Beloved by many, bought by too few, today’s Nice Price or No Dice Mercury Marauder is a Ford Crown Vic Police Interceptor in civilian clothes. Let’s see if its price means this Mercury’s rising.
When Chris Farley, beloved comedian and cuddly big guy, first introduced us to the concept of “living in a van, down by the river” in a Saturday Night Live sketch in 1993, no one could have predicted it would become an aspirational lifestyle. The idea of overlanding, or even just sleeping out in nature on an inflatable mattress in the back of a Tesla, has gone from niche cuckooballs’ behavior to a prime social media lifestyle-influencer occupation.
The 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Chinook camper we looked at yesterday added an extra layer of class and quirk to the whole “getting out in nature” vibe. Well restored and seemingly fully-equipped save for a place to poop, it would arguably be the talk of the KOA campground for any adventurous owner. Most of you felt less than adventurous about paying the $50,000 asking price for the camper, considering it too rich for something so niche. The end result was a 73% ‘No Dice’ loss and a lot of comments along the lines of “Well, would you look at that!”
Panther pride
Speaking of looks, when was the last time you saw a cop driving a Crown Vic? In my neck of the woods, most police departments have transitioned to Explorers or Tesla Model Ys. Heck, just this past weekend, I saw a Dodge Durango patrol car. I had totally forgotten that the Durango was even still in production, seeing as the first one came over on the Mayflower. The few Crown Vics I see have been relegated to private security services, but spotting even those is becoming ever less frequent.
With just a little over 11,000 sold across the 2003 to 2004 model years, the Mercury equivalent of the Crown Vic Police Intercepter package, the Marauder, is an even rarer sight on the road. Today’s 2004 Marauder is more special than that, as it is painted in the less common Silver Birch Metallic rather than the expected two-stage black.
The Marauder took its name from an engine line of the late 1950s, and served as a performance edition of Mercury’s big sedans—the Monterey and Marquis, respectively—in the early and late 1960s. Ford revived the nameplate for a performance edition of the Grand Marquis in 2003, but dropped the option package after the 2004 model when sales failed to meet expectations.
Large and in charge
Today, these stand out as interesting and arguably cheap-to-maintain collectibles. The basic car is the Panther platform Grand Marquis that has been given the cop-car treatment with a heavy-duty suspension-and-brakes combo, special interior and exterior treatments, and, most importantly, a 302-horsepower edition of Ford’s DOHC 32-valve 4.6-liter Modular V8 under the hood. That engine was shared with the contemporary Mustang, as well as Lincoln’s Mark VIII and Aviator.
There’s plenty of room in the Marauder’s engine bay for that mill, even though it’s substantially wider and taller than the pushrod engines around which the Panther platform was originally designed. Transmission duties are handled by Ford’s 4R75W four-speed overdrive automatic, which is mated with an aluminum driveshaft and a limited-slip rear end, both from the Crown Vic’s P71 police package.
According to the seller, all of those parts are working as they should, with no leaks, no lights, and no funny noises. As far as servicing goes, the coil packs and serpentine belt have been recently replaced. On the flip side of the coin, the tires are said to have about 80% of their tread left, but are date-stamped as 2019 vintage. Those might need a change of scenery soon.
Mercury Blues
With a modest 107,150 miles under its belt, this Marauder looks pretty good, too, with one exception. Per the seller, there are a few minor dings and chips in the paint, signs of a life on the road, not cloistered in a garage. The most egregious problem, however, is a big crack in the back bumper, right in the M of the embossed Marauder script, due to a “moving cart” interaction. That’s going to be difficult to repair, and a replacement might be even harder, given how few of these cars were built and that it’s one of the car’s few bespoke parts.
Another Marauder exclusive is the five-spoke alloy wheels with throwback Mercury head on the center caps. Happily, those are still on the car and look to be in solid shape. One more plus on the exterior of these cars is the SecuriCode keypad that allows entry to the car with a few pushes of the buttons on the driver’s door, one of the most underrated features in the industry.
The interior looks to be in excellent shape, showcasing the Marauder-unique silver instrument panel dials and an add-on tach that required moving the voltage and oil pressure gauges to the console ahead of the shifter. This is a fully loaded car, featuring automatic climate control, a CD stereo, cruise control, and power seats operated by small seat-shaped controls on the door panels, just like in a much more upscale Mercedes-Benz. Fancy!
Priced to move?
The current owner explains the impetus for the sale is that they have bought a Miata, which has apparently stolen their heart, as Miatas often do. As a result, the Marauder has been left to sit out the dance. That seems perfectly fair, but we now need to decide just how fair we consider the $19,000 the seller is demanding for a new owner to let the Marauder kick up its heels.
What’s your take on this decently rare Mercury sedan and that $19,000 price? Does that seem reasonable for the car as it’s presented, minor warts and all? Or for that much, would it need to be darn-near perfect?
You decide!
Portland, Oregon, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
H/T to Don R. for the hookup!
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