Today Good price or no dice Not to be confused with Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham Donatien Alphonse François, better known as the Marquis de Sade and a world-famous weirdo. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s see what the car might be worth.
Jaguars and station wagons don’t mix particularly well, although there have been a few over the years. Perhaps the most famous is the XKE 2+2 hearse, built specifically for the 1971 film by the late great Gordon “Red” Harden Harold and Maude. Less popular, but apparently popular, was this one 2006 Jaguar X-Type station wagon we thought about it yesterday. It was mile-intensive, but quite affordable at $4,200. This proved to be a winning strategy for the seller as the Jaguar scored a solid 58 percent win at Nice Price.
The jaguar came from England, a country I’ve heard is full of bejeweled kings and their little dogs with fluffy bottoms. These days, such snooty anointing is less common across the channel, but that wasn’t always the case, and this is the case 1981 Mercury Grand Marquis Brougham two door The name is derived from the Old French term for landed gentry.
To be honest, I wonder what trim level this Marquis actually has. The seller lists it as a “Grand Marquis Brougham,” but that is not a real model. The trim levels for the LTD clone from Mercury this model year were the base Marquis, the mid-level Brougham and the top-of-the-line Grand Marquis. Based on the upholstery, this car appears to be either a Brougham or a Grand Marquis. I’ll just use the collective name, just like the seller, to hopefully avoid confusion about what we’re talking about.
The ad’s limited description also raises the question of which of the three V8 engines available this model year found its way under the Marquis’ long hood. The base engine in 1981 was a 4.2-liter two-cylinder V8, while a 5.0-liter throttle-body injected engine and a 5.8-liter two-cylinder engine were optional.
Don’t worry about whether this car is missing anything because the power outputs are 120 HP, 129 HP and 145 HP respectively. And that’s around two tons of fully loaded car. At least the transmission is easy to deduce as it is most likely Ford’s AOD four-speed, although the older three-speed C4 was also available at the time.
The advert shows that the engine has received a new alternator and carburettor. This revelation eliminates the 5.0 from the competition. It also has a new power control for the passenger door window, although everything else on the car appears to be original and stock, right down to the standard AM/FM stereo radio. The car has just 82,075 miles on the clock and appears to be in excellent condition for its age. The seller does note some cracks in the dash cap, but they are minimal enough to not be visible in the two interior photos. On the outside it wears nice factory turbine alloy wheels, which were an option back in the day. Most notably, the body-colored bumper panels are still intact and have not become completely wavy, as is usual.
Everything – outside and inside – is color-coordinated with mint green and has just enough bright trim to keep things interesting. The ad doesn’t specify title status, but with such condition and such low mileage – plus the claim it was purchased from a local dealer – we can assume there’s probably no shenanigans involved.
The seller is asking $5,000 for the classic two-door and might have better luck at that price if he had listed it on Facebook Marketplace under “Cars” instead of “Boats.”
What do you think of this Marquis and the $5,000 price tag? Does this seem like a bargain no matter what trim or engine it has? Or has this Mercury’s boat already sailed?
You decide!
Facebook Marketplace Get out of Des Moines, Iowa, or go Here when the display disappears.
H/T to Glemon for the contact!
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