Needed to replace my 97 Mark VIII and 2000 Grand Marquis. Bought my daughter a 2015 Fusion SE/2.5 and while I like it, I don't like it as much as the Gen 1.5.
Had in mind what I wanted, what I would settle for, and what I didn't want.
Must:
V6
Silver/White
No Navigation
401a group
under $8000
Really wanted:
3.5 (Sport or MKZ)
if not Sport, then monochrome appearance package
AWD
Moon and Tune (390w 12 speakers)
402a group:
Driver Vision (BLIS mainly)
Comfort Package (ambient lighting, puddle lamps)
Under $7000
Under 85,000 miles
Didn't want:
Navigation
Black
I4
I drove 3 or 4 MKZ's, but like my Mark VIII, all the additional stuff was already not working, the heated/cooled seats meant that every one had torn seating surfaces. I drove some SE and SELs with the 3.0, and an AWD Milan. They all had enough issues to make them not worth the asking price. I drove a few local Sports, and they must be accident magnets, as they had lots of body damage, but nothing so bad as to be listed in Car Fax as an accident, sometimes as damage other than accident.
A 2012 Ingot Silver Sport AWD showed up 120 miles away. I tried getting the guys attention but it took awhile to get some information from him, like the VIN to run, options (no image of rear bumper so no idea if reverse sensing/BLIS), etc.
Finally setup a time to drive it, and liked it. It wasn't perfect, and had more miles that I had hoped for. After driving FWD ones I really decided AWD wasn't as high on the list as I thought it would be, but this has AWD.
Got a check to buy it, went to the bank with him to pay it off, got told the lien release would be mailed in a couple of days, then title. That was 6 weeks ago, still no title in my name, just a bill of sale, which only has one name on it, title has 2, so I can't get the title that way, I have to wait for the seller to send it.
After watching it sit for 6 weeks, I finally gave up and started working on it. It had a minor shake at idle in gear (rear view mirror shook), it had a pause if you nailed it from a roll, and none of the recent maintenance had been done.
Got plugs (Autolite Iridium), 5 quarts of Ford Premium transmission fluid for the A F21 transmission (only needed 3.5), 2 gallons of Death Cool (later 2012 after change over from Specialty Green), 10 quarts of 5w20 Mobil1 full synthetic (dash said 1% life remaining...), PTU fluid, rear diff fluid, air filter, cabin filter, throttle body cleaner, MAF cleaner, and went to town.
Plugs worn to .070 gap (big chunk of ground strap eroded away, and tip worn as well), transmission fluid was darkish orange and had a dark brown tint to it, but the new fluid is much darker than I am used to with Mercon V and LV. Flushed radiator with 1.5 gallons of distilled water, drained it again then another gallon, drained it and added 1 gallon of Death Cool.
No more shaky idle, no more bog when accelerating, could spin the tires with TCS off (but not like I had hoped, nothing like my Mark VIII) and couldn't before.
Had in mind what I wanted, what I would settle for, and what I didn't want.
Must:
V6
Silver/White
No Navigation
401a group
under $8000
Really wanted:
3.5 (Sport or MKZ)
if not Sport, then monochrome appearance package
AWD
Moon and Tune (390w 12 speakers)
402a group:
Driver Vision (BLIS mainly)
Comfort Package (ambient lighting, puddle lamps)
Under $7000
Under 85,000 miles
Didn't want:
Navigation
Black
I4
I drove 3 or 4 MKZ's, but like my Mark VIII, all the additional stuff was already not working, the heated/cooled seats meant that every one had torn seating surfaces. I drove some SE and SELs with the 3.0, and an AWD Milan. They all had enough issues to make them not worth the asking price. I drove a few local Sports, and they must be accident magnets, as they had lots of body damage, but nothing so bad as to be listed in Car Fax as an accident, sometimes as damage other than accident.
A 2012 Ingot Silver Sport AWD showed up 120 miles away. I tried getting the guys attention but it took awhile to get some information from him, like the VIN to run, options (no image of rear bumper so no idea if reverse sensing/BLIS), etc.
Finally setup a time to drive it, and liked it. It wasn't perfect, and had more miles that I had hoped for. After driving FWD ones I really decided AWD wasn't as high on the list as I thought it would be, but this has AWD.
Got a check to buy it, went to the bank with him to pay it off, got told the lien release would be mailed in a couple of days, then title. That was 6 weeks ago, still no title in my name, just a bill of sale, which only has one name on it, title has 2, so I can't get the title that way, I have to wait for the seller to send it.
After watching it sit for 6 weeks, I finally gave up and started working on it. It had a minor shake at idle in gear (rear view mirror shook), it had a pause if you nailed it from a roll, and none of the recent maintenance had been done.
Got plugs (Autolite Iridium), 5 quarts of Ford Premium transmission fluid for the A F21 transmission (only needed 3.5), 2 gallons of Death Cool (later 2012 after change over from Specialty Green), 10 quarts of 5w20 Mobil1 full synthetic (dash said 1% life remaining...), PTU fluid, rear diff fluid, air filter, cabin filter, throttle body cleaner, MAF cleaner, and went to town.
Plugs worn to .070 gap (big chunk of ground strap eroded away, and tip worn as well), transmission fluid was darkish orange and had a dark brown tint to it, but the new fluid is much darker than I am used to with Mercon V and LV. Flushed radiator with 1.5 gallons of distilled water, drained it again then another gallon, drained it and added 1 gallon of Death Cool.
No more shaky idle, no more bog when accelerating, could spin the tires with TCS off (but not like I had hoped, nothing like my Mark VIII) and couldn't before.
