03/04 Plastic Difference? (DTR Marauder wanted!)

[Cordoba1]

Hi guys – Long time no chat.

Well – This summer, I sold my 2003 300A with about 60,000 Miles. I’m regretting that decision for a few reasons.

(A quick side note: I sold it at CarMax, and it was an exceptionally good experience – they really do “buy your car even if you don’t buy ours.” – The buying and selling transactions are completely separate.)

Okay – As a true “car guy,” I take exceptional care of my vehicles – inside, outside, under the hood. My black car looked great. Now, I’ve been shopping for cars, checking out eBay, cars.com, and the rest of the Internet. I have visited a few dealerships around Chicagoland and have looked at several Marauders, all of them hacked up! There is a Silver Marauder for sale at a dealership in Burbank, IL with only 15,000 miles on it, but it has clearly had a rough life. The birch colored leather is stained, the grey panel on the dash is all nicked up, and the subwoofer is missing. The grill had also been spray-painted silver - Not good. There must have been an aftermarket stereo in it as there is a huge power lead under the hood leading to the firewall. I took a pass on it because of the dirty interior and missing sub.

I also was close to buying an ’04 DTR at Joe Cotton Ford. But something didn’t add up with this one. The interior smelled kind of musty, the carpet was ripped in the passenger-side foot-well, and again, the sub was missing. The dealer said he’d put a new factory-sub in it for me, but the exterior was far more scratched up than a car with only 44,000 miles should have been.

Now I have a question for all of you who have experience with both the 03 and 04 models: Both of the cars I looked at were ‘04’s with fairly low mileage. In both cases, I noticed that there was a lot of discoloration around the switchgear. The plastic around the power-windows switches was flaking the grey showing the black underneath. In both cars, the grey was also flaking off of the dash, showing black spots. My ’03 didn’t show this discoloration in the plastics. Is this unique to ‘04’s? Also – Having only seen one Marauder with the light-flint interior, does it hold up as well as the black?

All of that said – I have financing (Blank Check Auto Loan) in hand, and I am in the market for a low mileage, excellent condition Marauder in Dark Toreador Red! :)
eMail me at adam@functionbox.org if you know of any.

Best,
Adam

[magindat]

It's true of most Ford plastics. There are a number of manufacturers who make a 'vinyl dye' that matches the dark gray perfectly. It is commonly used by those 'fix up' guys who 'restore' used cars. I've even seen it used successfully on steering wheels.

Standard spray-painting techniques and cautions apply. Easy fix.

BTW, an aftermarket sub is an easy upgrade, too.

[CROWNMARAUDER]

I just bought a DTR in july 07. It had 43k miles when I bought it. I have had to replace numerous interior trim pieces due to wear. This was pretty common in all the marauders I looked at. I also had to replace the drivers side heated seat switch which is famous for problems. I kick myself for not buying my dad's DTR that he had to sell in march of 07. It only had 13k miles! Carmax gave him 19k for it though.

[jonroe]

I guess I'm not hard enough on my DTR! It is 3.5 years old and has 42K miles. I have no interior plastic issues at all. I think the ones you cite have not had even a reasonable level of care for those low mileages. Jon

[Dragcity]

Not in all cases. I have 66 K on my DTR and those exact pieces have the described issues. I did have the dash trim re-done by the dealer, only to begin flaking off again a year later.

I am pretty fussy about stuff and my interior is always clean. I don't use any rough materials or cleaners on the trim either.

I am chalking it up to wear and tare. Heck, I could spend gobs of $$$ trying to keep it perfect, but I'd rather drive it and enjoy it. It is beyond preservation after seeing 3 Buffalo Winters.

I mistakenly let my wife drive the Marauder once, and her ring scratched the silver part just above the shift handle. I learned my lesson.....

[FordNut]

No problems with the plastic on mine, both are '03, one 300A the other a 300B with light flint interior. About 110k on each.

[Raudermaster]

I have (just turned today) 29k on mine and have no signs of discoloration at all. Kind of odd. Maybe they just weren't cared for or cleaned. Or they were cleaned with something that shouldn't have been on there.

[MM2004]

Just under 25k on the clock and no issues as described above.

Mike.

[offroadkarter]

32k on mine now, the heated seat switches act up and the door trim is in fair shape, the dash trim is fine.

Good luck finding a DTR

[Cordoba1]

Thanks for the comments, guys... There seem to be a lot of Marauders on the market this fall -- and more than a few in DTR. Cars.Com seems to be a good source for dealer listings as there are about 145 right now, 7 or 8 of them red. I live in Chicago -- looked at a couple here, and may be taking a trip to Ft. Wayne, IN as there is one at a Ford Dealer there, in Red, with only 31,000 miles on it.

[gilby04]

After 49 months & 22,000 miles my DTR shows absolutely no wear.
No issues with the Light Flint interior either.

[Cordoba1]

Anybody know anything about this car? Perhaps a club-members old car?

