NWP SWPSo big news I'm currently in the process of purchasing a 2004 Mercury Marauder for $5,500 I have a few financial details to work out but I have a really good feeling about this.
.
Steven, I found the Marauder you are thinking of purchasing on an on-line used car site.
It has been listed for sale at around $6,000.00 asking price for a long time. It has almost 200,000 miles on it, and that is probably the reason no one will buy it. In order to be worth $9,000 it would need to have much less mileage. The price you stated for this car seems about fair, but it is absolutely not a great bargain.
This car is almost done. It WILL be a continuous maintenance expense. If you are not paying full cash for it, you will have payments and repairs.
I cannot believe a Camry will cost you $500.00 per month in insurance. That statement can only be completely false. My youngest daughter pays $4,000.00 per year on a 2011 Mustang, and she has had two at-fault accidents and lives in L.A.
This car will probably get you into a lot of trouble. You have posted previously about your love for burnouts and street drags. Even calling street racing how mature men settle disputes. This behavior is not being an "enthusiast", it is being a jerk driver and it is dangerous. You will eventually pay the price if you keep it up.
NWP SWPNate the club <edit> was hating on my truck today, so I did what every responsible, mature, adult man would do... challenge him to a drag race! It's scheduled for after I get the 351w into it, I'll beat him with cubic inches, he's got a modular 5.4L (so like 327 ci) and the 351 is 5.8L. He drives a stock Mercury Grand Marquis.
It is your life and these are your personal decisions to make. If you did not want commentary from those of us who have been there, as was said, you should not have posted your life in the diner.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Good Morning!
I still remember my first car, but these are no fond memories. It was really a cheap old junker which caused a lot of headaches and ended up costing a lot of money. It soon went to the scrapper and was replaced by a blue Volkswagen "Superbug" with a 1300cc, 44hp engine. In later years, I graduated to a series of Mercedes sedans, up to the big ones as company cars. I also had my midlife-crisis toy, a Porsche 911 Turbo, which I didn´t dare to drive beyond 175mph. Long gone are those days! Now I drive a sub-subcompact Volkswagen and never go faster than, say, 80mph. Fast enough for me.
Today´s iconic British steam engine is the Great Western Railway´s class 3700 "City of Truro" which was built in 1903 at Swindon Works to a design by George Jackson Churchward. It was partially rebuilt in 1911 and 1915, and renumbered 3717 in 1912. Although it is a point of contention, some believe the locomotive to be the first to attain a speed of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) during a run from Plymouth to London Paddington in 1904.
GWR´s class 3700 4-4-0s were among the last steam locomotives to be constructed with a double frame, a remnant of GWRs broad gauge years.
"City of Truro" is now in the hands of the National Railway Museum and display at various locations. She is not in an operational condition and it is most unlikely for her to return to service at any time soon.
A OO scale model is available from Bachmann Branchlines.
Happy times!
Ulrich (aka The Tin Man)
"You´re never too old for a happy childhood!"
Railroadfan1Hi all, Speaking of cogs, did anyone catch the N.W.S.L. update on the N.W.S.L. closing thread? No replies or comments to an important cog in the great circle of model railroading life. Thought you might want to know what Davd replied.
Hi Railroadfan1
This is a belated thank you for telling us about the developments at NWSL. We were remiss to not have paid more attention to your post. My apologies.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
NWP SWPThe marauder is valued at 9k by KBB, this guy is the second owner, bought it directly from the original owner, hes worked for the local dealership for 26 years, all the wear items have been replaced, timing chain, tensioners, suspension bushings, Transmission is freshly rebuilt.
Hi Steven,
That certainly puts the car in a positve light, however I would caution you about assuming that "all the wear parts have been replaced". It's safer to be a bit pessimistic and have the car examined closely as I and others have said. Ken's warning about the manifolds is a prime example of the sort of nasty surprises that can crop up.
As far as "driving like an enthusiast", as long as you don't push it you should probably be okay. I will admit to having driven rather aggressively on more than a few occasions when I had my MGB (which was mostly tuned to factory racing specs) and my BMW 2002 tii (which didn't need any special tuning - it came with it from the factory). I am somewhat more restrained these days, but I still like to put my foot in it every so often.
I can hear the comments now about me giving you encouragement where I should not. I think that you are smart enough to deal with the truth. Just do all us old farts a favour and avoid making your car excessively loud. That's coming from a guy who thought it was cool to have a straight pipe on his MGB. That was then, this is now!
Good luck with the Merc!
Eveing Diners
Flo, give the gang a please and young Steven a roll cage and helment!
NWP SWPAnd no I don't drive like a jerk, I am a driving enthusiast.
Steven Most of us thought of are self as driving enthusiast when we where 18. In my case from 16 to age 45. Now that I am in my 60's I was a jerk driver when I was that age. Well from this age point of view that is. If I had it all over to do again, I would not change a thing!
Far as the Marauder is concern, cool car. Would not mind one my self. Checked to see if it has the 3 valve 4.6 liter. If it does and the heads have been replaced or repaired great. If not walk away. Has the intake manafold been replaced? They are plastic and aluminum and are prone to cracking. My wifes 2004 intaked cracked after only having it for 1000 miles and cost $900.00 to replaces.
Later none smoking Ken still missing Sparkie again.
I hate Rust
Hey all.
Its been 9 years since I saw a musical- In the heights, on Broadway. Not a bad show. I just wish I could have seen "Springsteen On Broadway", I've seen the netflix special, and man that was good.
Tomorrow I go get per-employment testing for substances. After that I'm in the clear For employment. I'm counting the days down. Full time work, and paid time off!
Today started the difficult task of taking down my late dad's layout. Well, the unfinished portions. I'm taking it down to the benchwork, and using that for my layout.
the part I started with today, is big enough for a 7-8 track yard and full facilities and background City scenery- if anyone has been to Greentree PA, they are familiar with Rook yard. It's in a valley between PA 376 (Parkway), and the neighborhood residential area of Green Tree. It's the only major yard on the Wheeling and Lake Erie in PA, and was originally the Pittsburgh and West Virginia railway main offices and Yard.
Today, the yard has a yard office, light repair, but no dispatcher. I'm twisting reality, and making rook their major yard in my world. 25' x 30' room. I'm doing 20 miles modeled with serious selective compression, backdating industries to have rail service, so proto-lancing.
I also tried to install a decoder into a walthers Sperry rail car. It runs okay, but it's going in opposite direction randomly. no idea there.
I'm still unpacking stuff from my move, and discovered I own over 200 books- more than the whole "a person should own 30 books" nonsense. Oh, my WE theater car, that has been in a few weekend photo fun threads on here, won first place in a regional bring and brag. With that, I've basically locked up the modeler of the year award for the NMRA division 2 mcr.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Steven Otte Steven NWP SWP, allow me to offer you some advice... If you don't want advice from a bunch of busybodies who think they know everything better than you, don't talk about your life in the Diner.
Steven NWP SWP, allow me to offer you some advice...
If you don't want advice from a bunch of busybodies who think they know everything better than you, don't talk about your life in the Diner.
Terry
Terry in NW Wisconsin
Queenbogey715 is my Youtube channel
It was supposed to be dry today, but there is thunder now and there are storms moving our way on the radar. I'm inside with a cold beer. It's in a glass with the logo of the Cape Cod Central Railroad, a defunct line whose name is now used by a tourist line from Hyannis to Buzzards Bay. We took a lunch train ride a couple of years ago, riding in a lounge car that was once in the consist of the City of New Orleans.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Track fiddler. . .Kind of ironic. Judy and I have been looking for more creative things to do when we go to Laughlin Nevada on our free trips. After three times there we're looking for more things to do. How can you refuse a free trip? The places you speak of are about four hours away from there. Nothing a rental car and an extra Hotel hotel can't handle. Judy also has more places she wishes to visit in Arizona. Although I will never go there again in the summer time. I do not like a 115 to 120 degrees We went to go across the street in July like we usually do when were down there in the Winter to the dollar store for two gallons of water for drinking while we're there. After about twenty paces we looked at each other. It felt like our heads were baking and our eyes were Popping out of our heads. We turned around and went back to the casino That was some heat. . .
How can you refuse a free trip? The places you speak of are about four hours away from there. Nothing a rental car and an extra Hotel hotel can't handle. Judy also has more places she wishes to visit in Arizona.
Although I will never go there again in the summer time. I do not like a 115 to 120 degrees
We went to go across the street in July like we usually do when were down there in the Winter to the dollar store for two gallons of water for drinking while we're there.
After about twenty paces we looked at each other. It felt like our heads were baking and our eyes were Popping out of our heads. We turned around and went back to the casino
That was some heat. . .
Welcome to the desert southwest. After nearly 30 years, I have learned to avoid being outside when the sun has been up for more than two hours.
If airplanes are your thing, and you don't mind driving a little further down the road, (alright, another two hours down the road), there is nothing quite like the Pima Air and Space Museum. They have 350+ aircraft on location, and if you plan ahead, you care take the tour of the aircraft boneyard at the Davis-Monthan airbase.
One more place to visit if you only make as far as Phoenix woud be the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. There are some club layouts there that are pretty impresssive.
Richard
How old am I? Well, I bought my first car, a brand new Triumph Spitfire, in 1968 for $2145.
My most recent car is a VW Jetta for about $18000, brand new. No, it's not a babe magnet, but it gets me where I am going, and it has enough power to accelerate up to highway speed from an on ramp.
A couple of years ago, VW got caught cheating on emissions measurements on some of its diesels. This created a buying opportunity in the US for a lot of small VWs, including gasoline cars like mine. Finding one of those could be a real bargain.
SteveO: I am so jealous!
I hope you have a great time. I have not been to a musical in a couple of years.
CAHS??
We seldom ever buy a new car.
We will buy low milage used cars, but for the past ten years or so, we have been having cars donated to us.
Some we keep, and run them into the ground, and others we sell. Some we sell before they are almost used up, and then sell them to a kid who is looking for a deal.
There are for or five cars that are parked outside by the porch. We leave the keys in them. They are called run-around-cars. The rule is do not travel any farther than you want to walk back from.
Fleet cars are mostly parked in the garage, these have to be signed out with mileage and use recorded for the business office. The nice blue van is also parked outside just north of the ramp, That one is my favorite, and I do not like walking all of the way to the garqge to fetch a car.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Allow me to share one exciting development in my life I found out about yesterday... I'm going! Nosebleed balcony seats, but even so, I'm going!
--Steven Otte, Model Railroader senior associate editorsotte@kalmbach.com
Good morning, everyone. Black coffee, and lots of it.
The two-mile trail walk this morning was instead a two-mile swim through hot, humid air. These days in August are usually our most hot and humid of the year.
On the layout front: I'm just about finished with the Psycho house and motel I've been scratch building. I soldered in some lights yesterday, and should start some of the foundation today. My wife thinks I'm nuts for building it. (Not just because I'm building the Psycho motel -- she has other reasons, too.)
On a serious note, I have been reading and posting in the diner for less than a year, but I have really enjoyed it. I look forward to reading the comments each morning. I find it amazing that we can tell about our layouts, our lives, our issues, and our interests to a group of people, most of whom have not met each other in person. I appreciate all of you taking time to write about things.
York1 John
Mornin' Gents!
Zoe, I could use a refill for my dark roast coffee, please.
Well, young Steven, lots of good advise been given here.... Yeah, as has been said, don't start a conversation if you don't like the opinions of the rest of us...... LOL Just roll with the punches, so to speak. We do enjoy having you around. It's good see you when you post!
Now, back when I was your age and a bit younger...... (Man does that sound like an old guy talking!) My father bought a few "old Ladies" type of car that I was quite embarassed to drive, until...... I found out that the girls, LOVED those cars! I can't tell you on here why, but they were a great car for... ah, Dating, shall we say. You can look up why! The car was a complete dog for racing, certainly not a cool car for drag racing down Main Street after school and such. But..... the girls seemed to really like them! The car? It was a Rambler American!!! Oh Yeah! Do some research about them, and it may change your mind about what is a great car... (Huge, huge, Grin!!!)
12
28
73
Ray Seneca Lake, Ontario, and Western R.R. (S.L.O.&W.) in HO
We'll get there sooner or later!
Good morning ..... I'll have coffee and a donut, please.
Steve O .... Good advice.
Let's talk about trains.
Ulrich ..... Thanks for the photos of the old 0-6-0.
Here is an older photo of my P2K Santa Fe E6.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
Wasn't shouting... at least not at you.
Will edit to remove shouty caps.
Ulrich, I appreciate advice when its given, but when it comes across as "this is the only right way to do it" and "you are completely wrong" I get a little annoyed.
My grandfather always said "opinions are like a**es, we all have them..."
And to quote M*A*S*H "if I had all the answers I'd run for god"
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
Post edited!
Steven - When I was your age, I was all about buying an old Mercedes 4-door sedan, but I was glad I didn´t! The cost of ownership would have killed me.
I don´t know the US used car market well enough, but isn´t there a more economical, maybe smaller car around, which is still fun to drive and doesn´t cost an arm and a leg to own?
Our first Mecury was a 2001 Mystique, and with regular service, we put over 210,000 miles on it, than sold it for $2500, and the guy (buyer) asked "why so cheap?".
Our last Mercury was a 2010 Mariner, traded it in with 228,000 miles, with $4200. trade-in value.
In between we had a 2005 Mercury Grand Marquis, traded that in with 205,000 miles and a trade-in of $3500.
We've always had a good experience with Mercury's.
Good luck with your car, Steven, it looks like it's in sharp condition. Keep it that way, along with regular service, and it will do you well, along with trade-in value.
Mike.
My You Tube
Good Morning All,
A regular and a blueberry filled donut please to go Zoe.
Still beavering away at the back wall of the layout. If I get ambitious I will take some pictures. Now that summer is drawing to a close, the basement is starting to heat soak so combined with the normal humidty this time of year, even the dehumidifier doesn't keep things pleasent. Not complaining, just sayin'.
Steven - cool car but let me echo the cautions of the others who have been there. You need to have the car checked over by a mechanic on a lift. Most of the high performance cars you find used have had a hard life. After all why buy a high performance car if you aren't going to use it ? We can all recite chapter and verse on our misadventures over the years. The one rule I always used was to buy outright and not finance. Being able to do most of my own repairs/modifications also helped a lot but owning the car outright from the purchase was a major benefit. That finally changed when I started commuting around 100 miles a day and just couldn't keep up with maintainence on an older car and work. And yeah, I ended up driving a Fiesta, and Escort, a Focus, back to the series 2 Fiesta and now the series 2 Focus but it is an ST. You really need to noodle it out and get something reasonable and easy on the wallet until you are more established. Hondas have high insurance up here in the northeast because they are stolen more often than anything else. Used Toyotas and most Nissans have silly resale values but the Korean cars often don't. Some are built on the international Ford platforms and offer good economics and safety. I don't like the way most "bowties" drive so I don't drive them and can't offer any advice there.
Sermon over - time to pick up tools. Ciao, J.R.
I cannot afford a camry.
Literally insurance is 500+ a month, with a clean record, no tickets, not even been pulled over yet.
And no I don't drive like a jerk, I am a driving enthusiast.
I ate something last night that completely disagreed with me. My stomach is very uncomfortable right now.
NWP SWPKevin you could've had some serious fun with that merc, engine swap here, blower there, woulda made a helluva drag car.
Um, no. I needed it to be reliable. It was my daily transportation back and forth to work and weekend transportation for fun. It became the Family Car for the first year of my marriage.
It had a "Super-Marauder 428-4V", same as a Cobra-Jet, and was plenty fast enough in the stock configuration.
I had a 1978 Monte Carlo for bracket racing for about a year. That was fun, but it was a toy.
Modifying your daily driver is plain stupid. It increases the total cost of ownership, effects your insurance, and decreases reliability. It also increaes the interest from the local law enforcement agencies. You can find out the hard way just like all my buddies who had 1970s Camaros in the 1980s. The story tends to end the same over and over again.
By the way, I did have A LOT of fun in that car. It was the car I drove when I met Holly, Mickey, Paula, Gina, Sheryl, then ultimately... Mary. I guess it was the perfect car for teenage Kevin!
NWP SWPI thought chicks don't pay attention to or care about the car you drive? That's at least the advice you guys have me many moons ago.
Chicks? I assume you meant to say "Young Ladies".
They do notice the car you drive. That Marauder sends a certain message. It looks like you are trying to impress other guys, young ladies will receive that same message.
It also looks like you probably drive like a bit of a jerk. Young ladies like to feel safe in cars with their companions. They will pick up on that too.
It could attract certain females, and repel others, you never know.
A good Camry or Altima will get you further with more young ladies, and cost less to own.
Always drop the biggest template you can. A (fakey) muscle car will shrink your area of direct impact, but increase the effect. I learned all about this driving that S-55 back in the 80s.
It is ultimately up to you how you present yourself.
Yeah I already did the research into a mustang, I simply cannot afford the insurance, I considered newer sedans like an Accord, nope can't afford the insurance.
The marauder is valued at 9k by KBB, this guy is the second owner, bought it directly from the original owner, hes worked for the local dealership for 26 years, all the wear items have been replaced, timing chain, tensioners, suspension bushings, Transmission is freshly rebuilt.
I thought chicks don't pay attention to or care about the car you drive? That's at least the advice you guys have me many moons ago.
Of course no money changes hands till all the questions have been answered.
Kevin you could've had some serious fun with that merc, engine swap here, blower there, woulda made a helluva drag car.
Nice thing about the marauder is its basically a crown vic which are everywhere in the upullit yards so parts are easily available, another plus is a few well thought out mods this "psuedo muscle car" becomes a frickin muscle car.
I get what you guys are saying, I will make and educated decision, right now I have no wheels, my truck has more problems than I can afford to fix right now and when its running I spend almost 400 in gas a MONTH! that's how bad of gas mileage I'm getting!
NWP SWPSo big news I'm currently in the process of purchasing a 2004 Mercury Marauder for $5,500 I have a few financial details to work out but I have a really good feeling about this. This is a marauder if you've never heard of them.
Let me second what Dave (HOn30 Critter) said about this. This does not look like a good buy or a good decision. It is a 15 year old pseudo muscle car that, unless you are purchasing it from its original owner, was probably abused. The price seems high to me.
All those people that bought 15 year old Impala-SS cars 10 years ago can tell you their stories.
I hope you are not making payments on a 15 year old car, that is a terrible way to go. Repairs + Payments = Sadness.
My first "real" car was a 16 year old Mercury S-55, something somewhat similar to what you are considering. In the first two years I owned it the car needed a new engine and a new transmission. I spent the money to repair it, but I did not have payments. Back then a C-6 overhaul was about $500.00, and the engine kit was $400.00 plus $150.00 at the machine shop.
It was fun for a few years, but I am much happier with the current fleet.
Ja BearNot sure about your propeller, either!
Had to steal the one from the flight director's office fan The women complained about the big prop "mussing up their hair"—
For take-offs and landings the ladies hang their feet off the trailing edge of the wing. From flapping to flaps
Ed
gmpullmanBear can have his tag-along aircraft mechanic...
