Marauder vs. Charger SRT-8

[Joe Frito]

I have been looking for a hot 4dr car, and have really liked the Marauder since it came out. The problem was when they were new, they were $48,000 CDN and there was just too much in that price range to look at. (I ended up with a Mach 1). Dodge has just released the official Canadian pricing on the new SRT Charger, and it lists for $2000 less MSRP than the Marauder did 3 years ago! It sems a little crazy that a car with 123 extra hp, 20" rims stock and all of the styling cues would actually be cheaper. Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????

[QWK SVT]

I have been looking for a hot 4dr car, and have really liked the Marauder since it came out. The problem was when they were new, they were $48,000 CDN and there was just too much in that price range to look at. (I ended up with a Mach 1). Dodge has just released the official Canadian pricing on the new SRT Charger, and it lists for $2000 less MSRP than the Marauder did 3 years ago! It sems a little crazy that a car with 123 extra hp, 20" rims stock and all of the styling cues would actually be cheaper. Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
I think EVERYONE thinks pricing had A LOT to do with the Marauder's demise...

Sticker-to-sticker, makes it look a little unbalanced, but not the whole story... I bought my 2003, for WELL under sticker price. In fact, I picked it up brand new, for $37,000, on the road (after GST/PST). PS - call a Dodge dealership, and ask them what the markup on the SRT8 will be :rolleyes:

Joe, since you're talking CDN funds, where are you located?

[423REED]

I have been looking for a hot 4dr car, and have really liked the Marauder since it came out. The problem was when they were new, they were $48,000 CDN and there was just too much in that price range to look at. (I ended up with a Mach 1). Dodge has just released the official Canadian pricing on the new SRT Charger, and it lists for $2000 less MSRP than the Marauder did 3 years ago! It sems a little crazy that a car with 123 extra hp, 20" rims stock and all of the styling cues would actually be cheaper. Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
Joe,
I bought my 2004 Marauder DTR on June 5th, 2004. Its list price was $ 36,646 US. I received $ 9600 US off of list between the dealer discount and all of the various factory rebates. I don't consider my final price to be a high price. I believe that the people who would be put off by the Marauder pricing, are the hard-core Grand Marquis buyers. They wouldn't have wanted a Marauder anyway!
Jim,
_____________________________
2004 MARAUDER 300A - DTR
1994 TAURUS SHO - DK GREEN

[rookie1]

I don't know, but, I do know that a Charger srt8 flat out kicked my butt from about 80 MPH to 120 MPH a few weeks ago on the highway. Oops I mean on a private track of course.

[FordNut]

Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
I think pricing had a lot to do with the low sales numbers. I would have bought one as soon as they came out, but dealers in my home area were adding a premium on top of list, no way I was gonna pay $40,000 USD for one. They should have been priced at around $30,000 to $32,000 USD. After they were out about 6 months I got a brand new one in Florida for somewhere around $27,000 USD.

I don't think pricing had much to do with the short production run, it was another platform for the Mach1 engine and had the same years of production.

[Warpath]

DC would charge what they think the market will support. The market is very competetive nowadays. GM and Ford have introduced new model years of some vehicles with more improvements and a lower cost than the previous model year. Add to that the fact that the demand for 4 door "sports" cars isn't as strong as it once was and I think DC sees that.

[RCSignals]

DC would charge what they think the market will support. The market is very competetive nowadays. GM and Ford have introduced new model years of some vehicles with more improvements and a lower cost than the previous model year. Add to that the fact that the demand for 4 door "sports" cars isn't as strong as it once was and I think DC sees that.

You are going to see pricing strategy changes from Ford, GM, and the Chrysler division of Daimler-Chrysler.

They will be moving to lower pricing for more volume sales, rather than infalted pricing and rebates/incentives to bring the too-high-price down.

You can't compare the MSRP of a car from today to one from previous years.

That said, as we have discussed here before, Ford should have priced the Marauder at their first inclination, which was just below $30K

There were actually some Grand Marquis priced higher than the Marauder!

[Johnman]

I have been looking for a hot 4dr car, and have really liked the Marauder since it came out. The problem was when they were new, they were $48,000 CDN and there was just too much in that price range to look at. (I ended up with a Mach 1). Dodge has just released the official Canadian pricing on the new SRT Charger, and it lists for $2000 less MSRP than the Marauder did 3 years ago! It sems a little crazy that a car with 123 extra hp, 20" rims stock and all of the styling cues would actually be cheaper. Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
I was blown away when I saw the pricing for the Charger SRT-8 at about 35K. Of course the dealers are marking them up, but the regular hemi is still 340-350HP and even less expensive. It's obvious that Ford overpriced the 302HP Marauder. My car was listed at 36K but it was late in the 2003 model year and with sales so slow, I got it for 29K.Add to that it was blue, and I feel like I was pretty lucky. But my next car will probably be a CD hemi of some sort.

[DarthMarauder]

I'm new to the forum just got my MM last thursday. I picked it up used from a Dodge dealership actually and they had a 300C SRT-8 and they were asking 6000 over invoice so thats something to help guage a Charger SRT-8. This is in MI though not Canada.

[RCSignals]

I was blown away when I saw the pricing for the Charger SRT-8 at about 35K. Of course the dealers are marking them up, but the regular hemi is still 340-350HP and even less expensive. It's obvious that Ford overpriced the 302HP Marauder. My car was listed at 36K but it was late in the 2003 model year and with sales so slow, I got it for 29K.Add to that it was blue, and I feel like I was pretty lucky. But my next car will probably be a CD hemi of some sort.


Remember that 'Hemi' (the engine) is manufactured and assembled in Mexico, saving DCX much $. That is one aspect.

[AzMarauder]

I have been looking for a hot 4dr car, and have really liked the Marauder since it came out. The problem was when they were new, they were $48,000 CDN and there was just too much in that price range to look at. (I ended up with a Mach 1). Dodge has just released the official Canadian pricing on the new SRT Charger, and it lists for $2000 less MSRP than the Marauder did 3 years ago! It sems a little crazy that a car with 123 extra hp, 20" rims stock and all of the styling cues would actually be cheaper. Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
The MM marketing and pricing has been discussed repeatedly. The car landed in no-man's land. For the money... the SVT Cobra offered waaayy more performance... and the bells and whistles could be had for a LOOOT less in a Grand Marquis.

OTOH... being down on performance but popular has been a trademark of Ford throughout the 90's. The Mustang was rarely more powerful than the GM offerings but had wide aftermarket support.

I don't follow D/C so I have no feel for their aftermarket support.... so I don't know the performance potential for an SRT-8. However, my personal opinion.. the car is BUTT UGLY... and that takes a LOT of $ to fix. Cheaper to put those $ into a lightly used MM to build the horsepower! :D

[Badger]

At the time the MM was out there were few sedans pushing out 300hp at the $30k price range. DC changed that rather quickly with the introduction of the 300M and charger. One might say that Mercury was the leader for the affordable higher horsepower sedan market.

[Mike Poore]

Does anyone else think that maybe pricing had something to do with the Marauder's demise????????
There's a story going around that the Marauder was to hit the market at ~30K, and Elana Ford, at the last minute, basically on a whim, told them to up the price by $5,000.

I believe, from my sources, that this is accurate information. What a way to run a car company ...:eek:

Toyota Slogan: We're driven!

Ford slogan: We're PMS driven. :shake:

[Bradley G]

Good point Mike!

Coulda , shoulda, woulda!:stupid:


There's a story going around that the Marauder was to hit the market at ~30K, and Elana Ford, at the last minute, basically on a whim, told them to up the price by $5,000.

I believe, from my sources, that this is accurate information. What a way to run a car company ...:eek:

Toyota Slogan: We're driven!

Ford slogan: We're PMS driven. :shake:

[Eric91Z]

I, personally, am a fan of the 300C/Magnum/Charger and almost ended up with a Charger R/T instead of the Marauder. But I was also concerned about long term reliability and the DCX cars have not proven themselves yet. And the aftermarket support - performance wise - is better for the Marauder. And I had a little problem with the styling of the Charger.

That being said, go hang out on some of the LX Platform websites and read what people are saying and dealing with on those SRT-8 models. Last time I was on there a couple months ago, there were at least 3 or 4 of them, running stock power, that had lost a motor. I can't remember the exact cause, but I was thinking thrown rod, spun bearing, something like that.

And the "regular" Hemi C/RT cars that can't crack the computer to tune for supercharger and good power. Yes, there is a supercharger kit and I think even heads and cam setups out there, but I don't think they are making the kind of power they should with those setups.

I will keep my Marauder and enjoy it daily and then really enjoy it with just the addition of a supercharger!!!! :beer: Plus, there are a lot less Marauders on the road than the various versions of the 300, Magnum, and Charger. I kind of enjoy people looking at the car and seeing that "What is that?" look on their faces.

[ADE 1000]

There's a story going around that the Marauder was to hit the market at ~30K, and Elana Ford, at the last minute, basically on a whim, told them to up the price by $5,000.


Given that a loaded Marquis or CV sport has had a sticker of ~ $30K for years, I find that hard to believe.


As for the Charger, the SRT-8 at $35K is an absolute steal.

[gpfarrell]

You are going to see pricing strategy changes from Ford, GM, and the Chrysler division of Daimler-Chrysler.

They will be moving to lower pricing for more volume sales, rather than infalted pricing and rebates/incentives to bring the too-high-price down.

You can't compare the MSRP of a car from today to one from previous years.

That said, as we have discussed here before, Ford should have priced the Marauder at their first inclination, which was just below $30K

There were actually some Grand Marquis priced higher than the Marauder!

What he said.

98% of the folks who consider buying a new car aren't as crazy about it as we are.... Many log on to a web site and start comparing 4-door cars with an MSRP in the 25,000-29,999 range... and never met the Marauder. As the consumer is finally realizing that inflated rebates aren't automatically a good buy, we'll see more cars priced (firmly) like the Chargers and less priced like the Marauders.

[Mike Poore]

Given that a loaded Marquis or CV sport has had a sticker of ~ $30K for years, I find that hard to believe.


As for the Charger, the SRT-8 at $35K is an absolute steal.
Remember, we're talking 3002 prices, here, not 2006 stickers. Also, that L/M was willing to discount the '04's nearly $10K, there must have been a lot of wiggle room, somewhere.

I'm sticking by my story.;)

[RCSignals]

Good point Mike!




Yes, I thought it was a good point


You are going to see pricing strategy changes from Ford, GM, and the Chrysler division of Daimler-Chrysler.

They will be moving to lower pricing for more volume sales, rather than infalted pricing and rebates/incentives to bring the too-high-price down.

You can't compare the MSRP of a car from today to one from previous years.

That said, as we have discussed here before, Ford should have priced the Marauder at their first inclination, which was just below $30K

There were actually some Grand Marquis priced higher than the Marauder!

[RCSignals]

Given that a loaded Marquis or CV sport has had a sticker of ~ $30K for years, I find that hard to believe.


As for the Charger, the SRT-8 at $35K is an absolute steal.

At the time, the CV sport was priced below 30K. It was raised over 30K with or just after the Marauder.

You are right about the fluffed Grand Marquis though, it was even priced higher than the Marauder.
During the Marauder availability period, Ford dropped the Grand Marquis equivalent to the CV sport (LSE ?) (in the US anyway).


I've looked at the Charger SRT-8. I can't say it's a 'steal'. Other than the higher HP, it's not that impressive in many aspects.

[looking97233]

Don't forget there is a big diffrence in the exhange rate of USD to CDN from three years ago.

[rumble]

That said, as we have discussed here before, Ford should have priced the Marauder at their first inclination, which was just below $30K



As Steve Babcock said at MVI, FMC was set to put it on the
market at $29,995. They had an advanced showing for the dealers
who said that price was TO CHEAP! So thanks to the greed of a few the car died.
I know, price wasn't the the only thing but it sure helped.