Good vs Bad for the M

[Jerry Barnes]

Harry,

Please call our office, (313)336-6135, and I can let you drive one of our cars. Our office is at 15726 Michigan Ave. Dearborn, MI. We are between Southfield and Greenfield. Come on by and take one of cars for a ride. It would be worth the trip.

See you soon!

 

[harry gilbert]

Hey guys, are there any quality issues with the Marauder? The Cobra seems to have more than it's share of "issues".

 

[GarageMahal]

Originally posted by harry gilbert
Hey guys, are there any quality issues with the Marauder? The Cobra seems to have more than it's share of "issues".

Unfortunatly yes... Most notably the paint although its the rattles that are driving me crazy.

jta

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Paint always seems to be an issue. I had a problem with the steering wheels on both cars. Our #2 car has some squeeks, but nothing serious. I will get them addressed next time it goes to the dealer. But, we got our cars slightly used from Ford.

 

[harry gilbert]

And after you work your magic on the cars, Ford doesn't void the warranty on the entire car, just some dealers have done to Cobra owners?

 

[capt512]

Think Twice!

:nono:

Just wanted to put my two cents worth in.

I am the previous owner of a black 300a Marauder that had so mant different problems that I sold it at 1750 miles.
Actually traded it in on a Lightning. Went backwards two years and even going from 1750 miles to 25k on the odo I still feel I came out ahead. I was one of the lucky ones who only paid 24k for mine so I came out pretty good in the trade.
Let me start this buy saying that the Marauder Forum, www.mercurymarauder.com is one of the best out there. A super bunch of guys and gals with a bunch of great looking cars.
Mine was one of those. One that your constantly getting compliments on.
Love those compliments but deep down I knew that there were enormous quality control problems.

This is a brief list of what was wrong with mine within the first week of ownership.

1. Climate control defective:the dealership had to order part.
1 week to get it.
2. Lumbar support quit working in drivers seat 2nd day.
3. headlight lens fogged up at car wash on 3rd day.
4. loud popping noise every time engaged passing gear: Dealer
couldn't duplicate, never fixed.
5. Significant surging when trying to shift from 1st into second.
Dealer said that was the way it was suppose to be.
6. Almost impossible to keep front end aligned. always pulled
to the left. they tried 3 times/
7. Windshield wiper arm on the passenger side parked way to
high. Dealer said" its suppose to be that way"
8. Shifter would not engage reverse unless you held it in
reverse while backing up. Dealer; it's suppose to be that way.
Never fixed
9. Numerous"NUMEROUS AREAS" of bad paint, doors, roof, trunk,
bubbling, peeling, very very thin paint everywhere.

I could go on and on with this but I think you get the picture.
It was almost impossible to find any techs who knew how to work on it and even the SVT dealership who I sold it two refused to work on it. Ford/Lm standard answer to any problem was" It's suppose to be that way.

Your probably thinking I just got a bad one. Not so.
Go to the Marauder website I mentioned and read the posts.
The LM dealership is abe to avoid the Lemon Law crap by first providing you a document to soign stating that if you consider the car a lemon and aren't happy with nyour service you cannot sue the dealership.
You can however go to arbitration. Should have been my first clue something wasn't right.

Anyway let me finish by saying this. Despite all the problems I mentioned and probably many more that would have occured down the road I still miss that car.

On more than one occasion I smoked a ricer or two.Even at 4200 lbs and completely stock.The ride for a performance car was wonderful and it has all the luxurys.

Bottom Line:
Think really hard about buying one of these and do a lot of research.

Mike

 

[bigslim]

I have had mine since May and the only problem I have had was an airbag light that has come on from time to time. I love my car. Had an LS V8 before this and I don't miss it. Sure there are some features on the LS that you can't get on the MM but I would not trade the looks I get while I'm in this car. People love this big boat. I will be seeing Lidio soon for my chip and a 410. I have already put Flowmasters on it and love it even more. This should hold me until spring. There is nothing else in this catagory that compares with the MM.

 

[Jerry Barnes]

Capt512,

I am wondering if you had very poor dealer services. I had a Jaguar that sounds like it had the same types of issues you experienced and the dealer caused most of the problems.

I have had minor problems with our Marauders, but our cars were used, and I guess that is to be expected. But, overall the cars have run very well and we abuse them a lot.

But, after reading your list, it sounds pretty bad. It a shame that it could not be addressed before you had to get rid of the car.

Good luck with your Lightning. It's a very nice and fast truck.

 

[crispy23c]

3.55, 3.73, or 4.10, what's your pleasure?

For those of you who have changed rears, do you find it an overall plus? Was it worth it??? Have you noticed any major gains in acceleration/loss in mileage? What do you tach @ for 65-70 mph?

I always like faster acceleration... :beer:

 

[Dark_Knight7096]

For those of you who have changed rears, do you find it an overall plus? Was it worth it??? Have you noticed any major gains in acceleration/loss in mileage? What do you tach @ for 65-70 mph?

I always like faster acceleration... :beer:

I would say a big yes on that, for it being an overall plus anyway. It is not unheard of for Marauder owners to get anywhere between .5 to one whole second on relatively stock cars. I'm sure billy or some of the other member will chime in here as they know more about gear swaps then me. But most members i remember talking about gears say they lost at most 2 or 3 mpg on the highway but gained mpg in the city. I was definately going to do it but the majority of my driving is highway so i'm going to wait until i'm out of school before putting them in.

 

[Agent M79]

For those of you who have changed rears, do you find it an overall plus?

Yes. The stock gears were notably lazy off the line. The 4:10's changed that for the better.

Was it worth it???

Yep.

Have you noticed any major gains in acceleration/loss in mileage?

Yes and yes. Crisper off the line. I lost a little less than 1 mpg. I went to 4:10's before the magical 'engine break-in' so I hadn't settled into whatever would have been my unmodified mileage.

What do you tach @ for 65-70 mph?

Mmmm. From memory, I'd say about 2400RPM.

 

[crispy23c]

Good to know. Thanks for the input, sounds like it's well worth the time & effort. :thumbsup: