Repair or sell? (95 Grand Marq. LS)

Hi, Everyone. This is my first post and I'm hoping for some good advice before noon tomorrow (which is when i have to decide: repair or sell).

I live in Tulsa, OK. During an extended stay in Pittsburgh, PA., I bought my 95 Grand Marquis LS. Paid $1,850 for it, which I thought was about half the market value (yes, the hairs on my neck stood up but circumstances were dire and at the time of purchase, I needed a car yesterday; my bad).

I'm back in Tulsa and am planning a 5,000 mile trip so I took the car to my mechanic (yes, I trust him) to give this 'new' used car a once over before the trip.

At the end of his inspection, he told me that he wouldn't recommend putting any money into the car but if I was curious, he'd tell me everything he found. Yes, I do trust his judgment but I'm also the creator of 'curious' so I decided to give things a hearing. Here's what he told me, in no particular order:

1. Both sway bar to lower control arm linkages need replacement.
2. Car has severe rust underneath (unheard of in Tulsa but quite common in Pittsburgh).
3. Brake lines are severely corroded. While don't need replacement now, they will very likely fail at some point down the road. Probably start as a pinhole leak that will leave fluid on the driveway and the brake pedal will get progressively softer over time (he also mentioned that there are 4 separate brake line repairs beneath the driver's seat).
4. Idler arm needs replacement.
5. Upper ball joints loose and need replacement. Lower ball joints seem ok but won't know until the front end pressure is taken off of them; they seem fine at the moment.
6. Exhaust system has several leaks that leak into the car depending on which way the wind is blowing and which windows are up or down, plus whether the vent is open or closed. He said there are already several leaks that have been patched on the exhaust system, some of which have broken open (bad welds) and others that have never been closed.
7. Tune up to address cold starting trouble and infrequent and sporadic 'die-and-resume' events while driving (doesn't matter freeway or residential streets; happens anytime, anywhere, whenever it decides to).

Minus the brake line replacement, and without a firm estimate on the exhaust work, I'm looking at a little over $1,000 parts and labor. Pulling a number out of the air, I'll guess $300 for the exhaust repairs, and am completely clueless on the cost of a brake line replacement.

Overall condition of the car is good. Interior clean but seat velour a bit loose from wear&tear. Body seems to have no dents but there are several spots where the rust has been visibly patched and painted. Not huge spots, but several scattered around the car, mostly edges of doors and wheel wells. Tires have good tread an alignment seemed ok on the drive from PA. to OK. (roughly 1,000 miles).

So I said all that to ask this:

Would you rather put the money into the car, or get what you can for the car and buy something else? Answers with reasons get extra points :biggrin:

The repairs you have laid out are common repairs we do daily. If you like the car, invest the money. If you don't, sell the car. You are the only one who can make that decision. On the rust, if it has not rusted through the frame, there should not be any real danger there. Brake lines rusted have no way to tell when they will fail. Again, what do you want to do? If you have the repairs made, you should have many more miles and years of service from the car. Engine is almost bullet proof, but transmissions are known to be weak. Good luck and post back with your decision.

Sell the car. It's too rusty and will cause you prolems in the future: brake fluid leakage, engine oil and fuel leakage, strut replacement, control arm...

You also have the exhaust and ball joint...

You obviously have more to repair than the value of the car.

I do like the car and would gladly do the repairs if I could get some kind of assurance that this isn't the first in a stream of repairs to come down the pike. I know that kind of assurance isn't reasonable but I want it just the same :)

I wouldn't sell it in its present condition to anyone without disclosing the extend of the needed repairs. With that in mind, I can't imagine anyone who'd buy the car under those circumstances (especially out here in Tulsa, where rust is almost an unknown thing). :)

As far as cost of repairs and value of the car, it's a valid point yet not one that i'm especially concerned about. I'm less interested in resale value than I am in having reliable transportation. Again, I realize there aren't any guarantees in any of these issues but, ya know, if you don't ask, the answer is always 'no', right? ;)

Thanks for the replies so far. I'd be happy to hear from anyone else willing to share their views.

You should send me a pic of underneath to repond to this question.

In my experience and those of other people, corrosion can cause break in fuel system, evaporative system and rear suspension system (spring, stut and trailing arm).

It depands also of engine compartment health.

I know Grand Marquis are awesome cars.

You should send me a pic of underneath to repond to this question.

In my experience and those of other people, corrosion can cause break in fuel system, evaporative system and rear suspension system (spring, stut and trailing arm).

It depands also of engine compartment health.

