2002 Mercury Grand Marquis LS questions

[geekster]

I am tempted to buy a 2002 Grand Marquis LS from a co-worker. It has 65k on it and it is overall good condition. I am curious as to what to look for as known problem areas and concerns with this vehicle. Car doesn't leak any fluids, but does need new tires (it still has the original rubber on). He is asking $1800 for the car FWIW. I am considering selling my Optima, which I owe nothing on, banking the money and buying this to drive. Ultimately I need this to be a reliable daily driver and don't want to sell a reliable car for a money pit. Car was supposedly maintained at the local Ford dealership it's entire life. I trust my co-worker and this was his late fathers car. The only instant downside for me is that he smoked in the car.

So are there things with this model of Panther car that I should look for or be concerned about?

 

[cptbarkey]

If your ok with taking a 3-4 grand loss on the optima sure sell it. I personally have little tolerance for reliability issues with my daily drivers.

 

[Tdbo]

If it is in decent shape with those miles, you better jump on it.
That car will probably sell itself with those kind of miles.
Even though the platform is toothy, it also is about as indestructible as cars get.

 

[supton]

Smoked in the car is a negative. Might be worth picking up and flipping. Or just holding onto...

You'd be ahead money-wise, although you will take a loss on the Optima I'd think. And the GM is getting older. It will need age related repairs. And I think it'll guzzle more gas, which likely will go up in price in a few years. But that comes down to how much you drive--if you're "average" then 18mpg vs 40mpg is rarely an issue, depreciation is.

Does this have the air suspension?

 

[69GTX]

The air suspensions were in the Lincolns and possibly some Caddies. The CV/GM are rear springs. Getting 65K miles and 14 years on original tires is a good sign...other than you have to pay for the next set at $500-$650.

My only concerns if the car was short tripped a lot. And by that I mean really short trips, especially in a cold climate. Even with 3K mile oil changes, that short tripper could have an effective 100K-120K miles.

Figure on radiator and AC system work if those haven't been touched yet. Serpentine belt too. All 3 could run you $1,000+. What about brakes, shocks and exhaust and front suspension? The transmissions are a weaker link on these cars. But, if you can verify the fluid was changed as required by the owner's manual at 30K and 60K you should be fine.

I bought my 2002 Lincoln Cont. 6 years ago. I wouldn't go back to a 2002 model year again unless the car was like 20K-30K miles and pretty cheap. As already mentioned, "age" maintenance can get you no matter what. $2400 with tires is a nice price imo for a 2002 GM/CV with that low a mileage. You really only need to get 2-3 years out of it with anything but tires to make it worth the purchase. If the owner pushed the tires to 14 years, what else did the "push?" Are those tires dry rotted? That's something that the dealership should have picked up on. If not, I could see trying to get every mile on them until tread was gone.

Figure out what's gonna go wrong over the next couple of years. Window and seat motors? Electronics? I wouldn't for the car unless either it's another $300 cheaper (1/2 the tire cost)....or....you can see the maintenance history from the dealership. If a lot of things have been changed out, I'd consider it.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
The air suspensions were in the Lincolns and possibly some Caddies. The CV/GM are rear springs. Getting 65K miles and 14 years on original tires is a good sign...other than you have to pay for the next set at $500-$650.


Not totally true, my 99 MGM has air suspension in the rear.

May not have it at all 4 corners, but it does have it at the rear. The owners manual mentions turning it off if you are raising the car, etc. I hear the compressor run if I load the trunk with luggage.

So unless they did away with it at or before 2002, the car may have an air suspension in the rear.

 

[69GTX]

Interesting. My loaded 1998 GM GS/LS was just springs. It was just short of the Ultimate Package. Wiki says that rear air suspension was made available in the 2001 Mercury GM LSE. So learned something new. I had air suspensions in my 1997 and 2002 Lincolns and can only say that they can be a nuisance. I was lucky that I didn't have to spend a dime on air suspension for my 1997 with 230K miles.

 

[geekster]

Sorta sounds like too much of a gamble at this point. I asked my co-worker about the service records and he said he thought his dad was really thorough with keeping it serviced. I asked him about the tires and he said that he thought that they were original but that he couldn't be 100%. His dad drove it as his "travel" or "road trip" car. He had an old truck that he daily drove, 330k on it, and took the MGM to see family in Minneapolis once a year. Being in OKC I don't think it is too cold, climate wise for short tripping. It just seemed like a low mileage bargain. Then again those can be more troublesome than a car of the same vintage with higher mileage.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Interesting. My loaded 1998 GM GS/LS was just springs. It was just short of the Ultimate Package. Wiki says that rear air suspension was made available in the 2001 Mercury GM LSE. So learned something new. I had air suspensions in my 1997 and 2002 Lincolns and can only say that they can be a nuisance. I was lucky that I didn't have to spend a dime on air suspension for my 1997 with 230K miles.


Rear air-ride was optional back to at least 1997. Quick check: if it has single exhaust, a 2002 should NOT have air suspension. (It was included in the handling package, which also got dual exhaust.)

 

[69GTX]

That sounds a bit better if the car wasn't short tripped. It can't be too hard to check through the maintenance receipts (assuming they were kept) to see where the vehicle was routinely serviced. And getting date codes off 2 of those tires wouldn't be too hard. A nice plus if those tires were actually replaced at 50K miles. I'd not be afraid of the car if the maintenance can be proven.

My 2002 Lincoln with 68K miles is a similar car and it's still solid as a rock. I did have to replace the radiator, front brakes and rotors, orig tires (54K). Serpentine built needs to be done too. The cruise control went at around 45K miles. I rarely used it anyways. But, I do worry about what could fail next due to age. I figure the car is worth around $4K. And there's not much out there I could buy as nice for that money except a slightly newer Crown Vic/Grand Marquis.

 

[andrewg]

Some Grand Marquis/Crown Vics had intermittent light issues where for no apparent reason the headlights would suddenly go off. A module of some sort was to blame and a recall is in place. I can't remember what specific years though. The intake manifold on these was also an issue and had a recall.

 

[69GTX]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Some Grand Marquis/Crown Vics had intermittent light issues where for no apparent reason the headlights would suddenly go off. A module of some sort was to blame and a recall is in place. I can't remember what specific years though. The intake manifold on these was also an issue and had a recall.


Never had any light issues on the 6 Crown Vics/GM's that I owned. But the last one I had was a 1998. Good point on the black plastic intake manifolds and how they often crack and leak (1996-2004, 2006, 2009 model years). Again, maybe it was already replaced on this 2002?

http://repairpal.com/intake-manifold-may-crack-leaking-coolant-behind-the-alternator-379#

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: andrewg
Some Grand Marquis/Crown Vics had intermittent light issues where for no apparent reason the headlights would suddenly go off. A module of some sort was to blame and a recall is in place.


Not a problem, just use the spotlight mounted on the driver's side A pillar.

 

[Nick1994]

Sounds like a good deal. Give the car a good look-over first to make sure the power steering fluid, transmission fluid etc. isn't basically tar.

 

[shiny]

If cigarette smoke smell is a dealbreaker for you, spray Zorbx on all the surfaces and fabrics in the car and you won't know anyone ever smoked in it.

Sounds like a good car. I'd go for it.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: geekster
I am tempted to buy a 2002 Grand Marquis LS from a co-worker. It has 65k on it and it is overall good condition. I am curious as to what to look for as known problem areas and concerns with this vehicle. Car doesn't leak any fluids, but does need new tires (it still has the original rubber on). He is asking $1800 for the car FWIW. I am considering selling my Optima, which I owe nothing on, banking the money and buying this to drive. Ultimately I need this to be a reliable daily driver and don't want to sell a reliable car for a money pit. Car was supposedly maintained at the local Ford dealership it's entire life. I trust my co-worker and this was his late fathers car. The only instant downside for me is that he smoked in the car.

So are there things with this model of Panther car that I should look for or be concerned about?


Sounds like a winner to me. With a little up front maintenance TLC it should last you quite awhile. Short tripped comments above could be a factor, but with that low of mileage and these cars lasting easily into the 200k+ mile range it's an easy decision. I owned a couple of the Panther platform cars, got an easy 25mpg highway and 18 or so around town.

 

[oldmaninsc]

Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Some Grand Marquis/Crown Vics had intermittent light issues where for no apparent reason the headlights would suddenly go off. A module of some sort was to blame and a recall is in place. I can't remember what specific years though. The intake manifold on these was also an issue and had a recall.


Never had any light issues on the 6 Crown Vics/GM's that I owned. But the last one I had was a 1998. Good point on the black plastic intake manifolds and how they often crack and leak (1996-2004, 2006, 2009 model years). Again, maybe it was already replaced on this 2002?

http://repairpal.com/intake-manifold-may-crack-leaking-coolant-behind-the-alternator-379#


My 2004 MGM LS had the light module or computer or whatever it is - go bad about 4 years ago. It was an easy fix - 200 bucks or so off ebay for a new Ford one, and it's been good ever since.

FWIW - my LS does not have air springs, though it was an option. This car was a "fleet" or rental car. It has just about every other option offered though.

 

[javacontour]

If yours is included in the recall, maybe you can get some money back from FoMoCo for the LCM you bought.

Originally Posted By: oldmaninsc
Originally Posted By: 69GTX
Originally Posted By: andrewg
Some Grand Marquis/Crown Vics had intermittent light issues where for no apparent reason the headlights would suddenly go off. A module of some sort was to blame and a recall is in place. I can't remember what specific years though. The intake manifold on these was also an issue and had a recall.


Never had any light issues on the 6 Crown Vics/GM's that I owned. But the last one I had was a 1998. Good point on the black plastic intake manifolds and how they often crack and leak (1996-2004, 2006, 2009 model years). Again, maybe it was already replaced on this 2002?

http://repairpal.com/intake-manifold-may-crack-leaking-coolant-behind-the-alternator-379#


My 2004 MGM LS had the light module or computer or whatever it is - go bad about 4 years ago. It was an easy fix - 200 bucks or so off ebay for a new Ford one, and it's been good ever since.

FWIW - my LS does not have air springs, though it was an option. This car was a "fleet" or rental car. It has just about every other option offered though.