Picked up my "New To Me" 03 Marauder Tonight.

[ctrcbob]

Went and picked it up tonight. Dealer worked on the front end "wobble" and got most of it out, however Service Manager was not satisfied, so he ordered me two new front tires. :) He said that he wanted me to be happy, so he went ahead and ordered the tires. I will drive back there on Friday morning to have them installed. (The rears are new when they placed the car on the lot).

When I test drove the car a few days ago, the front had a slight wobble starting around 55 up to at least 70. Service Manager told me he got most of it out, but said it was caused by the tires. (they have a "special machine????? to check these things). On my way home, (when my wife was not looking at the speedometer), I got the car up to 85 and I could feel the wobble at that speed, but not at 70. Don't matter, new fronts on Friday.

They did everything I asked of them. When I told them to charge the battery, they installed a new one.

It has been a pleasure for me to deal with Mullinax Ford-Mercury in
New Smyrna Beach. They are a "one price" dealer, and their price was $4000.00 lower than the car I looked at a week before at Ford of Ocala. There was no pressure of any kind at Mullinax and it seems that they went out of their way to make me happy, both the sales staff, and the Service Manager. I almost feel guilty asking them to correct those two things. Because they are 50 or 60 miles from me, I will continue to use Prestige Ford in Mount Dora for service on my Continental and Marauder as they have a Senior Master Technician whom I trust very much. Told him today that I was picking up tonight and he told me to bring it in and he will check out the computer and to see if there are any updates. (He did that on my Continental and it ran better). I also told him that this Marauder is loud and he will check to see if it has standard mufflers or "Flowmasters". I understand that the chrome pipes also act as resonators and the guts may be out.

I have a question about tinted windows that I will ask in a seperate thread.

[CBT]

Sound like you found a great place to have work done.

[jgc61sr2002]

Congrats and good luck. Now the fun begins. :D :beer:

[Bigdogjim]

Congrats:up:

Enjoy the "new" ride......

Sounds like you got everything under control:)

[NAVCHAP]

Hope you have a happy and fun ownership experience! -kjs-

[HwyCruiser]

Congrats on the purchase Bob. :beer:

Now you'll just have to fix whatever the dang kid who had it before you did to make it so loud. Dang kids -> :shake:

[de minimus]

Congrats on the purchase Bob. :beer:

Now you'll just have to fix whatever the dang kid who had it before you did to make it so loud. Dang kids -> :shake:
Bob, you'll love this car. I get a thrill when I go out to my '04 every morning to go to work. I've got a Marauder picture as wallpaper on my home and work computers. I just stare at it like some lovesick teenager.......Enjoy yourself!

[teamrope]

Now you'll just have to fix whatever the dang kid who had it before you did to make it so loud. Dang kids -> :shake:

Wait a minute, most of us are trying to make them louder. :)

Congrats on the new ride. :beer:

[Ryans PI]

Sweet deal. Sounds like a nice car and dealership. Congrats. I'm looking forward to the day I get my own.

[wsmylie]

Congratulations on your MM... add another Florida Marauder owner. BILL

[STLR FN]

Bob you're in trouble now. And if the silly grin appears it's completely normal. I still get it and I've had mine a month now.:D

[RoyLPita]

Congrats and enjoy.

[Cobra25]

Congrats on the Purchase of your Marauder!

[RoyLPita]

Went and picked it up tonight. Dealer worked on the front end "wobble" and got most of it out, however Service Manager was not satisfied, so he ordered me two new front tires. :) He said that he wanted me to be happy, so he went ahead and ordered the tires. I will drive back there on Friday morning to have them installed. (The rears are new when they placed the car on the lot).

When I test drove the car a few days ago, the front had a slight wobble starting around 55 up to at least 70. Service Manager told me he got most of it out, but said it was caused by the tires. (they have a "special machine????? to check these things). On my way home, (when my wife was not looking at the speedometer), I got the car up to 85 and I could feel the wobble at that speed, but not at 70. Don't matter, new fronts on Friday.

They did everything I asked of them. When I told them to charge the battery, they installed a new one.

