Which one to buy?

[68Camaro]

First post here, and have been in love with the marauder since the day them came out.

So I have a choice between two marauders. One is $14900 with 58k miles, looks like it's in excellent condition, and seller is willing to negotiate. The other is $17500, 37k miles with extended warranty, seller is firm on price. BTW, the one for $14900 has a clock in the dash, so is that the good one, or not so good one? (300A, 300B)

[Mike Poore]

First post here, and have been in love with the marauder since the day them came out.

So I have a choice between two marauders. One is $14900 with 58k miles, looks like it's in excellent condition, and seller is willing to negotiate. The other is $17500, 37k miles with extended warranty, seller is firm on price. BTW, the one for $14900 has a clock in the dash, so is that the good one, or not so good one? (300A, 300B)

There aren't good or bad ones, but there was a transmission change in the '04's that some say is a stronger unit. Having said that, there are many '03A's & B's with superchargers and power adders, holding up, just fine. The '03A (clock in dash) has map pockets, and locking gas cap (remote button), among other things, while the '04's have heated seats and traction control. Beware of paint issues on the black '03A because there problems with certain runs which careful inspection will reveal. (White dots & spots) Some were repainted under warranty.
Thing is, you're talking about a $2500 price difference ang get 2700 fewer miles and extended warranty, wich IMHO more than makes up for the price difference.
PM Brian (RoyaLPita) the VIN #'s and he'll run the OASIS reports.
There are threads here which tell all the technical details, if you do a search.

[Haggis]

Welcome either one sounds nice without seeing them up close. Pick which ever one suits you best. 300a or b no difference in my book, but I do love the butt warmers in the winter.

[68Camaro]

The one for $14900 is within my budget since he already stated he's willing to negotiate. This will be my daily driver, so it would be nice to get a car with an extended warranty...but I can't justify going way over my budget to do so.

[RoyLPita]

Feel free to PM me with both VINs. I'll be glad to help you out here.

BTW, Welcome aboard.

[MM2004]

The one for $14900 is within my budget since he already stated he's willing to negotiate. This will be my daily driver, so it would be nice to get a car with an extended warranty...but I can't justify going way over my budget to do so.

Depending on the extended warranty you have, there is a great piece of mind knowing you are covered if something goes wrong.

I have the extended warranty on mine, and am covered to 75k. Which warranty is on this MM?

IMO, if you can stretch yourself another few grand, you won't be sorry.

Good luck and welcome!

Mike.

[jdando]

Welcome to the site!

All things being equal go with the more expensive one. Ideally it is in better shape, there are reasons why cheaper items are cheaper.

Get the OASIS reports, have someone from the board drive the cars, drive their car.

Some areas to look at a little more carefully; blue smoke at start up, paint quality, has tranny been beat on (the 4-2 downshift is very hard on the car).

The 300A (clock in dash) was an earlier build in the model year. The 300B with have traction control which I like living in MN and driving year round. It does require you to keep near stock size tires to function correctly.

The warranty thing is not a big deal for me. Consider your long term plans with the car, what mods are in it's future. A S/C could put a big crimp in any future warranty issues.

Good luck, post any additional questions and then post pictures of the car you get!

jeremy

[AstroVic]

The price difference between the two is nearly $3,000 (or maybe a little more if you can negotiate a great deal on the lower priced one).

You can do a *LOT* of repairs....er, mods....or pay for a lot of gas, insurance, and maintenance for that money! Plus, it sounds as if your budget really doesn't allow the pricier one anyhow.

If you live in the south, traction control and heated seats (found on the 300Bs) isn't that big of a deal. I personally like the features of the 300A better, but it's really just a matter of six versus half a dozen to most folks.

[jim geary]

The one for $14900 is within my budget since he already stated he's willing to negotiate. This will be my daily driver, so it would be nice to get a car with an extended warranty...but I can't justify going way over my budget to do so.
Well I'm not sure. You pay out an additional 2500.00 but you get 21,000 miles
less plus a warrenty.Dosen't really sound too bad. Try to get them to knock off 500.00 . That would be a pretty good deal.:)

[juno]

Depends on your plans. If you plan on modding before the warranty on the other one runs out, then get the cheaper one. Wait for Brian's OASIS reports also.

[ckadiddle]

Wait for Brian's reports...one may turn out to have spent most of it's time in the shop - and that could make up your mind for you.

[MeanMachine]

First post here, and have been in love with the marauder since the day them came out.

So I have a choice between two marauders. One is $14900 with 58k miles, looks like it's in excellent condition, and seller is willing to negotiate. The other is $17500, 37k miles with extended warranty, seller is firm on price. BTW, the one for $14900 has a clock in the dash, so is that the good one, or not so good one? (300A, 300B)

haha, You are in California aren't you? Northern? I saw those on Autotrader as well. Let me know how those Oasis reports turn out.

[rumble]

First post here, and have been in love with the marauder since the day them came out.

So I have a choice between two marauders. One is $14900 with 58k miles, looks like it's in excellent condition, and seller is willing to negotiate. The other is $17500, 37k miles with extended warranty, seller is firm on price. BTW, the one for $14900 has a clock in the dash, so is that the good one, or not so good one? (300A, 300B)

Oh man, the one I would get in a heartbeat is neither one of those but this one

http://www.mercurymarauder.net/forums/showthread.php?t=29773

I don't know how long you have followed MM.net but if you have you know all about Trilogy Marauders.

I have never seen this car nor met the owner but he has impeccable references.

[96DiamondVIII]

Both sound like good deals, I paid 18,700 a couple of weeks ago for my '03 300B, 42k miles, extended powertrain warranty. It was more than I was originally looking to spend, too, but the car was worth it. The way I was able to justify it was by taking a bit longer-term loan than I had originally planned...since I plan to keep this car for a long time it didn't bother me. Hope one or the other works for you!