FS Grand Marquis reincarnated as MARAUDER

[wx4caster]

Check out this auction on EBAY:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2003-MERCURY-GRAND-MARQUIS-MARAUDER-/150471382711?cmd=ViewItem&pt=US_Cars_Trucks&hash=item2308cb16b7

What do you gys think about this? Seems odd to me a dealer would spend the effort and expense to "convert" a GM to MM, but maybe it's true:confused:

[SC Cheesehead]

Can pick up a REAL MM for that money, what a waste...

[LANDY]

It is a marauder guys. The seller just don't know how to correctly name it. If you take a close look for details everything is too perfect.

[Peter]

It is a marauder guys. The seller just don't know how to correctly name it. If you take a close look for details everything is too perfect.
Vin says otherwise.

[yjmud]

what he said

Vin says otherwise.

[Mr. Man]

2003 Marauders were Marauder Grand Marquis. 2004 Mercury made the Marauder a stand alone vehicle with a Marauder specific vin.

[LANDY]

Ok I was wrong. But someone must of spend lots of time doing the swap. Or maybe it just came out the chop shop

[Mr. Man]

Ok I was wrong. But someone must of spend lots of time doing the swap. Or maybe it just came out the chop shop
It's an '03MM. I don't believe it's a clone

[Peter]

It's an '03MM. I don't believe it's a clone
2003 MM VINs start with 2MEHM
This Marauder clone starts with 2MEFM therefore it is a Grand Marquis.

[Mr. Man]

2003 MM VINs start with 2MEHM
This Marauder clone starts with 2MEFM therefore it is a Grand Marquis.
'04's started with 2MEHM. As I recall the MM was an option package for the Grand Marquis for at least part of the '03 model year. I know Bluerauder posted a break down on the vin #'s a while back. Maybe if he sees this thread he'll chime in. You can also PM RoyalPita and he can settle it also.:)

[LANDY]

Now that I remember my first mm always came up as a gm when they ran the vin. Mr. Man might be rite.

[MMBLUE]

Now that I remember my first mm always came up as a gm when they ran the vin. Mr. Man might be rite.

I think we'll let Brian /RoyLpita take a swing at this. I'm going to call :bs: on going through all the trouble to change everything. Maybe it was a miss matched Vin. The only thing I see of evidence is the "O *****" handles in the pic from the back door. The head liner looks wired aroung the handles. I'll have to cheak mine out in the AM.

[Red91LX]

The cam covers look like the natural finish from a 2004 engine, while the car is listed as a 2003.

[MrBluGruv]

I have a 300a and it is a MEHM vin. I would like to believe that it's an original though and not a conversion, that's ridiculous amounts of detail put into a conversion of such a relatively (by market standard) not special vehicle.

I'm leaning more towards car was stolen or totaled and the VIN plate was switched with something that would most likely clear if it was checked.

[lastdaze04]

caveat emptor (spel chek) Buyer beware. It had a Salvage title at one point. and if you go to ebay and look at the pics the body panels don't match up just right:eek:. This is not a quality job guys, and he even says it needs a better paint job?????????????plus.......its not even finished ( Front end ) and he wants $9000.00 :eek:Forget it, he can go jump in a lake for that price. I might give him 3500.00 so I could have it as a daily driver but having a salvage title totally destoys any future resale value.
Just my :twocents: worth.
Rick

[Mr. Man]

Owner said he had the dealer transfer a wrecked MM's parts into a GM, But the labor for a dealer to do as much detail that this car supports would make it unaffordable. I think there's more here than we're being led to believe and thus I vote to let this one fade into obscurity. RoyalPita should keep the vin in his data base in case it ever comes up for sale on MM.net. Hopefully we can steer a perpective buyer away from such a questionable car.

[gdmjoe]

Mr. Man - '04's started with 2MEHM. As I recall the MM was an option package for the Grand Marquis for at least part of the '03 model year.
2MHHM - VIN prefix for 2004 Marauder.

2MEHM - VIN prefix for 2003 Marauder.

VIN Lookup (https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenance/vin_tools/default.asp) ««« -click-
*Ford Fleet web tool and reference.
.

[grzellmer]

Nope. MM is its own vehicle in 2003. I am the original owner of a 2003 and the VIN begins MEHMxxx as others have stated. GM's are MEFMxxx


'04's started with 2MEHM. As I recall the MM was an option package for the Grand Marquis for at least part of the '03 model year. I know Bluerauder posted a break down on the vin #'s a while back. Maybe if he sees this thread he'll chime in. You can also PM RoyalPita and he can settle it also.:)

[MMarauder03]

Nope. MM is its own vehicle in 2003. I am the original owner of a 2003 and the VIN begins MEHMxxx as others have stated. GM's are MEFMxxx

my 03 is MEHM as well

[TAKEDOWN]

Isn't it the letter V that distinguishes it as the MARAUDER?

[wht02lightning]

Isn't it the letter V that distinguishes it as the MARAUDER?

Thats what I always thought. In 03 thats the way it to see. The V is for the 32V DOHC engine.

[Mr. Man]

Well we have an '04 that starts MEHM. I know I read it here that '03's were an option package of the GM. Maybe it was the 300A's?

[RR|Suki]

Well we have an '04 that starts MEHM. I know I read it here that '03's were an option package of the GM. Maybe it was the 300A's?

Marauders were always their own cars, you may have read someone's opinion saying that the Marauder was a Marquis option. The VINs ran in sequence with the Marquis hence the confusion, especially when it comes to insurance. MEHM isn't a sure way to tell a Marauder since a marquis could possibly have the side airbag option as I understand it. But since a Marquis could never have a 32v as an option it can never have the V.

[SC Cheesehead]

Marauders were always their own cars, you may have read someone's opinion saying that the Marauder was a Marquis option. The VINs ran in sequence with the Marquis hence the confusion, especially when it comes to insurance. MEHM isn't a sure way to tell a Marauder since a marquis could possibly have the side airbag option as I understand it. But since a Marquis could never have a 32v as an option it can never have the V.

Suki's correct:

VIN: 2MEFM75W73X711722

VIN Code Breakdown

World Manufacturer Identifier - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Positions VIN Code:2ME
Assembly Country: CANADA
Make: Mercury
Body Style: Sedan

Restraint System Type (Passenger Cars) or Brake Type and GVWR Class (Trucks and Vans) - 4th Position VIN Code:F
Brake System: STANDARD
GVWR Class: (N/A)

Line,Series Body Type - 5th, 6th, 7th Positions VIN Code:M75
Vehicle Line: Grand Marquis
Series: LS
Vehicle Type: Passenger Car

Engine Type - 8th Position VIN Code:W
Engine: 4.6 L
Cylinders: 8
Fuel: Gasoline

Model Year - 10th Position VIN Code:3
Model Year: 2003

Assembly Plant - 11th Position VIN Code:X
Assembly Plant: ST. THOMAS, ONTARIO

Production Sequence Number - 12th - 17th VIN Code:711722
Prod Sequence Number: 711722

VIN indicates engine type as "W" = 2 valve 4.6 engine

[Bluerauder]

'04's started with 2MEHM. As I recall the MM was an option package for the Grand Marquis for at least part of the '03 model year. I know Bluerauder posted a break down on the vin #'s a while back. Maybe if he sees this thread he'll chime in. You can also PM RoyalPita and he can settle it also.:)


2MHHM - VIN prefix for 2004 Marauder.

2MEHM - VIN prefix for 2003 Marauder.

After nearly 8 years, I can't believe that some folks haven't figured out the 2MEHM and 2MHHM VIN sequence for the Marauder ......

2MHHM = the H in the 3rd position indicates an "incomplete" vehicle meaning that it left the factory to get a moonroof installed. All "2MHHM..." Marauders just happened to be 2004's. But not all '04 MMs had the "2MHHM" indicator since they all didn't get moonroofs.

The car in this thread is a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS VIN. The 5-7 "M75" is Grand Marquis. 2003 MMs shared the "M75" VIN indicator. In 2004, this changed to "M79" for a Marauder unique VIN.

2MEFM75W73X711722.

The 4th position "F" and the 8th position "W" are indicators. The "W" says that it has the 4.6L SOHC engine (Marauders have a "V" to indicate the 4.6L DOHC 302 HP version). The "F" indicates that its Safety & Airbags are different than the Marauder which has an "H" in the 4th position (Driver & Passenger front and side airbags).

The 10th digit "3" says that this is a 2003 model year.

I'd be very cautious with this vehicle because I don't think that it is very cost effective to create a clone Marauder out of a GM. It is doubtful that they would ever recover the amount of money required to swap all the Marauder specific parts. There's got to be another reason. It smells IMHO.

[lastdaze04]

Can we sticky this ???? This is good info for everyone for noobies as well as for the rest of us...:beer:
Rick



After nearly 8 years, I can't believe that some folks haven't figured out the 2MEHM and 2MHHM VIN sequence for the Marauder ......

2MHHM = the H in the 3rd position indicates an "incomplete" vehicle meaning that it left the factory to get a moonroof installed. All "2MHHM..." Marauders just happened to be 2004's. But not all '04 MMs had the "2MHHM" indicator since they all didn't get moonroofs.

The car in this thread is a 2003 Mercury Grand Marquis LS VIN. The 5-7 "M75" is Grand Marquis. 2003 MMs shared the "M75" VIN indicator. In 2004, this changed to "M79" for a Marauder unique VIN.

2MEFM75W73X711722.

The 4th position "F" and the 8th position "W" are indicators. The "W" says that it has the 4.6L SOHC engine (Marauders have a "V" to indicate the 4.6L DOHC 302 HP version). The "F" indicates that its Safety & Airbags are different than the Marauder which has an "H" in the 4th position (Driver & Passenger front and side airbags).

The 10th digit "3" says that this is a 2003 model year.

I'd be very cautious with this vehicle because I don't think that it is very cost effective to create a clone Marauder out of a GM. It is doubtful that they would ever recover the amount of money required to swap all the Marauder specific parts. There's got to be another reason. It smells IMHO.

[ctrlraven]

I'd like to see a picture of the door jam vin sticker.

[SID210SA]

Incase anyone missed it...in the vehicle check it does state that it was a rental vehicle...so it was prolly wrecked when it got rented.....fixed....then back as a rental and wrecked again, then sold at auction....cant imagine why a dealer would buy it and rebuild it as a Marauder.....crappy paint job too.

[RF Overlord]

If it doesn't have the proper VIN...

IT AIN'T A MARAUDER!

[Mr. Man]

If it doesn't have the proper VIN...

IT AIN'T A MARAUDER!

We started to figure this out 10 posts ago...keep up son:P:D

[RR|Suki]

We started to figure this out 10 posts ago...keep up son:P:D

you mean 7 years ago :lol:

[Mr. Man]

We started to figure this out 10 posts ago...keep up son:P:D
I forgot to take into account those of us who are a bit on the anal side^^^^^^ should have said.... figured this out in this thread 10 posts ago. :razz:

[LOWBUCKMM]

if you run the vin through carfax it comes back as a grand Marquis LS.

[LordVader]

Well we have an '04 that starts MEHM. I know I read it here that '03's were an option package of the GM. Maybe it was the 300A's?


Mine is a 300A and its a MEHM....