It has been a pleasure for me to deal with Mullinax Ford-Mercury in
New Smyrna Beach. They are a "one price" dealer, and their price was $4000.00 lower than the car I looked at a week before at Ford of Ocala. There was no pressure of any kind at Mullinax and it seems that they went out of their way to make me happy, both the sales staff, and the Service Manager. I almost feel guilty asking them to correct those two things. Because they are 50 or 60 miles from me, I will continue to use Prestige Ford in Mount Dora for service on my Continental and Marauder as they have a Senior Master Technician whom I trust very much. Told him today that I was picking up tonight and he told me to bring it in and he will check out the computer and to see if there are any updates. (He did that on my Continental and it ran better). I also told him that this Marauder is loud and he will check to see if it has standard mufflers or "Flowmasters". I understand that the chrome pipes also act as resonators and the guts may be out.

I have a question about tinted windows that I will ask in a seperate thread.

I saw this in the Auto Trader Extra:
http://thumbs.automart.com/imgs/ag/autoextra/ads/289/279289/264/11274264/feed/thumb/10275020555001030.jpg

[ctrcbob]

Roy,

Yes that is mine. It was even in the same spot when I went to test drive it.

Although the front tires (and rears) look new, I am driving there tomorrow morning as they are replacing the fronts. They said that they have a "special machine" that checks the tires and wheels and that my front tires are causing me to have a slight "shimmy" so they ordered two new ones for me. They will also turn the front rotors for me as I have some surging when braking with the rotors hot. Pads are all good.

Their Service Manager "Mark" seems to be going out of his way to make me happy. I think I may have shamed (sp) him because I told him that these two things should have been caught and corrected with the "141 (or whatever) point Certified Inspection. They are in New Smyrna Beach and I am in Mount Dora, so I will get up at 5:45am tomorrow, leave the house around 6am in order to be at their place around 7:30 to 7:45am, depending on the traffic in Deland and the construction on Hwy-44 between Deland and New Smyrna Beach.

I normally have my Continental (and now my Marauder) serviced at Prestige Ford in Mount Dora, by a Senior Master Technician whom I trust very much.

[wesman]

Welcome to the board!

[LordVader]

:coolman: Welcome Bob. It sounds like you have your game plan together and will have your vehicle up to specs in just a shake. Good luck with your MM and happy motoring.

[ctrcbob]

I'm impressed with Mullinax Ford/Mercury in New Smyrna Beach. I got up at 5:30am this morning, left the house at 6am and drove to the dealer, through heavy fog, (read that as "going slow") arriving around 7:30am. Technician removed front tires (thay looked great, but had something wrong with them) and mounted new ones. Before mounting them on car, they turned front rotors because of the brake shake. We then went for a test drive. The wheel shimmy was gone but I still had brake shake, so they removed rear wheels and turned the rear rotors. (Found one problem - see end of post)

Car now drives great. No more steering wheel shake, and the brakes are nice and smooth. Tech told me that the brake pads are like new. They did all this without charging me anything. I think I shamed them because the car is a "Certified" Car that these things should have been seen when inspected before sale.

Now, the one new problem. When they removed the rear rotors, one of the "Parking Brake" friction surface fell away from its backing plate on the parking brake shoe. Tech said that they are "glued"on. Because it is such a rare part, there are none to be had in the area, so they had to order them. They are going to replace all of the parking brake shoes on both rear wheels. They offered me a choice of taking the car and not using the parking brake, or I could have a rental for the weekend. I chose to keep the car for the weekend. (Placed a large piece of white tape on the parking brake to remind me not to use it). I will return to them Monday afternoon and they will replace the shoes.

Can't get over how much Service Manager Mark is bending over backward to keep me happy. As I said before, I'm impressed.

Because it rained returning home, I washed both cars before I garaged them. Tomorrow, rain or shine, I will wax the MM with Collinite (No. 845) "Insulator Wax". Before delivery, they used a buffing machine on hood and trunk and I don't like the way it looks, so I will spend an hour to wax it. (I may even wax my wifes Continental, seeing as how she did not give me any static about buying this MM). I have been using Insulator Wax for a few years now and love it because it:
1. Glides on (goes on easy).
2. Wipes off easy.
3. Lasts a long time.
4. Great Shine.

