A family friend in FL gave us her car when she passed away 3 years ago. It had only 6500 miles and was kept in a carpeted garage. Not joking here. Our teens have driven it and it now has only 15,000 miles. The body is in great shape and mechanically we have had no issues. None of the power windows worked and we repaired only the drivers one. Our daughter wants something smaller so we are ready to sell. KBB is suggesting between $3200-$3500. We live in the South as well so no rust. Any suggestions on the best way to sell this and to determine the best price? Thanks!
Just put it in the paper or Craigslist but be careful there. Just off hand I’d say that even though its low miles, it isn’t going to be worth more than the upper end of the scale for cars that year. Just the way it is. If someone wants to spend more, they’ll want a newer or more updated car. On the other hand you may run across someone that likes the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis models.
For the money the market is willing to pay for these cars, I also would keep it…These are the last of the body and frame Ford automobiles. The 4.6L engine and its transmission are bullet-proof. 300K and more miles is not uncommon. They are easy to repair. And they don’t make them anymore. 1992-2012. Not many car models have a 20 year lifespan. Nothing equals them for comfort and reliability on a long road trip. Yours probably has air suspension with load leveling…The perfect car for trailer towing…But if you MUST sell it, list it on craigslist for $5000 cash and don’t be in any hurry about lowering your price. Every few days change the ad a little and bump it up to the top of the list again until it sells…Reject everything other than local cash offers.
We would buy this Marquis in a flash if we didn’t already have one. We got ours (a 1995) after “a little old man” crashed his (cosmetic damage) with about 60,000 miles. It has been a great car ($2600) except for the in-town mileage (17 mpg, but 28 on the road), and the electric windows are always terrible, so it seems.
This is our second salvage car, the other a 2002 Buick Park Avenue (hit a deer), which gets 31 mpg on the road, and is a dream to drive, paying $2200 for it. Environmentally, not so hot, but when you pro-rate the cost of gas and maintenance, a hybrid would have to be driven for 50 years to match the economics.
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+1 for Ben… If cost per mile to own and operate matters to you, then the Ford Panthers are very hard to beat…Yeah, in the older models the power windows were a little weak…But after the regulators are repaired with updated parts, they seem to work fine…The air suspension is a nice feature but it’s another soft spot in overall reliability. The good news is the rear air-springs can be replaced with the standard steel coils without too much fuss when they crap out…
Just my 2 cents, but I think getting rid of the car is a huge mistake for the following reasons.
One is that the car is worth far more as a daily driver than the sum of money it will bring.
Two is that a daughter should not be dictating terms of a car transaction in which they’re not financially vested.
Three is that this car, if maintained halfway decently, should carry the daughter clean through college if that’s the case; and then some. Unload this car for something “smaller” and what happens if the something smaller (say a flogged Corolla or Civic chosen because of the nameplate) turns out to be an expensive headache with one problem after the other…
You wanted opinions. That’s mine.
Advertise it’s for $3500 on Craigslist and see what happens. It won’t cost anything to advertise there. Read the cautions in the webs site and determine if you want to try it. I doubt you will get more than $2000 for it. While it may be rust-free, so is every other Florida car. Even if you are in Wisconsin, it just is not worth much. Edmunds rates the low mileage premium at $415. Don’t expect a big premium.
If you are in a city, take it to the office of the busiest taxi company, tell them you want $5,000 for it, and see if they bite. If not, keep it.
With only 1 power window operational that’s going to be a turn off for most people. If I were a perspective customer, it would suggest to me that you aren’t willing to properly repair the car when something went wrong, and would make me wonder what other short cuts you might’ve taken with the maintenance/repair work. From what I can tell on KBB, this car is worth closer to $2800-$2900. If you get the windows repaired, it’s going to be an easier sell.
Low miles…bah humbug.
TIME is an old vehicle’s worst enemy.
Somtimes odometers can have been manupulated and older ones had no 100k digit so lies about that were common. ( I will have the worst time ever convincing anyone that my 1979 chevy truck has merely 71,000 total mile since the odometer has no 100k on it )
But you can’t lie about its birthday.
I got my grandma’s low mile old car for my son and it was a money pit.