[Beauties by Bear, on Flickr
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Not much to report lately, finishing up some yard w**k, trimming the flower shoots off the hostas. When we planted the yard full of hosta I thought they would pretty much be a maintenance-free plant. No such animal (um, sorry, PLANT).
Bear can have his tag-along aircraft mechanic on the skids.
For me —
Flappers by Edmund, on Flickr
I carry this bevy of "Flappers", so named because at the first sign of engine troubles, they tie their scarves off and flap like the blazes to create lift.
Once on the ground they can tow the plane around like nobody's business.
Cheers, Ed
Another sunny day - nice!
hon30critterWithout knowing a single thing about the specific vehicle that you are considering, $5,500 seems to be a bit high for a 15 year old car. It should be in pretty good condition for that price.
That was my initial thought, too! After 15 years, a car is coming close to the end of its economically feasible life, unless it was always properly taken care of and has a clean and complete service history. My second thought is, whether you will be happy with a car which has a lot of appeal to the ladies of my age, but hardly to a young college student. Well, it´s your decision, Steven, just don´t rush in!
Britain has some of the quirkiest steam engines I have seen and some have become icons of the steam age. Within the next days, I´d like to present some of them, starting today with presenting the LB&SCR class A1, A1X, dubbed "Terrier", for ist rather sharp bark. The "Terrier" is one of the oldest steam locomotives still to be seen in operation on a number of lines in Britain.
The London, Brighton and South Coast Railway (LB&SCR) A1 Class is a 0-6-0T steam locomotive. Designed by William Stroudley, 50 members of the class were built in 1872 and between 1874 and 1880, all at Brighton Works. The class has received several nicknames, initially being known as "Rooters" by their south London crews. However, the engines were more famously known as "Terriers" on account of the distinctive 'bark' of the exhaust beat. Later in their careers, some engines were known as "Hayling Billy" on account of their work on the Hayling Island branch line. A pub of this name on the island was briefly home to the engine which is now No.W8 Freshwater. The Terrier is a tiny engine, but with an excellent acceleration, which made it ideal for the southbound London commuter trains of the 1880s. Hard to believe that Queen Victoria had 25 years to go in her job as Queen, when Stroudley designed the engine!
The color of this Terrier isnknown as "Stroudley´s Improved Engine Green"!
A number of preservation lines have "Terriers" in their roster, like the Bluebell Rlwy., the Isle of Wight Stem Rlwy., the Kent and East Sussex Rlwy. and others.
Enjoy this video of a Terrier in operation!
A model of the Terrier is available in British N scale, OO scale and British O scale. The N scale as well as the O scale version is available from Dapol, the OO scale version from Hornby.
N scale:
The Dapol N scale model as "Hayling Billy" on the bridge between Havant and Haylig Island.
OO scale version:
And, finally, the O scale version:
Sounds like you are pretty committed to buying the car. Please allow me to offer some sober second thought:
Without knowing a single thing about the specific vehicle that you are considering, $5,500 seems to be a bit high for a 15 year old car. It should be in pretty good condition for that price.
Have you considered getting a mechanic to have a close look at the car before you purchase it? A 15 year old car will likely have some issues that might not be so obvious. Things like suspension bushings and weak springs come to mind. What shape is the exhaust in? If it has twin pipes that will cost mucho dollars to replace. How about the tires? That car wears big rubber. Putting decent tires on it will cost close to $800. What shape is the AC in? The list goes on. The point is to put your hopes and desires in your back pocket and do a proper examination of the car. Be more prepared to walk away rather than to drive away.
Steven, I'm not trying to criticize you or pick on you. I'm only speaking from my experience with older used cars. The bottom line is that, if you have to drive older cars out of financial necessity like I did for years, spend as little as possible to begin with, and don't get sucked into a money pit, like I did with my '86 Caprice.
Good luck!