Just got a Marauder!

[piglet]

Gents,

I am the proud new owner of a MM. I had been working with my local dealer for the past few weeks. Today I found out about the $2000 cash back offer from Mercury. Yes, $2000 cash back. I also got a $500 military appreciation from Mercury as well. So grand total cash back was $2500.

I got the car for 2% over invoice which I feel is far. The only option I got was the 6 disc CD changer.

I drove it tonight for a total of 55 miles. In those 55 miles I was challenged by two different Corvettes. I did not give them a go. No need to trash-out a brand new motor. The only thing I miss is there is not a foot rest for your left foot while driving. I know that may sound crazy but my last vechicle had one and I miss that sucker. I was not impressed with the high-beems on the head lights, a little weak I would submitt.

I will be asking for washing techniques in the future and what supplies you all recommend for me to purchase to reduce the swirl marks. I have had a black Bronco before and know all to well about the swirl marks.

Well thanks for listening to me jibber on about my new toy.

[03 Merc]

Congrats Piglet.

Did the post / base credit union work out?

We have a condo in New Bern, NC and family in Chapel Hill so I'll be chasing around up in your neck of the woods on spring break.. If Marauders are as rare up in East NC as here I'll give you a bad rep when I visit!!:p

BTW I suspect it won't be long before someone has a dead pedal available. You could also adapt one for a stang if your in a hurry...

[KazMan]

Hi and welcome to the 03MM forum.

Ahh the left foot hanging in the wind I know the feeling well.First thing I noticed on the ride home from the dealer (July 20 i'm about 26 miles from the dealer) I'm waiting and hoping for someone to release a dead pedal for that little problem, or I just might have to fab one.


The stock lamps do suk, about 2 weeks ago I installed a pair of " Xrtra Vision" by Sylvania Fixed that problem.
They throw a bit more light forward and to the sides really makes a difference. about 20 bucks at most auto part stores


Wash and Wax

Zaino Bros'
or
Griot's
also get some microfiber cloths

Semper Fi

[MAD-3R]

Welcome to the forums. Enjoy your stay.

[MAD-3R]

Welcome to the forums. Enjoy your stay.

I never use High beams. Drives my Wife nuts causeI can see, and she can't. :)

[piglet]

Gents,

I appreciate everyone’s warm welcome. I am the first one in my area to purchase a Marauder. I must admit we have received a lot of stares. Most people don't even know the Marauder exists........Sad.

I have some other questions and will post them separately.

[mensrea]

Kenny Brown has a dead pedal, I don't know if you can buy it as a kit though. Works and looks great! Give em a call and find out.

[piglet]

Thanks for the dead pedal update. I will give them a call.

Piglet

[james_hart6]

Originally posted by piglet
Thanks for the dead pedal update. I will give them a call.

Piglet

Can you post the results? No use everyone calling and asking the same question - but a dead pedal is right at the top of my shopping list.

Thanks!

Jim

[piglet]

No problem. I will call today if they are still there if not then on Monday.

[Cooper]

Congrads piglet! You must be extremely excited... I'll bet you don't get a wink of sleep tonight. :D You are smart- don't waste your time "demonstrating" what your car can do for folks like the 'vette drivers. You've got a beautiful new car that's the envy of a lot of people- no need to ruin a brand new car or "prove" yourself to anyone. I wish you the best of luck with your new car, I'm very happy for you. ENJOY!

[piglet]

Stealth Vic ,

Thanks for the welcome. I am very excited about my new toy. It rained today and there was mud on the street from the rain and my MM had mud all over it. :mad:

So when I got home I just hosed off the car. I still have not washed it yet. I am afraid to wash it. I don't want to put any scratched in the paint. I see you have a sexy black '02 sport. Could you tell me how you go about washing and waxing it. Lots of detail please to include brands used.

I had a '94 black Bronco for brand new for 4 years but go rid of it due to the extreme maintenance of keeping a black vehicle looking good. Well I am back almost 10 years later with another "Ford" black vehicle.

Thanks for the welcome!

[Cooper]

A black car- :( as soon as you wash it, it starts attracting dust like a magnet. I had to drive my brand new '02 Sport home in a snow storm- I was gritting my teeth the whole way home from the dealer. I hosed it off as soon as I got home and then I wouldn't drive it for the rest of the week 'cause they salted and sanded the roads. Everyone at work was making fun of me- but I didn't care. I wasn't about to drive my brand new car in that kind of weather!

Anyway, to answer your questions about cleaning it- here's what I do. I wash my car inside my garage. I find that I can prevent water spots from forming when I wash the car IN the garage. I'm very careful and control where I aim the spray. I start off by hosing down the entire car. As far as cleaning products, I use (GOD FORBID!) dish washing liquid- usually whatever is on sale. Yup- I admit it, I use dish washing liquid on my car. I pour it in the bottom of a big bucket and add water briskly so it foams up real nice. I believe TECHNIQUE is extremely important when washing a car. I use a special soft bristled car cleaning brush by Oxo... http://www.totalliving.com/oxocar1.html This brush is fairly large and allows me to clean large sections of the car in a short amount of time. I start with the roof and work my way down. I make sure there is plenty of soap and water in the brush when I start wiping to surface of the car. Because the bristles of this brush are so soft, I am not worried about swirl marks. I've probably washed my car about 50 times, and this brush has never left any swirls. As soon as I scrub a section with the brush, I quickly rinse the soap off so it doesn't stay in contact with the car too long. So I clean a section, rinse a section, and move to the next section- very systematically, always moving from top to bottom.

After I've washed and rinsed all the painted surfaces, I clean the tires and wheels with a second, smaller brush that can get into the crevices of the wheels. I only use this brush to clean the tires and wheels, nothing else. It tends to get pretty grimy due to the brake dust.

The last step is drying off the car to prevent water spots. I use a couple of very soft terry cloth bath towels. I start with the roof again and work my way down. I SLOWLY pull the towel across the surface of the car, absorbing water as I go. As soon as the towel becomes water logged, I wring it out and continue with the damp towel. When I've removed as much water from the surface of the car as possible, I take a second DRY towel and blot or gently wipe the remaining wet spots off the car before they dry.

The whole washing/drying process can take me about an hour to complete if I just work casually.

I use ZYMOL wax on my car. I love the coconut smell of ZYMOL and it is an excellent wax. I have also used Meguire's Gold Class car wax on it too. I can't say that either one works any better than the other. I use these products because I've read posts by other Crown Vic owners who have very beautiful finishes on their cars who say these products are the best. There is another wax called ZAINO which is supposed to be excellent also- but I've never been able to locate any in the auto stores I go to.

Another product I endorse is RAIN-EX. I tried applying it to my windshield and I love it. The water beads up and runs right off the glass. At highway speeds I don't even need wipers because the water just floats up and over the glass! When I do occasionally use the wipers, they slide smoothly and effortlessly over the glass.

You'll probably get MORE info than you want from people on this subject. I will say this though- I've use these cleaning techniques on my black 1996 Crown Vic LX Hpp, and I still have people who think it's a NEW car when they look at it. (Its got over 110K on it!).

Well, I've blabbed long enough here. If you have any questions I didn't answer here, let me know! :)

[Logan]

Stealthvic... Zaino is never sold in stores. It's a small distributorship operation run by independent guys...

[Cooper]

Originally posted by Logan
Stealthvic... Zaino is never sold in stores. It's a small distributorship operation run by independent guys...

That's what I always thought- but I did read a couple of posts (on another web site) by people who claim they bought it at AutoZone. Thanks for clearing up the confusion.

[Logan]

It's possible that an independent store made arrangements with the local distributor...

There's two places here in DFW that stock it in a store front for the local guy.

[warriorprophet]

Yeah the AutoZones in midcities have Zaino. My 'stang friends use it exclusively. I let Alladin's use balck magic on my 'vic though.