New guy with some quick questions

[Mini.Ben]

Hello Gentleman (and any Ladies) :)

I've grown a little tired of my Mini Cooper S... and I'm looking to make a change soon once she's sold. I wanted a large sedan with comfy room for 4, 5 in a pinch, not completely horrible on gas, and an all around excellent car. Reliability is important as well.

I was a fan of the MM as soon as it was announced. I loved the Impala SS from 1994-1996, and this was just a better looking ride on top of that.

So some quick questions if I can trouble any of you... :)

How has the reliability of these held up over time... are they any weak spots I should look for when MM shopping?

Paint Quality... does the black swirl if you look at it wrong, or is it pretty hard paint? I swore I'd never own a black car again, but oooo does it just look so good on these. Silver would be my alternate depending on answers there.

How is it in the corners? I know clearly it won't be anywhere near my Mini, but it would be nice to know it can be pushed around a little and still feel stable and safe.

I'm fairly torn between the MM and a 2006+ Toyota Avalon Limited... it has a similar original MSRP as the MM, but has held value better, thus is more expensive. It's going to be super reliable, full of features I like, and be great all around, but it will definitely miss out on the enthusiast side of things. I've been very active in the Mini community, and I know eventually I'll miss out on that part of things.

I think I've finally realized that there just isn't a vehicle that will do it all... The Mini is EXCELLENT as a fun car and autocross driver... but not so much for a quality town car and family vehicle. Eventually I'll get a purpose built track car for that kind of sport, because making my daily driver good at that has compromised it too much. I just hope one of these cars will fulfill my needs.

Thanks in advance for anyone's input!

[justbob]

Paint quality sucks but can have great results the more work that you put into it, My car comes alive in corners. Lower it a hair and you wouldn't believe the how hard you can push em. Anyways don't let twisties scare you off, you came to the right place for fun and reliability. Welcome to the sight, you won't be dissapointed with any well kept Marauder, by the way Black is the fastest and sexiest.

[gmtech]

paint quality is the worst ive seen on a "enthusiast" car..black that is..the paint is thin and came from the factory with defects..early cars have the axle wear issue, early cars have the head tick issue, rear tires suck and wear in the middle even without hard accel and proper inflation, factory tuning sucks..not good for performance, convertor and shift schedules are horrible,sound system is medicore at best, seats offer little support for the twisties..the car handles good but you better hold on or you'll be driving from the passenger seat:rolleyes:,interior trim pieces flake easy, the rear bumper distorts on both sides ..no concensus on cause ,car wont break tires loose in stock trim, can lose a race to the Avalon in stock trim and poor driver;), my car is a 03 300A bult in 08/02, i have the crappiest paint, had the axles replaced because of wear, engine replaced because of poor coolant flow in the driver head..#7 & #8 cyl run hot and deformed cylinder wall at 53k, pwr window switch trim flakes, my rear bumper looks like a robot picked it up from the rear(bumper wavy right behind both wheels), rear of bumper sags...if i could do it all again(& i would) i would buy a 04 SB or DTR, i love my car but just know it will need a little attention to make it right...with my remaned engine 15k ago,new axles,homemade bumper support and lidio tune its a great daily driver and at least you wont pass a hundred of them when your on the streets:P

[Mini.Ben]

hehe... shame there isn't some cool Avalon site so I can get honest opinions there eh? Thanks for taking the time to point out some issues to look for.

GMTech... do you think your issues are issues on all/most marauders? or is it mostly yours?

[Blk Mamba]

Mine is the same, I think they all are. It's just part of owning one.

[Pat]

Mini.Ben

GM Tech pointed out most if not all the issues that have primarily affected the early to mid 03"s. The 04's seem to be less prone to these complaints.

How the car is driven has a lot to do with it's mechanical reliability of course but as far as the 04's are concerned there doesn't seem to be systemic problem areas.

But the drive-ability issue that GM tech raised is valid and covers all Marauders. The fix is simple and not too costly and that is a flash tune(r) from one of our vendors.

As far as upgrading stock suspension components, parts are available and work very well., However, the car performs well in stock trim but that's for you to decide once you have driven the car as you do.

There are other modifications to both the 03 and 04 that greatly improve performance and that is lower rear end gears, usually 4:10's, a 3000 or 3500 stall speed converter, and exhaust upgrades (kooks or stainless steel works, shorty headers, etc).

As far as the head cooling issue there is a kit marketed by Reinhart Automotive that will correct this anomaly. The drive shaft is another speed limiting factor due to harmonics, not material, that can be fixed if driving more than 100 MPH is a factor.

The tyrannies, have a couple of issues that don't always apply due to driving style and that is tail shaft lubrication and a certain clip that may dislodge. The 04 is upgraded from the 03 but the reliability and longevity is directly dependent on driving style and usage.

In stock form the MM is a fun car to drive considering it weighs 4200 lbs. It looks sharp and has curb appeal.

A supercharger kit is the best single modification that can be made and will give the MM substantially more performance while maintaining great drive ability and good reliability.

My car is an 04, bought new, and I upgraded the performance features in stages as funding permitted. First, a flash tune, then rear end gears, then a 3500 stall converter, then a 100 shot nitrous system. That put me into the mid 13's on street tires. Now I have a 10 lbs boost Novi Supercharger kit and my street performance is where I want it. Fast, reliable and reasonably economical. Plus it's my daily driver and has 61K miles on the meter.

My next modifications will center around the chassis as the above costs are paid down. Rear Control arms, sway bars, bigger brakes and tyranny upgrades.

As far as tires go, there are several options, consult various threads on this site. There's even a matrix on mercurymarauder.com that can assist you.


In view of today's gas prices, vehicle depreciation the image you want to portray will determine if a Mercury Marauder is the car for you. Remember it's big, powerful and aggressive.

Regards

[rauder775]

...Ditto what Trash said.

I would add, overall, a very fun car and has been extremely dependable.

[imorb1994]

A couple of thing that GMTECH did not mention that i think should be noted is the sometimes fussy and stubborn HVAC system and controls, the wacky wiper syndrome that many MM.net mebers have and is difficult to fix as well as the LCM (Lighting Control Module) problems.

[imorb1994]

I should also add That i bought my current SB mm in Jan of this year and by Jan 09 plan on having another mm to play with

[ImpalaSlayer]

2 words. buy one

[RedMerc04]

The only issue that annoys me about my 04 DTR is the rear bumper warping/sagging. Other than that its a car that is very well rounded, solid and dependable. It responds very well to mods and is damn easy to work on with help from this great support network. Plus its cooler than any avalon! Get one, you'll understand.

[rayjay]

Pat covered it pretty well. I see the avalon as a upgraded camary. I really see no common ground to compare a MM with a avalon, they are from two different schools.
If you drive a MM try to get one that has been tuned. It is a whole different animal over stock. As far as the community, you are in the midst of one of the best in CAM, Capital Area Marauders. They did one hell of a job with Marauderville V last year and are a great bunch of folks. Wish I lived closer to them.

[ctrlraven]

I swore to myself I wouldn't let my Marauder be a daily driver but here it is almost 60k miles later since I bought it in Dec. 2005 with 40k miles on the clock. For me I have the best of both worlds, I feel safe and enjoy driving it.

Though if you don't like getting stared at by people wondering what the frack your driving or people randomly coming up to you to talk about the car then it is not for you lol.

Everyone pretty much covered the known issues with the car. Anyone that I know who looks to by one I tell them to get a 2004 model just to have less headaches in case no recall or known issues were fixed.

[Egon Spengler]

geez... after all this bashing of 300a marauders.... you want to buy mine!?!?!?

[JAYSILVER04]

I'm on my second Marauder!! Love this car!!! My wife has an avalon and she loves it. I, Personally, can't stand driving that thing!! It handles like a sponge and the seat is built for a Japanese person, not a full sized American. I'm 6'2'' and go about 210, and I can't seem to get comfortable in the seat, eventhough the limited model has an extender for the driver's legs. if you want a car you can enjoy driving, then the Marauder is for you! Yes. the Avalon is fast, but there is nothing like the feel of an American V8 and the sound of the true dual exaust barking when you romp on it!! BUY A MARAUDER

[ctrlraven]

This should help also.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=0SNYgD8W-oU
0SNYgD8W-oU

Marauder Test Drive 1 of 3 (SpeedTV)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZDMRS9ceREA
ZDMRS9ceREA

Marauder Test Drive 2 of 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=i5OjbFXaPXk
i5OjbFXaPXk

Marauder Test Drive 3 of 3
http://youtube.com/watch?v=KTsgWEHgrI8
KTsgWEHgrI8

[SC Cheesehead]

Pat covered it pretty well. I see the avalon as a upgraded camary. I really see no common ground to compare a MM with a avalon, they are from two different schools.
If you drive a MM try to get one that has been tuned. It is a whole different animal over stock. As far as the community, you are in the midst of one of the best in CAM, Capital Area Marauders. They did one hell of a job with Marauderville V last year and are a great bunch of folks. Wish I lived closer to them.
^^^^^^^^ What Ray said. ^^^^^^^

A tune will wake up the car, and 4:10 gears really make it come alive. Paint pretty much sucks on all the '03's, even my DBP has some defects, and it was one of the last '03's off the assembly line.

I've had two of 'em and love the cars. They're big, comfortable, great on the road; with a little work they can be fairly quick, and they are a blast to drive. Plus the ego factor is great. If I had a buck for every person that has asked me about the car.....well. let's just say I don't get the same response when driving my wife's Escape.:rolleyes:

My advice: find one and drive it; you'll get hooked.

[gmtech]

geez... after all this bashing of 300a marauders.... you want to buy mine!?!?!?
:D:laugh::laugh:that is truly funny:bows::bows: