Faults:

The key less entry key pad broke on one side and fell half way into the door. It was covered in ice and I pushed real hard on it, but it should not have broken.

Spare tire was flat when I checked it for no reason about a month after we bought the car. Dealer replaced it with a new one for free. The spare had never even been out of the car.

General Comments:

This is one of the finest cars on the road. Our previous car was a 1998 Grand Marquis LS. The 1998 was stolen from a parking lot in Kansas City while we are just travel through.

The 98 had 134,000-miles with no problems at all.

Improvements over the 1998.

The 03 seems to have a bit more room in the rear seat and more power. Not that the 98 had a problem in these areas.

Interior lights are weaker in the 03.

These are excellent cars and tend to go 200,000-miles or more with out any mechanical malfunctions. Our daughter has a Honda that cost us $1700 to have the timing belt replaced. They tell us we have to do this every 60,00-miles. Give me a break.

The grand marquis' engine timing chain last for the life of the car.

These cars are very durable.

They ride great and handle well.

I really enjoy the fully digital dash and the buttons on the steering wheel on the 03 for the radio.

I wish that the 03 could have been had with a dark interior. All the colors are light. Our 98 had a dark navy blue leather interior and a white exterior with a full dark blue padded roof with gold trim.

The 03 does not offer any nice colors.

We have driven a number of cars while on vacations, cars such as the taurus, accord, corolla, century, and an avalon. The grand marquis beats all of these car by a mile for ride, comfort, and even mpg in some cases.

We got ours fully loaded with most options such as digital dash, buttons on the steering wheel for the radio, dual power seats, electronic climate control, traction control, adjustable pedals, and ESP warranty for under $24,000 with 0% interest. You can not beat this at all. We will drive this car for 10-15 years and then sell it for 2-4 thousand dollars. You can not beat this.

Faults:

Passenger side window motor failed after we bought it. Dealer installed a new one.

Doors stick when you open them, dealer fixed with TSB.

Rear center seatbelt tensioner broke. Dealer fixed under warranty.

General Comments:

This car is great. We've owned a few RWD boats over the years (2 '91 Town Car's, '89 Grand Marquis, '96 Fleetwood) and this car is by far the best.

Ford designed a new frame setup and suspension that is tight. Normally with large cars they feel large when cornering or handling, this car is amazingly easy to drive. It does not feel so huge.

Gas mileage is great for a large car. It can get around 27 MPG on the highway!

The leather seats are not as comfortable as you would suspect. The '89 Grand Marquis had far superior seats as far as comfort goes.

The other car we considered was a Marauder, but this was much cheaper and looks exactly like it!!

Dealer service departments are awful, that is why I rated them so low. We waited 6 hours one time for them to tell us that the window motor needed replaced and that we would have to bring it back later due to ordering the part!!