Pondering a Marauder purchase...

[Rep12]

Hi folks,

I need your help - I've been toying with the idea of purchasing a new 04 MM for the last 4 weeks now. Drove a silver one last week. Liked it, but not too impressed with the performance. (The last muscle car I had was an 87 Buick Grand National that I'd purchased in 1998. It had 6500 miles on it and it was one seriously quick car. I did a few mods, drove it up to 23,000 miles and sold it in 2002. I then purchased an 02 Lincoln LS V6. The car's been a joy. No problems at all, but I have no passion for the car. Hence, the desire for the MM) I like to do research - so...I came across this site tonight and I've been reading the various posts for about three hours and I'm getting the impression that these MM are laced with problems. Hard starts in cold weather, tic,tic,tic sounds from valves that need recalibrating, questionable paint jobs. I understand all vehicles have problems but the MM seems, well, a bit loaded with them. Is this the majority? How many folks out there have had trouble-free miles? More or less of you fine folks. Would you please let me know...Thanks.

I hope this post finds you all well.

Appreciate it.

Dave

[MapleLeafMerc]

Hi Dave, and welcome!

Prepare for the deluge. Strong opinions and lots of knowledge.

Paint quality (mainly black) has been unpredictable, and many have made changes to increase the car's low end power. But I appreciate it now as a unique platform, being the last big, RWD, totally North American sedan. It really can't be evaluated on a spreadsheet.

When we're finished you'll know exactly what to ask the dealer about and what to look for. Good luck!

Get 'im, guys.

[RCSignals]

I understand all vehicles have problems but the MM seems, well, a bit loaded with them. Is this the majority?

No. it isn't the majority. By far the majority have no problems at all, but this is a web site discussion board, and while you will find posts from many people praising their car, those just aren't the majority of posts. You will notice while there are posts about problems, they are mostly from minority, but they get a lot of attention. Not everyone posting in thread about "ticking" or cold starts actually has those problems, and if you read through all the threads you'll find in some cases there was no problem at all, just new owners sensitive to every new sound or burp from their new pride and joy.

Now paint has been an issue for some, and as with everything the issues vary.

Go buy one, you'll love it.

[jettle]

You pick just about any car and go to a message board that is based on that car. There you will find that the people on the board are listing all the problems they are having with their cars. It’s a place to go to hopefully get some good and friendly advice. You have just stumbled across just that place for the Marauder. I have found that all these guys and gals are great and very helpful.

I did allot of research before buying my car last month. There just is not a better car that you can buy for the money.

If you buy it I can just about guarantee you won’t regret it. I don’t know of anyone here that does.

Good luck with your decision

[bigslim]

Dave, as you will read we all love our cars. There are some that have had different problems. You will find that most of us are happy and would do it again. In terms of performance, you will find a lot of upgrades in this site as well as the links to a variety of vendors that have performance parts. Anything from chips to superchargers. And speaking of superchargers, my friend has a supercharged MM and it has beaten up on a couple of Grand Nationals. Mid to upper 12's is pretty fast. Think hard on this. You won't be disappointed.

[67435animal]

Dave, I have 17,500 trouble free miles on mine. I had paint problems but they have all been addressed to my satisfaction. The car is a joy to drive and a pleasure on a long trip. I have not modified mine much. The only significant one is the programming by the Superchips Microtuner. I am very pleased with the results.

Buy one, you won't be disappointed.

Bob

[Big Joe P]

I haven't had any problems and would buy this car again in a minute....

[Marauderjack]

Simply the BEST new car I've ever bought!!!

END OF STORY!!!!!

Marauderjack

[miamisilvermm]

Three months with my silver 04, and the only problem is condensation on the left turn light casing. I spotted this on these forums as a common problem, so armed with this info I'll get it replaced at the next service. Joyful driving every day!

[Murader03]

Dave:

Welcome to the site. I echo the posts you've already read about your purchase. I doubt you'll be disappointed if you buy the car. Where esle can you get a car that will carry 5 people with bags for under 30K? If you feel the need for more performance, then mod away, as there are ample mods available and more coming. I went from a '99 Cobra to the MM, and never regretted the switch. The MM may not have all the performance of the CObra, but then the Cobra didn't have the ability to carry any people and bags to. I've got 45K+ on the car since new at 4 miles on 11/04/02. They have been trouble free miles! Paul Casey and a few others have more mileage, and are also pleased with the MM. When you buy it, enjoy it!

[carfixer]

The dealership I work at has sold around a dozen and a half MM's. We only see them for regular maintenance. No engine ticks, no trans failures, nobody with paint issues. None, including mine.

[PAPAJOHN]

I have wondered about the MM owners who have had "problems" , if there is a relationship to the number of miles on the car when it is picked up???
I'm at 4,000 miles on my 04 -- and "zero" problems -- like many others , I love this car!
I insisted on getting a car that came right off the transport. My dealer called all ove r the state, and all he heard was " as soon as those cars come in, everybody, the mechanics, the salesmen, customers --- want to DRIVE THEM!
Now, we can have a whole new thread on "break-in" miles, but I am sure that the first 20 -30 miles is not the time to "test the performance"
Someone test drives a Grand Marquis, and its a nice comfortable, gentle ride around the block. Someone test dirves a Marauder, and it's "What will this baby do?"
I picked up mine with 7 miles -- still no knowledge of how those 7 miles were put on, but I know that the whole neighborhood didn't drive it.
By the way, my dealer did find this at another dealership 80 miles away, and he allowed me to go with the salesmen to pick it up myself ( rare)

[jabird56]

The only true decision to make, regards whether or not you live in snow country? If you do, you should consider buying a set of snow tires and wheels that have been mentioned in other threads on the website. Bottomline the stock high performance tires SUCK in snow.

This is the first car that I've bought since 1988 (88 Cougar), and I LOVE IT!!!!

[sailsmen]

I have 17,500 miles and only problems; air bag lite - bad connector / squeaky seat - titen track / balky shift into reverse - fixed it'self.

I think the paint is thin and soft, but it has no blemishes.

For less than $1,500 in installed mods my 1/4 time of 14.27 is faster than most stock muscle cars according to:http://www.geocities.com/carpics427/thelist.html

I have owned several high performance German vehicles and the problems I had with them were extensive.

I would by the MM again in a heart beat.

[greyghost]

REP12, I echo what has already been posted.

I bought the Marauder because I wanted a large 4dr rwd sedan. I bought it because it has a personality right off the show room floor. The last sedan was a CV sport but, like your Lincoln it had no personality. For a big car it really drives small and with a few upgrades it is even better. I had one small problem with mine. The passenger seat heater didn't work. Took it to the dealership and now we just drive it, to much. Took delivery on 11/21/03 and getting ready to go ove 7000 mi. Long trips, in town, no fatigue driving, need power to pass hit the throttle and go. Not the fastest but for a 4200 lb sedan it is respectable.

Go buy one and enjoy it.