I know Grand Marquis are awesome cars.

I left my car in the mechanic's shop overnight. Will meet with him tomorrow to decide what, if anything, to do with the car. I wish I could get you a picture before that meeting and get your feedback. I'll try to get pics and put off the decision about what to do until after the holidays.

I really do like my car, I'm just afraid of sinking money into a car that's gone the way of lemon-hood :)

I'll check back tomorrow. Thanks again.

Like way2old said, the engine will last a long time. If you take precautions, I don't see why the transmission shouldn't either. As said above, if the frame is in good condition (surface rust is normal up here in the salt states), I'd say keep it. Regarding whether to sink money in it...I wouldn't fix everything right now, but save for it if necessary.

I would definitely do the following right away:
1. Ball joints - replace any that are bad and grease what you can. If they are the OEM sealed type ball joints, you can get a grease gun with a needle attachment which can be stuck in the boot to grease them. Maybe your mechanic has one of the needles, too.
2. Idler arm - really, the only thing this is going to affect is how tidy the steering is. If you notice the car hard to maintain a straight line by turning the wheel slightly each way, replace this. It's a $50 part and not hard to do yourself if you want to save some money.
3. Tune-up - might as well replace any fluids that need replacing. If you don't have records of it being done recently, replace them all (ATF, brake fluid, coolant, power steering, oil). Check/replace spark plugs, wires, and distributors/filters. You're mechanic will probably do most of not all of this stuff anyway to fix your mechanical issues, but I'm just suggesting you either have him do it or do it yourself regardless because it will increase the life of the vehicle.

I would wait on the exhaust and brake lines if you can depending on if your state requires inspections. A leaky exhaust is more or less annoying than a critical issue. The brake lines are dual and redundant. If one does fail dramatically, you will still be able to stop and get it to a shop to fix, although you should save up for a near future fix anyway.

Hello and thanks to everyone who replied.

I had the conversation about the rust and the frame. He assured me there wasn't any structural concerns. It's just that they don't see *that* much rust in these parts. Since I had that conversation via phone, I didn't get any pictures of the underside. Sorry 'bout that.

The exhaust leak is a bit of a problem only because it gets into the car. As long as I have the windows closed and the outside-air vent open, everything is fine. Let me open one window or any combination, and exhaust fumes find their way into the car so... I'll have to add that to my list of "immediate things to do".

As for the brake lines, I guess all I can do is wait and replace them as needed. While I understand that when they go it's unlikely to be a catastrophic failure as I'm headed down the back side of the Rockies but still... I feel a bit uncomfortable with that failure hanging over my head so... if the price to replace them all at once isn't through the roof, I may go that route, too.

As I write this, my car is dressing up for the holiday season in its brand new links, idler arm, upper ball joints, and washing it all down with a tune-up! Parts, labor and taxes bring the final to $1,027. Happy holidays, car! :)

Thanks again to everyone who replied. Season's greetings to you as well!

Not a bad price. I think you'll have a solid ride for a few years. Since you're in a drier climate, I'd suspect even longer than what I'd ever expect. Enjoy your new Panther!

The brake lines are a pain in the #^%$ to replace but only because of the white plastic retainers that they're clipped into, (fuel and fuel return lines are with them.) The first leak you'll get will be right under the drivers door.Voice of experience, start at the abs block and work all the way back.After you get the clips off the jobs a snap but leave lots of time to get the clips off there a pain.I've done it twice and the second time was a lot easier. 303,000kms and it does'nt burn an ounce of oil. Great car.

The brake lines are a pain in the #^%$ to replace but only because of the white plastic retainers that they're clipped into, (fuel and fuel return lines are with them.) The first leak you'll get will be right under the drivers door.Voice of experience, start at the abs block and work all the way back.After you get the clips off the jobs a snap but leave lots of time to get the clips off there a pain.I've done it twice and the second time was a lot easier. 303,000kms and it does'nt burn an ounce of oil. Great car.

Good insight, thanks. It seems that "under driver's door" area is vulnerable to the exhaust system, too. I replaced the right hand cat conv. and all piping backward, but it was evident that the driver's side pipe had been welded in 2 places.

Brake lines and exhaust system under the driver's side now known weaknesses. Anything else down there about to break? :biggrin:

Good for you for keepin' it.

I've got a '94 that I just had the brake lines replaced ($350.00) And the entire gas line, fuel pump & filters replaced...($850.00). She's good for another 60,000+ miles. I wanna get 250,000 miles out of the car & it's got 192,000.:smile: