Mercury Grand Marquis - Yea or Nea

[gabbar]

For sale is a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis with 16,000 miles on it for $10k. Its much higher (by 3k) than KBB recommended price.

Need advice on what is good or bad about this car (particularly from a reliability standpoint) since I don't have any experience with Ford cars.

I know that this is a RWD and may not be ideal for driving on snow.

Also, would you vote Yea or Nea for purchasing this car?

PS: I am not good with a wrench

 

[NutBucket]

They're good cars in general but the price does seem high. Can you figure why it's priced the way it is?

 

[thedarkwolf]

Nea only because the price is insane. The low mileage does nothing for me since it is low mileage on a car that lasts forever anyway. I'd rather cut the price by 50-70% and find one with 100k miles on it.

 

[gabbar]

Nea only because the price is insane. The low mileage does nothing for me since it is low mileage on a car that lasts forever anyway so I'd rather cut the price by 50-70% and find one with 100k miles on it.

The seller is a 80+ year old who has little faith in KBB, so he says. He says that he wants to sell this Grand Marquis and buy a Buick (this does not make sense to me)

 

[NutBucket]

LOL. Yeah, logic not found. Clearly he's not interested in selling. This is not exactly an in-demand vehicle.

 

[ultimatebob]

The seller is a 80+ year old who has little faith in KBB, so he says. He says that he wants to sell this Grand Marquis and buy a Buick (this does not make sense to me)

Old people just like Buick's. It's a thing I've never understood.

 

[nakedfrog]

The seller is a 80+ year old who has little faith in KBB, so he says. He says that he wants to sell this Grand Marquis and buy a Buick (this does not make sense to me)

Yeah, I have little faith in KBB myself... if anything, KBB is always on the high side by a good margin. I can't think of any good reason to pay $10k for this car.

 

[gabbar]

There is an another 02 Mercury Grand Marquis LSE for sale with 36k miles on it. Seller wants 7,500 for it.

Seller has several cars and likes to tinker with cars. He bought this Mercury two months back, changed tires, brakes and now wants to sell it off because he says he does not need the car. I can't figure this out?

AD: http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/5210469877.html

 

[smackababy]

No poll, so I can't vote. I think the Grand Marq (and Crown Vic) have a following which probably inflates the price (same with the e30 M3, which is why I don't own one yet).

$10k sounds ridiculous though. I don't care on the condition or on the miles.

 

[thedarkwolf]

Forget the crazy overpriced low mile cars. I can hop on craigslist right now and just in my local section there are 12 crown vics and 7 marquis and the most expensive one is a 2008 for $6k. There is a really nice looking solid black retired sheriff 2010 vic for $4500 with 100k on it, nearly all the crown vics are retired cop cars including a 2004 with 125k on it for $1600. These things have NO resale value because they aren't cool so there is noway in hell I'd pay more than $5k for one and even then it would have to be super nice. You would really have to try to destroy one of these things before 200k miles so there is no reason to worry about low mileage.

 

[RLGL]

For sale is a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis with 16,000 miles on it for $10k. Its much higher (by 3k) than KBB recommended price.

Need advice on what is good or bad about this car (particularly from a reliability standpoint) since I don't have any experience with Ford cars.

I know that this is a RWD and may not be ideal for driving on snow.

Also, would you vote Yea or Nea for purchasing this car?

PS: I am not good with a wrench

You say snow I say NO

 

[squirrel dog]

I have owned three . There are four trim levels for that car . Does it have leather ? They can get 30 mpg on cruise at 60 on interstate driving and avg around 20 in town . If it is the Ls or the rarer LsUltimate ? Was it keep in a Garage ? Have you ran the vin for previous damage ? Even though it has low miles,every thing on that car is 11 years old . I would bet it has the original tires which might look new,but would need to be replaced . The brake fluid,the power steering fluid,and the coolant all need to be changed.I went moble1 oil on everything when it first came out and would do so on this car . As people age they tend to reject information that doesn't seem to correlate to what they learned.
The fluids contaminate by condensation over 11 years,the tires dry rot in 5~8 years . You can change the power steering fluid with a turkey baster(google it) the brakes will look nearly new,but will take a mechanic you trust to bleed down and replace with fresh new fluid.The engine oil if it was never changed,needs to be changed , that 4.6 v8 uses 5w-20w show him this information , the worst thing for any car is not getting run at least once a month,to circulate it's lifes blood so to speak . If it has been garage keep , the paint is perfect and the interior is perfect , I would offer him what he would take . 10k is on the high side , but that car will last you until you are sick of looking at it,plus it rides like a Cadillac has enormous storage and there aren't many cars that are that safe on the highway . It's worth is 7500 , I would start there . A dealer will give him 10 for it , and highball him on the Buick(a very old dealer maneuver) I paid 2500 to 4k for mine , yours will have a like new front end,the shocks tie rods etc. on your car are all like new . Put it on a rack and look under it , should be rust free . Go for it . Ps , you will need a straw hat and drive in the left lane at or below the speed limit ! And your insurance will be cheaper .