.

[ckadiddle]

Bob, you'll love this car. I get a thrill when I go out to my '04 every morning to go to work. I've got a Marauder picture as wallpaper on my home and work computers. I just stare at it like some lovesick teenager.......Enjoy yourself!
And I thought I was the only one that perverted...

[ctrcbob]

OK. Went to Mullinax today, and they replaced the Parking Brake Shoes and also replaced the Rear Brake Pads.

So, in total, their Service Department has:
Installed Two New Front Tires. (Old tires looked good, but replaced anyway).
Turned all four roters.
Replaced Rear Brake Pads. (Old shoes looked good, but replaced anyway).
Replaced Parking Brake Shoes. (Old shoes fell apart).

Car runs great. Tracks great. Is Great.

To say that I am happy with Mullinax Ford/Mercury's Service (and Sales) Department is an understatement. They have bent over backward to make me happy. I may return there (60 miles away) in the future because they treated me so well, however I also like my local dealers Service Department (Prestige Ford), so I guess I will just have to split the work :D

BTW, First tank of gas was 21mpg. (120 miles round trip to Mullinax plus 200 miles of just every day driving around the county) :beer:

[jgc61sr2002]

Bob - How many miles do you have on your Marauder? Have yet to see parking brake shoes fall apart.

[ctrcbob]

MM had 27700 miles on it when I bought it. The parking brake shoes fell apart when the Technician removed the rear rotors, to turn them (due to pulsating brakes). The rear rotors have small "drum brakes" inside, for the parking brake. When he was removing the rotors, the friction material of the top brake shoe (on the right rear) came off the backing metal, and fell out. Because of this, they replaced parking brake shoes on both sides, plus both rear disc brake pads.

Note to anyone who ever tries to change the parking brake shoes. The springs must go on in only one way. Although the springs seem to fit any old way, they will rub if not in correct. When rear wheels were placed back on car, the technician discovered that one of the rears was making noise, so he took it all apart and found that he had placed one of the forward springs upside down. After he corrected it, he took the other side apart again, just to double check that the spring was installed correct. (It was).

Car drove like a dream returning home yesterday, and because it was cold here in Florida this morning (cold for us in Florida anyway ;) ) I took the MM out rather than my Goldwing. :rolleyes: What a great car.

Because I have some Macular Degeneration in one eye, and although I can see with it, I have very poor night vision in that eye, I am taking the MM to the best local tinting place (Auto Add-Ons in Taveres FL) to have the very dark (illegal) tint removed and a lighter tint put on. I just can't see diddly out of the rear window at night, and very little in the daytime when I wear my sunglasses. Thank goodness that I have 20/20 in my other eye. :)

[jgc61sr2002]

MM had 27700 miles on it when I bought it. The parking brake shoes fell apart when the Technician removed the rear rotors, to turn them (due to pulsating brakes). The rear rotors have small "drum brakes" inside, for the parking brake. When he was removing the rotors, the friction material of the top brake shoe (on the right rear) came off the backing metal, and fell out. Because of this, they replaced parking brake shoes on both sides, plus both rear disc brake pads.

Note to anyone who ever tries to change the parking brake shoes. The springs must go on in only one way. Although the springs seem to fit any old way, they will rub if not in correct. When rear wheels were placed back on car, the technician discovered that one of the rears was making noise, so he took it all apart and found that he had placed one of the forward springs upside down. After he corrected it, he took the other side apart again, just to double check that the spring was installed correct. (It was).

Car drove like a dream returning home yesterday, and because it was cold here in Florida this morning (cold for us in Florida anyway ;) ) I took the MM out rather than my Goldwing. :rolleyes: What a great car.

Because I have some Macular Degeneration in one eye, and although I can see with it, I have very poor night vision in that eye, I am taking the MM to the best local tinting place (Auto Add-Ons in Taveres FL) to have the very dark (illegal) tint removed and a lighter tint put on. I just can't see diddly out of the rear window at night, and very little in the daytime when I wear my sunglasses. Thank goodness that I have 20/20 in my other eye. :)

Bob - Glad to hear the brake problem is solved. :up: