What to do!!!

[Proudcop]

Alright fellow Marauder owners. I was curious as to who else here has the same problem I do, or has had this same problem before. Ofcourse gas prices are spanking us a new :censor: . At $2.89 for 93 here in Greensboro NC, Im spending atleast 50 to 60 a week in gas. Im sure its driving everyone crazy. I also will be a father for the first time in September. With a new kid and a dog to trash the MM, is worries me. It drives my wife crazy because I am constantly cleaning it. My dilemma is what to do.:alone: I love the car more than any other car I have owned. I have owned over a dozen cars. I need an SUV badly but I dont want to give up the MM. I cant afford to have both. Gas will be high in an SUV anyway so I keep going back and forth on what to do. I need and SUV, but I know the second I give up the MM, I will have nightmares. So has anyone else out there faced this, and what did you do? Hope someone can shed some light on my problem. Thanks!!!!

John-Carolina Marauders

[Eric91Z]

Alright fellow Marauder owners. I was curious as to who else here has the same problem I do, or has had this same problem before. Ofcourse gas prices are spanking us a new :censor: . At $2.89 for 93 here in Greensboro NC, Im spending atleast 50 to 60 a week in gas. Im sure its driving everyone crazy. I also will be a father for the first time in September. With a new kid and a dog to trash the MM, is worries me. It drives my wife crazy because I am constantly cleaning it. My dilemma is what to do.:alone: I love the car more than any other car I have owned. I have owned over a dozen cars. I need an SUV badly but I dont want to give up the MM. I cant afford to have both. Gas will be high in an SUV anyway so I keep going back and forth on what to do. I need and SUV, but I know the second I give up the MM, I will have nightmares. So has anyone else out there faced this, and what did you do? Hope someone can shed some light on my problem. Thanks!!!!

John-Carolina Marauders

I understand where you are coming from, except I spend about $45-$48 in gas every 3-4 days with my commute. Almost $100/week on average. That plus the miles I put on the car really bother me. But it is hard to know what to do. This is one car, in all the cars I have owned in the past and regret getting rid of, I will not get rid of this one. So, I will drive it until I can afford to pick up a dedicated commuter/winter beater car and enjoy keeping the miles off the Marauder.

I will either go cheap with a used CVPI, but will still have the higher gas cost. Or, if we can afford it and find one, might go with a VW Golf or Jetta with the TDi. 45-47 mpg on the highway (which is mostly what I drive) and 700+ miles on a tank of gas would more than pay for itself, even with the higher cost of diesel. Plus, I could run the car for 300,000+ miles if taken care of and not need another commuter car for 10 years or so (I do almost 25,000-30,000 miles per year - 16,000 miles on the Marauder since I picked it up the beginning of September '05 - 7 months ago).

Do what you need with the vehicles. Family definitely comes first. And a car is a car. I have just decided this is one car I like to much to get rid of this time around.

[Bluerauder]

Alright fellow Marauder owners. I was curious as to who else here has the same problem I do, or has had this same problem before.
Tough choice. I reached your point at about age 27 when my first son was born. As the family grew, my vehicle selections had to meet the needs of the growing gang. It wasn't long until a sedan just didn't meet our transport needs anymore and a :ugh: van was necessary. Hope you can keep the MM; but if two cars are too much of a stretch at this time .... just do what you gotta do ......... been there, done that.

[ckadiddle]

Park the 'Rauder most of the time, get an older Honda/Toyota station wagon you can afford to pay cash for. Use that for most of the miles and reserve the Rauder for play time.

[ckadiddle]

Oee of our members has a CVPI up for sale.
http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=26318

You can also find auctions in most parts of the country:
http://www.govdeals.com/eas/
does online auctions for various governmental agencies. All kinds of vehicles including CVPIs.

Side note:
Having been through a MAJOR wreck in a 1997 Crown Vic, I am really partial to the Panther platform as far as protection of the occupants. Hondas get great gas mileage, but I wouldn't have wanted to go through what I did in one. Not even a Honda SUV. My car was hit hard enough to be spun around three times according to witnesses. All I got was wicked seatbelt bruises. Also might want to take into account that SUVs have a higher center of gravity and will roll over more easily that a big sedan. What can I say, my parents raised me paranoid. :dunno: The fuel cost of a operating a big sedan is a small price to pay for safety and peace of mind. Several of our board members have been in pretty heinous accidents with their Marauders and walked away unhurt.

Before I got the Marauder I was driving home from work (a five mile trip) making a left turn on green arrow. I was driving my nice 2001 Crown Vic LX gently, staying inside the dotted lines, obeying the speed limit. Three azzhoes in a little ranger pickup ran the red and creamed me. Result was CVLX 1 , Ranger 0. Crumpled my front right corner a little bit. Tore the heck out of the Ranger and spun it around. I drove home, ranger had to be winched onto a flatbed.

That was just a minor wreck. For me, anyway.:)

Just my opinions and experiences, nothing more, nothing less. If I had children of my own, they'd be riding around in a Marauder or other Panther. I'd cut back on other things to pay for gas.

[not5-0]

If you get an SUV you will not be solving your gas problem and speaking as a father who is a car fanatic, when my son was born I just covered the back seat and made sure that if there was a spill etc. that it was cleaned ASAP(keep tuff stuff and a cordless vac in the trunk) My car stayed nice and I wasnt forced to drive a mommy mobile. GOOD LUCK

[Merc-O-matic]

Trade the Marauder in for a FORD Escape....
You can always get another Marauder down the road.
or buy a good used Mercury Grand Marquis (5 star safety rating)

[Proudcop]

Thanks everyone, u all have great advice. Its a tough choice. I keep going back and forth on choices. I will keep ya posted!!!!!

John -Carolina Marauders

[Agent M79]

Full size SUVs are going to get worse gas mileage. Small SUVs may be better but I don't know what utility they would deliver over the MM since they are basically sedans with the trunk flipped upright and attached.

Keep your MM and trade the wife's car in! :coolman:

[Bruce Wayne]

These stories sound too familiar, I have thought of selling the Marauder, for about 3 seconds. Keep the car, you won't be sorry, don"t buy a foreign second car, support your own domestic brands, Safety, comfort, reliability and luxury have to make up for a few more mpg.Drive your car with pride and remember, you will always kick yourself in the ass if you sell it

[jgc61sr2002]

I agree you will be sorry if you sell the Marauder.^^^^^

[grampaws]

Park the 'Rauder most of the time, get an older Honda/Toyota station wagon you can afford to pay cash for. Use that for most of the miles and reserve the Rauder for play time.

I did the same but bought a windstar minivan...don't care what happens to
it totally utilitarian purpose dogs love it mount a DVD player-kids love it,
tons of room and saves the car...
driving it sucks! Pityfull performance
but it is really useful for kids junk toys and stuff..
cheaper than a SUV to purchase and gas...:o

[Bradley G]

Much better compromise,
Minivan + Marauder = :D + More :twocents: for mods!

:P See!

[Proudcop]

Hey Bradley, I love your mathmatics!!!!!!!!:bows: But hey your right everyone, I will regret it!!!!!!!!

John-Carolina Marauders

[ckadiddle]

Bottom line, we aren't YOU. You gotta do what's right for your family. Best of luck with things. Hope they work out.

[Proudcop]

Good point ckadiddle !

[O's Fan Rich]

Heck... a 4cyl 5spd Fox body will nail down 27- 33 mpg, and you can make it look cool.
There are a number of 4 door econo boxes out there. A friend has a Toyota Corolla 5 speed 4 door that he's getting 40-42 on the highway with.

Think it through and what ever you do will be just fine for you.

[Proudcop]

Thanks Rich!!!!!!!!!!!! But you know how women are, in all due respect ladies, the wife doesnt want a third car. It will take some carressing to get one :beatnik:

John-Carolina Marauder

[BAD MERC]

I have no trouble spending the extra gas money on the MM (more windows down-sunroof open driving to conserve gas). $3.05 a gallon burns but they have us bent over. You should love your Marauder more than any other car, it's collectible, rare and unique. I love driving into a parking lot and having a dozen people ask me about mine You never see another one right next to you (like camrys and accords). I will continue to drive with a light foot and wait for Bush to be impeached so I can have cheap gas again. When it gets REALLY bad- I will jump on the Kawasaki. It is 650cc single cylinder Dual-Sport and gets about 50MPG. It will hold 6 gallons so a $30.00 fill-up is imminent.