 

[pauldun170]

You say snow I say NO

Those aren't to bad in the snow with a set of proper tires.
Toss some stuff in the back to weigh down the rear and go

 

[squirrel dog]

like two bags of cement(quickcrete)

 

[gabbar]

Forget the crazy overpriced low mile cars. I can hop on craigslist right now and just in my local section there are 12 crown vics and 7 marquis and the most expensive one is a 2008 for $6k. There is a really nice looking solid black retired sheriff 2010 vic for $4500 with 100k on it, nearly all the crown vics are retired cop cars including a 2004 with 125k on it for $1600. These things have NO resale value because they aren't cool so there is noway in hell I'd pay more than $5k for one and even then it would have to be super nice. You would really have to try to destroy one of these things before 200k miles so there is no reason to worry about low mileage.

Thank you, I will exercise caution. It seems to me that I have become a bit emotional about these cars.

 

[gabbar]

Ps , you will need a straw hat and drive in the left lane at or below the speed limit ! And your insurance will be cheaper .

:biggrin: I don't know about the straw hat but I can manage a ivy hat.

Here is the ad http://akroncanton.craigslist.org/cto/5186847349.html

 

[gabbar]

I have owned three . There are four trim levels for that car . Does it have leather ? They can get 30 mpg on cruise at 60 on interstate driving and avg around 20 in town . If it is the Ls or the rarer LsUltimate ? Was it keep in a Garage ? Have you ran the vin for previous damage ? Even though it has low miles,every thing on that car is 11 years old . I would bet it has the original tires which might look new,but would need to be replaced . The brake fluid,the power steering fluid,and the coolant all need to be changed.I went moble1 oil on everything when it first came out and would do so on this car . As people age they tend to reject information that doesn't seem to correlate to what they learned.
The fluids contaminate by condensation over 11 years,the tires dry rot in 5~8 years . You can change the power steering fluid with a turkey baster(google it) the brakes will look nearly new,but will take a mechanic you trust to bleed down and replace with fresh new fluid.The engine oil if it was never changed,needs to be changed , that 4.6 v8 uses 5w-20w show him this information , the worst thing for any car is not getting run at least once a month,to circulate it's lifes blood so to speak . If it has been garage keep , the paint is perfect and the interior is perfect , I would offer him what he would take . 10k is on the high side , but that car will last you until you are sick of looking at it,plus it rides like a Cadillac has enormous storage and there aren't many cars that are that safe on the highway . It's worth is 7500 , I would start there . A dealer will give him 10 for it , and highball him on the Buick(a very old dealer maneuver) I paid 2500 to 4k for mine , yours will have a like new front end,the shocks tie rods etc. on your car are all like new . Put it on a rack and look under it , should be rust free . Go for it . Ps , you will need a straw hat and drive in the left lane at or below the speed limit ! And your insurance will be cheaper .

Thank you for the detailed response.

 

[evident]

i never understood jalopnik's obsession with this car. it really just sucks to drive and is a huge gas guzzler.

 

[nerp]

I would be a wary of a car driven for about 1,500 miles per year for 10 years.

 

[Zorba]

like two bags of cement(quickcrete)

This is exactly what I did with my '91. Always worked well.

 

[gabbar]

i never understood jalopnik's obsession with this car. it really just sucks to drive and is a huge gas guzzler.

I understand the gas guzzler part but not the sucks to drive part?

 

[Squeetard]

Land yacht.

And hell no on that deal. You can buy 2 year old retired cop cars here for 5k.

 

[cabri]

I would be a wary of a car driven for about 1,500 miles per year for 10 years.

Depends on maintenance.

I picked up a 15 yr old that had 40K on it.
Original dealer maintenance records from a couple that used it for their Sunday drives.

Put 120K more on it before wife had me replace it. Unloaded it for $500 using Craig's list.

Only thing we did to it during the 5 years we had it was tires, oil, filters and brakes.

ECU was just starting to act up when we sold it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

He would be lucky to get $4k on trade in for it at a dealer. Offer him $6500 cash and walk away if he won't budge on his ridiculously high asking price.

 

[evident]

I understand the gas guzzler part but not the sucks to drive part?

its a 4000lb land barge that has terrible gas economy, terrible handling and terrible performance numbers. only benefits i can think of it's a comfortable highway cruiser and it's dirt cheap... if that's what you want than go for it i guess...