'Original Owners'

IwantmyMMnow!

IwantmyMMnow!

New member
Got a question for those of you that purchased your Marauder when they were new and on the lot at the dealerships...

What drew you towards buying one? Did you ever think "I shouldn't have bought this car"? Did you know other colors were going to be offered, and if so, did you wait until then to buy one?

Just curious to hear comments from the 'original owners' of the last run of MMs....

Cheers :beer:
 
I bought mines new in december of 04 my original color choice was dbp, but that color wasnt offered in 04 so silver was my next choice, plus once i found out a factory moonroof would be availible in 04 the wait was on.

Ive never had any real problems with my car so i have always enjoyed owning it, i just wanted to mod it alot sooner, but bills come first.

I never buy the first production year of anything, as i like to give it time for refinements, and corrections.
 
Dealers are not always your friend. I wanted one in Black, the dealer said there were none left and he only had this 04 Silver Birch, with moon roof, take it or leave it, he wanted it off his lot.

I bought it before someone else did because it had a good price. Turns out there were plenty of new MM's in black, even years later, the dealer just didn't want to try and get one if he could sell his last one. He didn't want any more MM's.
 
Last edited:
I took care of my ailing parents for more than two and a half years, and when they passed they left me a couple bucks. I decided after giving my life up for that time, I deserved a reward. That reward was a performance car.

I compared a BMW M5, Audi RS6, Jaguar XJ-S and a Mercedes E55. I ended up putting a deposit on the Audi, and then learned about the Marauder, and Kenny Brown's conversion. I went down to Kenny Brown's facility and drove his car. Went home and thought about it for 2 weeks. Went back to Indianapolis and drove Kenny's car again. Decided that the advantages of being able to fix it at a Ford dealer and having equal performance to the others outweighed everything. Plus, the insurance company thinks its a Grand Marquis.

Put a deposit on the Marauder at Kenny's (for the conversion) and another deposit at Crossroads L-M in Indy (for the actual car). Wanted the first silver one they could get their hands on. Got my deposit back on the Audi (THAT dealer was upset!). It arrived at Crossroads in June, and my first drive was 12 miles to Kenny's, after which I didn't see the car for 6 weeks. When I finally picked it up (ferried there by Sgt Mac), it was WAA HOO!

And now you know the rest of the story.
 
What happened was that I talked Mr.Man into buying a Crown Vic back in 2000 because we take a lot of long car trips and I liked the size of the car/trunk etc. It became my DD and I really didn't enjoy driving it. It was slow and unexciting. :( Plus it seemed to have a new/different problem every other week and was back and forth to the shop multiple times. :mad2: I was disillusioned and wanted something else to drive. Eric reads all the Motor Trend/auto mags and saw that Mercury had come out with this Marauder. He said "it has 302 HP!" (which meant zip to me) But he was excited about it (and he's the smartest man I know), so I got excited too. He took me to the dealership in August '03 and the salesman had barely heard of it let alone seen/sold one. We knew they came in black (which I didn't want) and blue (which I stupidly didn't want:rolleyes:) and DTR (which was too slow:D) so I ordered Silver Birch. It arrived in October and it was love at first sight. This car has truly changed my life. I love to drive it and I love that it is rare and I love that Eric and I enjoy mm.net and our Marauders (he got himself a black one) with all of you! :beer: This is hands down the BEST car I've ever owned. Not a problem with it so far. I have absolutely no regrets.
 
I was thinking about a new car and was looking at Ford's website but did not see much there so I went to Mercury's site. This was in March of 2004, I saw the Marauder and decided to read up on it and I was intrigued. I liked the late 90's Impalas but could not afford one. So one day after work the wife and I stopped at the Ford dealer and Lo and Behold there sat my dream car a 2004 DTR with sunroof. I took it for a test drive and needless to say it followed me home. I have not regretted it. In fact the wife and I now own three and a half Marauders.:banana:
 
My Dad bought new, a 1969 Marauder X-100 which is where my love for the MM started.

I never got behind the wheel to drive it as he sold it just before I turned 16. Hmmm... LOL!

Me thinking I could never afford a 03/04 MM, I knida wrote the idea off until 2004, when honestly, I got the wife at the time buzzed up, and she agreed. The trigger was pulled, a loud bang was heard and delivery of my DTR was shortly thereafter. (I only knew the DTR was made as the dealership owner was driving one as a demo)

November 2004, I joined MM.net, received my leather jacket in short order, (that I never knew about), paid my membership and the rest is his-to-ry.

:burnout:

Mike.
 
My adventure.

