For Sale Much Sadness - Still can't believe she's gone.

Mesencephalon

Mesencephalon

M.I.B.
Well I've been logging into here and reading everyones posts for over 10 years and I can't believe it, but my beautiful Black Betty, my companion of 11 years was hit, pretty hard. Hard enough for them to tell me it's going to cost more than they're willing to pay to fix it to new condition.

I am beyond devastated. She and I escaped Hurricane Katrina together. We've been through so much ... my heart is just broken. Only happened 5 days ago. I'm still sick about it. But I need the money and I don't have anything to drive other than the rental car.

I don't know what to do. So I'm posting this, winging it.


  • 2003 300A Black, Charcoal Gray interior.
  • Interior is beautiful, seats all perfect, motors work, Passenger seat almost never sat in - ever. Back seat has been sat in maybe twice.
  • 164K Mileage, 85K on engine bought 4 months ago w/ 83K on it w/ all paperwork, warranties on engine and on build.
  • Damage was to front passenger wheel and door area (see pics)
GEICO hasn't come back yet with a figure, but the inspector said that they were going to "total" it, and that I'd reached 100% of their "threshold" BUT they have not as of yet gotten back to me with the "official" evaluation offer yet. They're going to let me keep it though for the $200 salvage fee, so I have a fighting chance to make something out of the circumstance.

IF I HAVE TO PART IT OUT ....

If you need a part, let me know what and how much you'll pay.

I'm getting examples of pricing from everyone else's posts so I'll know what to charge, on average.


  • Original Stereo, Subwoofer, CD-Changer and speakers available, professionally removed in 2007 when new sound system installed.
  • Original Air cleaner replaced w/ K&N Cold Air Intake, kept it available
  • Air-Dam bought off this site, still in box
  • Front Dash Cover bought
  • Bra - Hood Cover
  • I would sell also my Diablo II (I think it's a Diablo II) tuner which cost about 300$ new and was used once to apply the Tune from Dennis Reinhardt
  • God's Head replacement badges for steering wheel, rear-end, front, etc. made by member here on site, bought back in 2006 or so, never applied on car so essentially brand new.
  • RED set of MARAUDER inserts, never used (won them in Marauderville raffle but i already use the Titanium inserts, in bumper)
  • Custom Parametric EQ, Controller, Amps, speakers, head unit, etc. not necessarily included, but all offers considered.
  • Interior is in VERY good shape, back seats almost never sat it. Includes all original floor mats (covered with replacement mats last 10 years), trunk liner, organizer, spare tire & cover, manual, heck I even have the CD and big poster Mercury sent me in 2004 somewhere. Probably hard to find at this point, Katrina was a *****.
Shipping and etc. will be your responsibility and will cost whatever you arrange. I'm not looking to try to make any money off shipping. But i'm not going to lose any, either, on packing or containers or whatever, so be ready to pay for that, too.

I can try to remove whatever parts you want to the best of my ability, but anything crazy (engine, for example) I'll have to factor the removal cost into the price. I don't have lifts or a garage or an engine crane or whatever, so someone will have to be paid to remove anything complicated or heavy or underneath or hard to get to.

I'm in Middle TN, near Nashville. You can arrange to come out and remove parts yourself if you don't want to pay shipping.

Also, this offer may change with the circumstances or whims of fate. I've never been through this before and i'm no expert or a mechanic. Someone may offer to buy the whole thing, and if that happens I'll remove this post immediately. I'm not here to piss anyone off or rip anyone off or anything, i'm just poor and don't have any money to fool around or replace this wonderful companion of mine or to get her fixed and i'm sick about it. I feel like i'm betraying her just thinking of pulling her apart and selling her parts. But I've got no choice.

PM me for any questions or requests, etc.

All offers will be considered. And I reserve the right to change my mind and not sell something if it smells wrong. You can also make offers on the whole car.

I've got a PayPal account.

Again, please forgive me for not knowing what to do or how to do it when it comes to all this. I'm not a mechanic nor have i ever been in a wreck like this or part out cars or ever had to.

I loved this car more than just a car. It got me through some seriously bad times and has been there for me when i had nothing.

You guys have all been inspirations, amusements, educational sources of knowledge and one of my regrets is when my water heater blew up and i missed going to Marauderville back in 2009. I wish I could have met y'all and hoisted a few brews with you.

Feel free to PM me with advice, too, i'm open to all suggestions.

Thanks
Dave Foster
 

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Totally fixable, unless the frame is bent. Door, fender, etc are readily available. Bumper cover maybe fixable HTS from pic. Keep it, fix it continue to drive it. We're here to help.
 
Mr. Man said:
Totally fixable, unless the frame is bent. Door, fender, etc are readily available. Bumper cover maybe fixable HTS from pic. Keep it, fix it continue to drive it. We're here to help.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for the kind words. I have less than zero money. I am heavily in debt with credit cards and right after taking a consolidation loan out to pay off credit cards ended up having to maxed them all out when the engine blew back in August to replace the engine and have it installed and tuned up, etc.

I probably should have sold it back then, but i just couldn't bring myself to do it w/out the working engine ...

So i don't think fixing it is an option unless they give me serious $$$.

But maybe ... I guess we'll see?

Thanks, though
:o
 
If you can't fix it yourself perhaps someone would be willing to buy it from you and fix it up themselves. Lot's of members here who like a good Winter time project.
 
