The car looks very nice, but it is way overpriced . A 1984 with 158k isn’t worth $5,000 . I purchased a 1988 Lincoln Town Car with 5,760 certified miles and in mint condition for just a little more than they are asking for this 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis. I would definitely buy it at $3,500 . Dec 18, 2020
by Anonymous
Apr 19, 2014
The 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis has been in my possession for less than two and a half months, so no insights on long-term reliability yet.
I bought the car quite cheaply at 2,500 euros, but it took a few thousand more to make it roadworthy again. Most of that investment was spent on renewing the rear brake drums and shoes because the old ones had a bad case of rustout. Another substantial chunk of money went into fuel injection system rehab. That's the big problem with old vehicles with electronic systems. After decades of use, the complexity of such systems makes them expensive to repair and refit. Also, some of the parts necessary were hard to come by due to their scarcity. Now, everything is back in working order and the 302 CID V8 runs just fine.
With a mere 140 horsepower, the tried-and true FoMoCo smallblock is not exactly dragstrip material, but neither is a car like the Grand Marquis. It's a cruiser designed to be driven quietly and conservatively as a great many retirees in Florida will tell you. They just loved the Grand Marquis down there. In some regions with a high retiree density, the Merc was the hottest seller on the market for many years.
Handling and braking are of the comfort-focused variety, with zero encouragement for spirited driving. Fine with me. Anyone who buys a Grand Marquis (or its Panther platform stablemates, the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car) expecting sports car handling and performance is off his rocker.
I haven't tried out the Merc so far, but 0-60 times of approx. 13 seconds and a top speed just short of 100 mph seem fitting and quite adequate for me.
My Grand Marquis is the top-of-the-line LS version with everything except hot and cold running water and - surprise - all the goodies work, even after 30 years.
Time has been rather kind to my Mercury, there's no visible rust and the interior looks and feels good overall. The seats still offer plenty of support and comfort. The only defective items are/were some small sections of the headliner that have begun to sag and the pull strap on the driver's side door, which has been replaced with a hard-to-find NOS part.
Speaking of the interior, here's the one item that is a bit of a letdown: Space utilization. It's simply amazing how a car as big as the Grand Marquis (length 214 inches/5436 mm, width 77.5 inches/1968 mm, wheelbase 114.3 inches/2903 mm) can offer so little interior space, particularly front and rear legroom. I'm 6'4" and fit behind the steering wheel only moderately well even with the front seat all the way back. Trunk space is also quite small for a car this size.
All of this should come as no surprise to me because one of my previous cars, an even larger 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe offered not an inch more interior space than the Grand Marquis. Ironically, when the Panther platform cars debuted for the 1979 model year, they were touted for their - guess what - efficient space utilization. Their predecessors, the gargantuan full-size 1973-78 Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns were no bigger and, in some instances, even smaller inside. Well, that's the way it was in the old days. Maybe buyers didn't notice because people were shorter back then.
On the other hand, my everyday driver, a 1995 Buick Park Avenue, is awash with space, which proves the well-known point that the US automobile industry CAN build efficient cars if they really want (or have) to.
In spite of the Merc's particular shortcoming, I'm enthused about my new ride. Maybe it's because the Panther platform cars are truly the last of the breed, the last genuine American cars with traditional body-on-frame construction, a solid rear axle, rear wheel drive and a V8 up front. FoMoCo stuck to that formula longer than anybody else and they deserve credit for that, in my opinion. After all, Panther platform cars were built from 1979-2011. Wow.
Well, spring's here and I can't wait to take the Grand Marquis out. Time to show people over here what a real car looks like.Apr 19, 2014
by Anonymous
Sep 28, 2013
I love this car, I've never owned a better on.a friend of mine rebuit the motor in 2011. It now has 180,00 miles on the whole car but 25,000 on the motor. tranny is great shifts like a dream.
I am a single mom and I go everywhere in this car with my kids, most people fear this car for some reason, Lol. This car is a tank it's big and rides like a dream.Sep 28, 2013
User rating:
by Brian H
Dec 18, 2020
The car looks very nice, but it is way overpriced . A 1984 with 158k isn’t worth $5,000 . I purchased a 1988 Lincoln Town Car with 5,760 certified miles and in mint condition for just a little more than they are asking for this 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis. I would definitely buy it at $3,500 . Dec 18, 2020
by Anonymous
Apr 19, 2014
The 1984 Mercury Grand Marquis has been in my possession for less than two and a half months, so no insights on long-term reliability yet.
I bought the car quite cheaply at 2,500 euros, but it took a few thousand more to make it roadworthy again. Most of that investment was spent on renewing the rear brake drums and shoes because the old ones had a bad case of rustout. Another substantial chunk of money went into fuel injection system rehab. That's the big problem with old vehicles with electronic systems. After decades of use, the complexity of such systems makes them expensive to repair and refit. Also, some of the parts necessary were hard to come by due to their scarcity. Now, everything is back in working order and the 302 CID V8 runs just fine.
With a mere 140 horsepower, the tried-and true FoMoCo smallblock is not exactly dragstrip material, but neither is a car like the Grand Marquis. It's a cruiser designed to be driven quietly and conservatively as a great many retirees in Florida will tell you. They just loved the Grand Marquis down there. In some regions with a high retiree density, the Merc was the hottest seller on the market for many years.
Handling and braking are of the comfort-focused variety, with zero encouragement for spirited driving. Fine with me. Anyone who buys a Grand Marquis (or its Panther platform stablemates, the Ford Crown Victoria and Lincoln Town Car) expecting sports car handling and performance is off his rocker.
I haven't tried out the Merc so far, but 0-60 times of approx. 13 seconds and a top speed just short of 100 mph seem fitting and quite adequate for me.
My Grand Marquis is the top-of-the-line LS version with everything except hot and cold running water and - surprise - all the goodies work, even after 30 years.
Time has been rather kind to my Mercury, there's no visible rust and the interior looks and feels good overall. The seats still offer plenty of support and comfort. The only defective items are/were some small sections of the headliner that have begun to sag and the pull strap on the driver's side door, which has been replaced with a hard-to-find NOS part.
Speaking of the interior, here's the one item that is a bit of a letdown: Space utilization. It's simply amazing how a car as big as the Grand Marquis (length 214 inches/5436 mm, width 77.5 inches/1968 mm, wheelbase 114.3 inches/2903 mm) can offer so little interior space, particularly front and rear legroom. I'm 6'4" and fit behind the steering wheel only moderately well even with the front seat all the way back. Trunk space is also quite small for a car this size.
All of this should come as no surprise to me because one of my previous cars, an even larger 1973 Chevrolet Impala Custom Coupe offered not an inch more interior space than the Grand Marquis. Ironically, when the Panther platform cars debuted for the 1979 model year, they were touted for their - guess what - efficient space utilization. Their predecessors, the gargantuan full-size 1973-78 Fords, Mercurys, and Lincolns were no bigger and, in some instances, even smaller inside. Well, that's the way it was in the old days. Maybe buyers didn't notice because people were shorter back then.
On the other hand, my everyday driver, a 1995 Buick Park Avenue, is awash with space, which proves the well-known point that the US automobile industry CAN build efficient cars if they really want (or have) to.
In spite of the Merc's particular shortcoming, I'm enthused about my new ride. Maybe it's because the Panther platform cars are truly the last of the breed, the last genuine American cars with traditional body-on-frame construction, a solid rear axle, rear wheel drive and a V8 up front. FoMoCo stuck to that formula longer than anybody else and they deserve credit for that, in my opinion. After all, Panther platform cars were built from 1979-2011. Wow.
Well, spring's here and I can't wait to take the Grand Marquis out. Time to show people over here what a real car looks like.Apr 19, 2014
by Anonymous
Sep 28, 2013
I love this car, I've never owned a better on.a friend of mine rebuit the motor in 2011. It now has 180,00 miles on the whole car but 25,000 on the motor. tranny is great shifts like a dream.
I am a single mom and I go everywhere in this car with my kids, most people fear this car for some reason, Lol. This car is a tank it's big and rides like a dream.Sep 28, 2013
by Cory G
Aug 02, 2010
GREAT CAR and would recomend to EVERYONE. Yes it may look ugly but it rides
and handles like a cadillac! A/C blows VERY cold, huge trunk, tons of arm rests,
ashtrays and cig lighters on all the door panels. Acceleration is great! Braking
definately stops the car. As far as i know this car has only needed regular
preventive maintnence and a starter solenoid. Interior is a nice plush fabric, very
comfy and very roomy. Exterior has some nice body lines and a cool vinyl top. this
V8 has been gettin 15-20mpg which i think is great! This car is a blast to drive!Aug 02, 2010
by Angel T
Aug 01, 2010
Super smooth, lots of space! nice ultra quiet ride, ostentatious interior, elegant, not much power but these cars were not created for drag racing. Original quadraphonic audio still rocks, it sounds better than many new cars with more channels. This car has everything of its time, even rear separate lighters!
Aug 01, 2010
by Terje T
Jun 10, 2008
Comfortable....
A 5.0 V8 but not exactly powerful. Nice ride anyway. Jun 10, 2008
by BigGrrizzley C
May 03, 2008
This was the car i had the most fun in. This was my first car out of high school. It had Lincoln Town car leather seats, chrome and black leather 4 bar Grant (GT) steering wheel and 3000 watts of sound.May 03, 2008
by Shay W
Jan 12, 2008
its old and needs so tlc but its a car so i like it. didn't drive this car but once. Thought it was too big and I just didn't like it at all. I prefer a smaller car any day.Jan 12, 2008
by Craig P
Jan 06, 2008
It's actually a Mercury Marquis - basically an evolved Fairmont that lasted a couple years before the Taurus and Sable came to market. Solid old V6 car, except the engines kept dying in the end of ownership in around 2001 or so. I miss it... Interesting fact - chassis is shared with the Mustang (Fox platform) so the Mustang V8 fits right in. It was actually sold in Canada with the V8 in a limited edition.Jan 06, 2008
I HAVE A 1984 MERCURY GRANDMARQUIS. WHEN I TURN THE KEY ON IT GETS ONE SHOT OF GAS AND STOPS. IF I HOLD THE KEY ON THE ON POSITION IT WILL KEEP GETTING GAS, BUT ONCE I LET GO IT STOPS. HOPE SOMEONE CAN HELP. THANKS, MARIO
The rear of my Grand Marquis has been leaning downward to the left (approx 1.5 inches) since I bought it. At first, I attributed the list to the usual slant roads have to have so rainwater can flow off. That wasn't the case, however. My next guess was that the 30 year old springs may simply have become soft with age, so I had all of them replaced (front and rear) with OEM specification Moog coils and installed new shock absorbers, too, (and what a good idea that was since the old ones were suffering a bad case of rustout). The new springs and shocks have made the Merc ride and handle wonderfully comfortable again, but the list is still there. I had the frame checked, too, but it's not bent or otherwise deformed. A member of the community has kindly suggested that the lean may simply be an optical illusion, but my tape measure check doesn't bear it out, unfortunately. The Merc's left rear side sits almost exactly 3 centimeters lower than the right - or the right side is 3 centimeters too high above the ground, which seems likelier the more I look at the car. So, I'm still puzzled and in search of ideas. Thanks a million.