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/img_popup.jsp?car_id=233465072&photoIndex=4

[Illss]

I have flacking around oil an volt gauges.

[CRUZTAKER]

There is a DTR local to me that just came in a on a trade.
69k miles, employee car, all service records, $15,500 on the windshield.

[00 Aggie]

I have 56k on my DTR and have wear on the trim in the same locations, but not as bad sounding as the one you are looking at.

[michael ward]

the dealer replaced my trim peices twice and a third time in the morning.paint keeps coming off . think ford would fix the problem like use primer or something before painting..:shake:

[texascorvette]

the only problem--if you want to call it that--is the driver's heated seat switch will sometimes flicker when it is cold out. But it works fine. Haven't experienced any of the other problems that have been described. In fact, the interior looks pretty much like the day I bought it brand new on January 31, 2005.

[CROWNMARAUDER]

There is a really nice looking 04 silver birch on auto trader.com @ Ray chevrolet in fox lake,ill. It has 11,441 miles, moon roof, heated seats & rear spoiler. I couldn't see any problems in the pictures. It even has a full size spare tire. They're asking $23,995.

[Cordoba1]

Yeah -- I saw that, as well. I am going to check it out -- I would like to stay at $20K or less. I've been talking to the dealer in Ft. Wayne, IN who has a red one with 31,000 miles. The salesman told me the manager will be "aggressive" on the price because he's had it for some time.

[texascorvette]

Yeah -- I saw that, as well. I am going to check it out -- I would like to stay at $20K or less. I've been talking to the dealer in Ft. Wayne, IN who has a red one with 31,000 miles. The salesman told me the manager will be "aggressive" on the price because he's had it for some time.
I spent 23 years working for Essex, a company headquartered in Ft. Wayne. Sometimes, there would be so much snow that they would fill every vacant lot in town with the snow off the streets. I have a good sense of humor, but I would never buy a used car from north of the Mason-Dixon Line. Pay a few bucks more and get one that won't die from cancer.

[Kennyrauder]

Sounds to me that Ford just painted all trim to match what they were selling. My Marauder is an 03 done in dark charcoal & is perfect. The lighter interiors suffered from cost cutting & don't have color impregnated plastic. Shame on them!!! PS. I have a Canadian 03 with just over 38,000 miles with a Reinhart Vortec with all the extras to go along with the upgrade. My car has never been raced & never abused. Of course it's black. I am looking to send it to a good family for the right price. Call me collect 705 264 0234. Ps The engine has been lubed with synthetic every 3000 miles. Merry Christmas from Ken. AKA Kennyrauder.

[Cordoba1]

Actually - I don't believe in car cancer.

Reference my 33 year old:

http://www.functionbox.org/cordoba/75ChryslerCordoba1.jpg
http://www.functionbox.org/cordoba/75ChryslerCordoba2.jpg

She's for sale, if anybody is interested -- But this totally the wrong venue for an antique Chrysler!

[CROWNMARAUDER]

That is a nice cordoba! My first car was a 77 charger daytona & I also had a 77 cordoba.

[texascorvette]

Where is Ricardo Montoban when you need him.

[Cordoba1]

Below is a picture of the flaking I'm talking about on '04 models. This car is the one in Ft. Wayne and only has 34,000 miles. Damn!
http://www.functionbox.org/door.JPG

[texascorvette]

After seeing that, I had to walk outside to look at mine. The memory kinda goes after a while, and I hadn't been in it since halftime of the Cowboy game last night. My sympathy goes out to all the cheese heads out there.

My trim isn't flaking, but I don't know how you tell if the color is in the molded plastic part or painted on. The only problem I've had is with the lighted switch for the heated seats flickering. Since it doesn't affect the operation of the seat heaters, I don't worry about it. My mind is still good enough that I can remember where the switch is, with or without the light. Most of the time, anyway!

[CROWNMARAUDER]

My dtr with 43k miles had the same issue when I bought it. I replaced these pieces on both front doors. They are $23.90 each from the dealer so don't let this small issue stop you from buying. I also installed them myself in about 10 minutes total.

[OldFashRed]

Has anyone replaced the trim around the stereo and the heater controls.
I have no flaking on doors....but a female with nails scuffed up all areas around cig lighter and stereo and heater controls.

[texascorvette]

Has anyone replaced the trim around the stereo and the heater controls.
I have no flaking on doors....but a female with nails scuffed up all areas around cig lighter and stereo and heater controls.
I sure hope she had some redeeming qualities to compensate.

[MACFORD88]

No Problem Here At All.

[CROWNMARAUDER]

The piece of trim around the heater/ac control panel is part of the right side dash trim piece that has the silver/gray trim on it. It is one complete piece & I was told that the piece is $150 when I was at the dealer parts dept. You will also see them for sale on ebay from time to time. I recently bought one on ebay for $51. It just snaps in place. You will need to unplug & reconnect the rear defroster button electrical connection.