Thanks very much. I'm not in any position to ignore any advice or offers, so I'm open to all suggestions.

The main thing I need to do is to get back to the point where I was right before the engine blew, where I could pay off one or two of these cards. I was sick about having to sell it back then, but it was the only asset i had that i could think that I could sell to help pay off the loan after using the loan to pay off the cards. i knew I'd have to figure out another car to drive, and the idea of selling my Black Betty just made me so depressed.

Stupid to get into this situation anyway. This stupid economy ... even with a good job it's a coin flip to have any money after the eagle flies every month.

So, i delayed in selling and then the engine went and it all spiraled down. I never expected to get into an accident.

Like i said, open to suggestions LOL

Thanks :) You guys have always provided so much good times over the years, even to a lurker like me.

Dave
 
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Car is repairable, I am a serious buyer, if you want to sell the car, I'll need some more pictures and a price.

They will probably give you the car and 6-7k, you should be able to fix it for that, or just sell it and get ahead on some bills if you have another ride. If you decide to keep it, I have some of the hard to get parts.
 
Sorry to hear man :(

As far as advice.

Make two columns need and want.

Only buy what's in the need column until you aren't paying interest.
If money is that bad for you consider a bankruptcy (don't be concerned with bad credit, good credit got you in trouble).

Car is worth more in parts if you have the time. Be prepared for low ball offers.
Quality pics of parts a bonus when selling!
Hope you get on your feet and back in a marauder, good luck.
 
sorry about your misfortune. if you have even a little bit of car skills you can probably fix it yourself for less than half of what they give you if you really want to keep her. if you came across black parts and were able to save the front cover it looks like all bolt on stuff even the suspension.( worst case the lower door post where the hinge bolts up may need a slight pull) with the right tools and everything ready to go, you could bang it out in a day. (with color matched parts of course) . best of luck whichever direction you go! if you were close to me I would be happy to help brother. dave in rhode island
 
Mr. Man said:
Totally fixable, unless the frame is bent. Door, fender, etc are readily available. Bumper cover maybe fixable HTS from pic. Keep it, fix it continue to drive it. We're here to help.
Click to expand...


I'll second that! If you need anything I'd be glad to help. I have the pass door and corner light, I'll donate it to you! If you need anything else just ask!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I should be parting out a 2004 DTR next month and you're welcome to the suspension and RF door if you want to pay the freight.
 
Dave

I think all of us feel your sadness and distress with the accident and wish you the best in dealing with the insurance company. Would like to see the car fixed and you driving it again with a smile on your face.

If it would help I would be interested in the trunk liner and organizer if in good shape. I would give you a fair price plus shipping and packing charges. Perhaps it would give you a little cash without detracting from the car. I think someone sold one for $200 or $250 recently. If interested please post some pics.

Not sure what it would cost to ship to zip 29154-9185, Sumter SC. No idea how to figure the shipping, maybe someone here has the know how.

What ever you decide I wish you the best of luck.
 
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Parting = (Not such) sweet sorrow ...

Thanks BAD MERC but I don't have any money for parts, shipping, or paying someone to do the work once they get here.

My mechanical skills don't stray too far beyond normal car maintenance, and I have never even had a garage wherein to practice. I've maintained my Black Betty as best as I could on a regular basis, fixing whatever broke and paying for the best oil changes (always Royal Purple fluids in everything, Premium 93 octane even when it was $4 a gallon ...) , little mods here and there.

I recharge / clean my own K&N CAI, put on the braided brake cables, bought those Granatelli Motorsport coil-overs, the rear-end dam to stop the bulge, the front skid-plate, etc. But when it comes to REAL mechanical work at the alter of grease and blood-skinned knuckles, I am less than an acolyte, I'm afraid.

That's why fixing it is something i'd have to have the money to pay someone to do, and before i could do that I have a lot of other bills that were supposed to have been covered by selling her before the engine blew back in August.

I guess I'm in a holding pattern until GEICO comes back to me with a dollar figure.

BUT they DID tell me they'd sell it back to me for salvage price. So that's something I'm going to do regardless since I've got a buddy that will let me park it at his place and put a tarp on it.

Thanks again, guys.
 
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Pretty easy fix.
It actually looks driveable, unless something unseen is messed up in the RF suspension.
I would keep it, get it driveable with the insurance payout, and keep driving it with the bent parts until you can get body parts fixed a little bit at a time.
The insurance estimates are based on new parts and painting/prep.
There are lots of black parts available that are in good enough shape to just bolt on.
Use the settlement money to just round up parts and save them until you can find a mechanic to bolt them on.
 
You might be able to negotiate a better payout price from Geico. They will most likely try and give you a low payout. If you can show them a few for sale cars that are similar to yours you may end up with a better payout which would allow you to get the MM back on the road.
 
Do what's in your long term best financial interest.

It's a car! You can always buy another one "down the road".
 
Mr. Man said:
You might be able to negotiate a better payout price from Geico. They will most likely try and give you a low payout. If you can show them a few for sale cars that are similar to yours you may end up with a better payout which would allow you to get the MM back on the road.
Click to expand...
This is correct and accurate advice. Do you have a limited production vehicle certificate from Ford? Also the 2003 & 2004 Mercury Marauder build matrix is helpful. And get together some classified posts of other Marauders with similar mileage.

Point is, you can most likely get more from insurance if you can show the value

Can't stop the signal...
 
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