There is a Dealer not far from me in Langhorne, Pa. named Reedman (now Reedman-Toll) I went there one Saturday in January. When I enter the L&M door a salesmen asked if he could help me and I asked about marauder. (I knew it would not be out till June) The salesmen stated that they had been getting inquires about the car but did not have any more info. Then another fellow came alone and stated that he was the "Sales Manager" and confirmed that the marauder would arrive sometime in June. I joked that they should "put me on the list" he replied we do not have a list yet. I said good start one now and put my name at the top they did and I got a call late in May to stop by the dealership to start the paper work.
When I did stop in they told me full list price and 6.7% finance rate with "gold" credit! I just replied take my name off the list.

I did get one in September after prices dropped a little ($5K) and I think .09% finance rate.
Funny thing was my wife sent me out that day to look for an SUV

I came home with the marauder around 11AM (all day test drive)she looked at it from the front porch and called it a "banana boat"

Took deliver 9/28/02 never looked back

PS: I had a '70 X-100 when I was 19. Dad was an L&M dealer all his life
_
 
When I saw the prototype then the ads for the production Marauder I decided to order one.
I'd have to look back at the records for the exact date but because I wanted a light flint interior I waited several months to get my Marauder.
The dealer really wanted to sell me the black on black they had in stock but wouldn't change the price.Glad I waited.
17,000 original owner miles
 
My mother had a Marauder X-100 back in the 70's. Brown w/ brown leather interior w/ the flat black on the trunk, "C" pillars and around the rear window. Had a 460 4bbl. Could hardly get out of its way but Oh boy is was roomy inside (PARTY TIME!!!!).

I was really really when Ford announced the Marauder comeback on 2000 - 2001.

The rest is history.
 
Last edited:
Bought my first Marauder in 1981. Still had it in 1998 (and had since bought 3 others) when the SEMA car came out. I knew right then I would have one, if they actually built it. Had always envied those guys with the '66 Mustang (or whatever) who had bought them new and still had them. Started planning, saving and talking with Steve Babcock (another story). Bought my car the day it arrived on the truck without ever having driven one. Never regretted it for an instant.
 
My first car was a 69 Marquis 2 door with a 429. When I became single again, I went shopping for the vehicle of my choice. I was looking for a small Lincoln or a Jag and saw the Marauder in the showroom floor. My search was over. I had not seen one before but after the test drive, I drove it home.
 
IwantmyMMnow! said:
What drew you towards buying one? Did you ever think "I shouldn't have bought this car"? Did you know other colors were going to be offered, and if so, did you wait until then to buy one?
Click to expand...

Bought mine new from the dealer on 4 October 2003 with 54 miles on the clock. I had been driving a '94 Thunderbird LX.

I didn't even know that Blue MMs existed until the morning I bought mine. I went out on Edmonds.com and asked for quotes from 3 Lincoln-Mercury dealers on a Black Marauder and 3 Ford dealers on a Black Crown Vic LX Sport. The $35K sticker on the Marauder was the reason I was looking at the CV LX Sport to keep it closer to $30K or less.

One dealer came back to me by phone in less than 10 minutes with a quote on a Marauder .... under $30K was possible but he didn't have a Black one. The one he had was Blue. Made him go back and check that it wasn't a Grand Marquis. Until that moment, I didn't know Blue MMs existed. He confirmed that "MARAUDER" was embossed on the rear bumper. Told him to hold the car and I would be there in 45 minutes. After a test drive in the Blue MM and about an hour of paperwork, it was mine. The rest is history. Found out 4 months later on MM.Net that only 328 Blue MMs were made. Never a regret, Never a 2nd thought. Most fun car that I have ever driven and owned. Still my favorite ride .... Uh, 2nd favorite ride. ;)

I knew about the Ford Blackhawk concept and had seen Black Marauders sitting on dealer lots. I was NOT drawn to it. My youngest son pushed and badgered me for more than a year to take a test drive. I wouldn't and told him that "There was no point in a test drive". Not taking a test drive meant that I didn't have to make a decision and buy a car that I didn't necessarily need at the time. He pushed and pushed and pushed until I eventually went to the dealer and took one for a spin. See I was right about the test drive. :D Had the S.O.B. (Son of Bluerauder) not pushed constantly, I may not have bought a Marauder for another year or maybe not at all.

My son knows more about Ford products than most Ford salesman or service people. Guess who pushed me into getting a Taurus SHO? :) About 12 months delay on that one. His motivation was that he THOUGHT I would give him the Marauder when I got the Taurus SHO. Ha, Ha ..... he lost. I kept them both. :P
 
Last edited:
I followed the Marauder since Ford announced it,I knew I was going to get one.I was going to wait untill the 2005 or 2006 model year because they were suppose to have a super charger option. But then I heard on the radio that Ford pulled the plug. So that is when I decided to go and see what I could find. I wanted a blue! But none could be found.So black was next the dealer had to get one in. And the rest is history, I never thought I would meet the people that I have and its been great.I hope that it continues for along time. Its a great ride and it brings alot of people together...
 
Ms. Denmark said:
We knew they came in black (which I didn't want) and blue (which I stupidly didn't want:rolleyes:) and DTR (which was too slow:D) so I ordered Silver Birch. It arrived in October and it was love at first sight.
Click to expand...

I just can't picture you in anything but a Silver Birch ... it fits so perfectly. :D Blue would have been a good 2nd choice. ;) Looks like we both got our MMs in October 2003. What took you so long to find us on the MM.Net?
 
I wanted a Marauder from the first day I saw one, but Momma didn't want a black car, so I figured that was it. Fast forward 14-18 months and I saw a DTR on the lot at the local L-M dealership. We both wanted a moonroof, they had one in the showroom, end of story.

After the DTR got wrecked (Oct. 2005), I wasn't sure I'd be able to find a nice replacement. My good friend frdwrnch got me hooked up on the DBP about a month after the wreck, and the rest is history.

I may get other cars in the future, but I AIN'T gonna get rid of the 'rauder.
 
Well I had a daughter living in St. Paul and the wife wanted a new car. She drives Lincoln Town Cars. She said if I let her fly to St. Paul she would take a GM. We test drove a Marauder and scared the hell out of the salesman. Wife went shopping and I went and bought a Red GM with white leather. She comes home and did not like it. She likes pearl white cars. I took the GM back, with 6 miles on it, and got the Black Marauder. I was the second Marauder owner in New Orleans. D. Robin was the first. We bemcame best friends after that. She drove the arauder for two years and I got her a new Lincoln Towncar so I could have the Black. She loved to drive the Marauder but hated all the guys that gathered around it when she parked. Ya right. Still have it, 50K miles and great paint.
 
Bluerauder said:
I just can't picture you in anything but a Silver Birch ... it fits so perfectly. :D Blue would have been a good 2nd choice. ;) Looks like we both got our MMs in October 2003. What took you so long to find us on the MM.Net?
Click to expand...
I found MM.net in Oct of '03 but at that time we weren't into computers. I also have a friend who at that time was into Chat or what ever you call it with the NASCAR set and he was always telling us of people who he chatted with on line who wanted to meet him etc,etc.:shake:

We just figured that computer web sites were a good way to get you killed so we shied away. I lurked for many years on and off ( can you say drama:rolleyes:) but at that time the MM was just a cool tool for getting back and forth to work and vacation trips to the Mid-West and New England.

In 2008 Ms.D was reading over my shoulder while I was lurking at MM.net and inquired about it. I said it's a web site dedicated to the late model MM's.

So one day unbeknownst to me she signed up and posted in the 'new member' section. The response was positive from the members who said "Welcome to the site" and she felt impending death and destruction were not imminent. :sweat:

She lurked for awhile and commented in the non-technical threads and one day she said the CAM group was meeting at Klingers for lunch did we want to go? Where's Klingers? I responded. Pennsylvania she says. I got the map out to see where and was like that's a 2-2 1/2 drive for lunch....right.:loco: I guess you guys talked her into it and thus me as well and the rest is in the books.

I think I joined about 6 months later as M.D got tired of me telling her what to post. Get your own screen name she says and post it yourself. :)
 
Awesome stories!

It's great to read what everyone has posted up on here...love it.


I didn't even know MMs existed...never saw ads for them anywhere. I was stationed at Lajes AB, Azores, Portugal from Sep 01 - Sep 03, then in Mass from Sep 03 to Oct 07. I saw a silver one (just the front for about 2-3 seconds) sometime during 2006; was getting tired of my black Jetta I'd had for 6 years at that point and was wanting my next car to be silver, bigger, and had more power. Searched the internet to figure out what exactly I had seen, saw the sticker price (couldn't figure out why only 03s and 04s were available), and put it in the back of my mind for almost 5 years...


I knew nothing about their limited production run, colors, this website...nothing! Finally at the end of 2010 I start looking them up again, discover this website in Feb 2011, joined up, bought mine a month later, and have thoroughly enjoyed everything about it.


Now I fully understand the phrase, "The best things in life are worth waiting for." :beer:
 
Mr. Man said:
... and one day she said the CAM group was meeting at Klingers for lunch did we want to go? Where's Klingers? I responded. Pennsylvania she says. :)
Click to expand...

I remember it well .... 10 May 2008. The leap of faith day. ;) Pic below of your first CAM meet. My 1st one was in late March 2004 to meet up with Merc and MAD 3-R. I was quite cautious too about meeting folks on the Internetz. Less than 3 weeks later I drive to Philadelphia and meet BigDogJim and a bunch of other MM owners at Ray's "Cruise for the Troops" at Northeast Lincoln-Mercury. Have been at it for more than 8 years now.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top