looking interior and not too many off us on the road. I still see more Impalas than I see Marauders around town.

[Bluerauder]

And the girls will be much more impressed with the inside of the car. Hell, just on that alone you can forget the first paragraph. :D
Yessiree ... that's what really sold the wife on my Marauder. She liked the Blue and loved the interior!! :D I kinda think she likes to work the "go pedal" nearly as much as I do. ;)

[s805bgtymer]

thanks for all the input fellas..i gotta go on a imposed vaction starting the 23rd of may but when i get out at the end of June i think i'll be headin down to the stealership for my new ride...fyi im located in southern california...Oxnard....defenit ely appreciate all the input u guys are as cool as all my old ss buddies at the ss forum

[Merc-O-matic]

well i previously owned a 96 impala an loved it but recently was hit by a drunk driver an had my car totaled..i have found a marauder locally for 23000 after taxes with 22000 miles its a 03...wanna know how the marauder is in comparison performance wise...it seems like a lot of the power is made after 3500 rpms so im wondering if the basic mods like air intake kooks header an exhaust an chip beef up the marauder down low like the same mods do to the impala....with 8500 down the dealer will give me a 4yr loan with payments of 270 a month..tell me whAT U GUYS THINKim 21 so im gonna be in this car for a minute..thanks in advance..
Basically it comes down to this; either you're FORD or GM?
I like both.....Good Luck.

Gotta Love it! :bandit:

[LVMarauder]

thanks for all the input fellas..i gotta go on a imposed vaction starting the 23rd of may but when i get out at the end of June i think i'll be headin down to the stealership for my new ride...fyi im located in southern california...Oxnard....defenit ely appreciate all the input u guys are as cool as all my old ss buddies at the ss forum


OXNARD!@!!!!!! I go to UCSB im 20 minutes up from you. Are you looking at the Marauder at the merc dealer in SB because I saw one there a week ago.

[s805bgtymer]

OXNARD!@!!!!!! I go to UCSB im 20 minutes up from you. Are you looking at the Marauder at the merc dealer in SB because I saw one there a week ago.yeah that one what do u think

[LVMarauder]

Let me go look at it, ill be back in town on Monday. Ill tell you the milage if any and type(300A or B) That one has been there 2 years I imagine so it probably wont be flying off the shelf any time soon.

[PJR]

I'm another guy who has owned both. Which styling do you like better? Loved my '95 DCM when I owned it, but I like the lines of the MM more. I also like having the newer technology in the MM. The 'attraction factor' is about the same. Had a guy approach me in the parking lot of Home Depot the other day and inquire (I'm paraphrasing) WTF is it, it's cool!

[Amsoil_Dealer]

I noticed that many peole noted that the Maruder handles better, particulrly in the wet. Is this relative to overall weight of the car? Newer suspension technology?

Someone else also mentioned that all Marauders are at least 7-8 years newer than all Impala SS (at least the LT-1 rear drive versions) This means that things like climate control, Traction control (if so equipped), ABS are all newer designs with less time on them. This is big factor for daily drivability and maintenance. Those factors alone would lead me to Marauder.

FWIW, I was always a GM guy until the about 2000 and I really wanted an Impala SS. However, since 2000 I think the Ford line is far superior in terms of fit, finish and feel and I have converted.

Don

[s805bgtymer]

thanks in advance for going to check out the car ......from everything i gather hear the mrauder is just a more luxurious vehicle.....but in all honesty even though i probably will end up buying one the impala would kill the marauder in the 1/4 everytime if they both cars have the same mods ie if the imapal just had gears intake exhaust chip an the merc the same the impala would beat it not by much but it would..Lt1 engine probably one of the top 5 engines produced in the 90's performance wise

[Marauder2005]

I always liked those 95-96 "rolling baked potatoes" my buddy has a black
one w/ 110,000 and it still runs strong as a horse, but when he let me drive it
it felt floaty in comparison to my Marauder around corners (WOT),
mileage might have something to do with it even though its been garaged
for Winter since new. But if you choose the MM I'll guarantee you,
you wont look back...

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[Bowtie]

:) For looks: The exterior of the Impala wins (primarily because of the stock wheel/tire package). The interior of the Marauder wins.
Quality of build: Marauder wins
Refinement: Marauder
Raw thrills: Impala
Ease and price of mods to reach a given level of performance (1/4 mile OR handling): Impala.
Beyond bolt-on power mods, you really don't have an option with the Marauder - just supercharge it, since heads/cam mods as compared to the Chevy are prohibitively expensive.

[Bradley G]

For looks: The exterior of the Impala wins (Quote)
Not even close!:banned:
Bradley G

[RF Overlord]

The Marauder responds well to Mods, but our powerband will always be higher than that LT1 you are used to. BUT you can alwasy move the car into its powerband a little faster with mods like Underdrive pullies and highstall, low weight torque converters. Chip will give you power and more importantly fix the shift points on the tranny because stock it hunts around and goes for 4th like it was going out of style.

^^^what LV said^^^

Another thing to remember is that unless you can find a really nice, low-mileage, well-kept, unmodded (read: untrashed) Impala SS, you're always going to be dealing with a car that's 10 years old...although they ARE sweet.

A pox on Chevy for not offering anything equivalent for the last 10 years. Making the Impala SS into a wrong-wheel drive über-ricer was just wrong...

[Smokie]

You already have recieved good advice and well balanced, since we do have many guys in this forum that really like the SS (myself included) so what is most important is what your long term plans are for owning your next car.

If you are mostly interested in having the fastest 1/4 mile car for the least amount of money, the decision is fairly easy, go Impala...:D

If your budget will allow a little more, the Marauder can be turned from a Big Heavy Mercury with a small engine into a very fast Heavy car. The MM. benefits from newer technology, an interior that is better than the Impala's and in my opinion superior handling at high speeds....:D


Either way, you are welcome here.

[Bradley G]

Well put Smokie.

Got to give Bowtie kudos for that pass @ MVII,on a very hot day his car ran like a ***** ape!:P
I do like the pics of those (SS's) tanks lunging off the line.
Bradley G
Used prices on the SS Impalas are very strong in the Chicago area.
For every Marauder I see around here, I see many SS's

[BillyGman]

. The Marauder responds well to Mods, but our powerband will always be higher than that LT1 you are used to. Yeah, unless you put a Trilogy supercharger on the Marauder....then you'll have all the low-end grunt as well as midrange punch that any 13 or even 12 second Impala SS does. My Marauder runs consistent 1.6 second 60' times(no slicks, just drag radials), as well as 4.90 second 330' times, and 7.65 second 1/8th mile times.....and........ well, you get the point.:D