One-Owner 43k Miles: 1988 Merkur Scorpio
Ford thought there would be a market for additional Ford of Europe imports sold through its Mercury division. So, the Merkur Scorpio was offered in 1988 and 1989. As a 4-door German-built luxury sedan, it was a companion to the sporty XR44Ti that was both turbocharged and fuel-injected. This ’88 example is a one-owner car with low miles and is available because its owners aren’t getting any younger. Located in Metuchen, New Jersey, this rarity is available here on craigslist for $14,999. Mitchell G. has brought us another interesting tip!
Ford/Mercury was looking for a better way to compete against Audi, BMW, Mercedes, and other European sedans in North America. So, the Merkur Scorpio was derived from the Ford Scorpio Mk I. Though the XR4Ti had been around a couple of years before the Scorpio arrived, neither car found a solid footing in the U.S. market. So, after about 22,000 Scorpios were imported over two years, Ford dropped both automobiles and the Merkur brand from its portfolio on this side of the Pond.
We’re told this neat survivor has always been kept in climate-controlled coverage storage when not in use. It’s only traveled 43,000 miles in 35 years, which suggests it saw only occasional outings. It has a 2.9-liter V6 engine, an automatic transmission, and features that were intended to attract Mercedes-Benz owners. The black paint looks good, and the grey interior presents well, too, although perhaps a little wear is reflected in the photos.
The seller has had the air conditioning retrofitted to 21st Century standards, but everything else appears to be original. This vehicle has been detailed since the photos were taken, so supposedly the vehicle will look even better in person now. Finding a M-B or BMW of this vintage is probably easier than finding a Merkur, so why not drive something that everyone else doesn’t have?
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Comments
May be the best left in the US, but 15K ain’t happening.
Cloth seats and an automatic..looks like the seller is trying to pad their retirement fund with that price.
Since the price is “firm”, then most of us won’t need to bother them with interest. Maybe it’s just me but, before I list a car for any price), I make sure I clean every nook and cranny I can think of. The picture of the gear selector, the emergency brake, etc… looks like it hasn’t been cleaned in years. That, to me, always means the car doesn’t smell very nice inside.
Still, it sure was nice to see that one of these still exists somewhere! I always admired its stying (and how much the Mercury Sable at the time mirrored the design).
These are fine, comfortable long-distance cruisers that will pile on the miles without trouble. Or leave many cars for dust if fitted with the 2.9 Cosworth engine and 4×4 that we got in the UK!
Electronic climate control dash panel will fail and the transmission is very weak and will need a rebuild if you start driving it more.
Not to mention the TFI, rod bearings, cooling system, and driveshaft donuts. And, of course, the heater – AC fan! Yes, those were fun times…
These have the weirdest keys, a shaft with nubs on it. You’d think they’d have the same stamped “Ford Family of Fine Cars” keys as a Mustang or F150, but no…
Jaguars have these keys too.
When those keys came out, they were ‘supposedly’ difficult to copy and considered an anti-theft feature.
(At least) UK only ever had the oval Ford logo stamped on car keys – if that even. Many weren’t even stamped and just left blank.
These have (slightly) reclining back seats with massive legroom; you can freely swing a leg over your knee without a care about touching the front seats even incidentally.
Put it on “Bring a Trailer” No Reserve” if your confidant sir.
I looked at a used one of these in 1990. 15,000 miles for $13,500. Great looking and driving car. Had a dent in the roof, that the dealer wouldn’t fix. I walked.
There’s one on BAT and another on FB marketplace for sale:
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/6521727794616152/?ref=newsfeed
https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1988-merkur-scorpio-2/?utm_source=dm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2023-11-24
It was known as the ford scorpio in europe and in the uk it was the mk3 guise of the ford granada the scorpio name being used on the top of the range models and the price of that you could probably import 1 from europe for less
I bought one of these in Minneapolis with 43,000 miles for like 3 or 4 thousand in 1994. The car was pretty comfortable on long trips. . . but it was a turd as far as reliability. The climate control module kept going out and at almost $500 a pop, the car went bye bye when it ate the second one. I bought a 3rd unit and dumped the car as I knew it would happen again. Plug and play part the size of half a pack of cigarettes for $500 was a lot of money in 1995. They had potential and liked it while I had it as it was ahead of it’s time with features.
Hi Nater, there is currently one for sale at a CountrysideAusto dealership in Austin, MN with 53K miles on it. Could this one have been yours?
Stevo – It’s still there – I got both the CARFAX and the Car check reports. The car has had (3) owners and the title/registration documents “NAM” status (Not Actual Miles) because it dropped from like ~30K to 5,900, and with conservative correction, projecting at ~2k per year after the car was no longer required to report mileage when registering, that Merkur undoubtedly has at least 100K actual miles if not more. The dealer confirmed that the AC does not work. There are ~3 areas on the body with surface rust – probably not unusual for MN from 1988. The only repair record showing was the cooling fan clutch replacement in 2004. The engine in this car is the 2.9L Cologne V6 motor – the same one in the Bronco/Ranger in that era, so there is a lot of info – it’s a non-interference engine but with no repair records (the shop owner of record had no recollection of 2004 or any additional information), you will still want to change the timing belt/chain and the dealer confirmed it’s the automatic trans, not standard as it says on the site. There was a good page online that told all about how to modify the 2.9L (the heads in the 1988 were prone to cracking, but the 1989 heads had thicker casting), ok – here it is – this page will tell you EVERYTHING about the 1988 2.9L Cologne V-6 motor in the ’88 Scorpio – https://www.broncocorral.com/tech_library/ford-2-9l-v-6-engines-1986-1990/ . I personally am going to pass on the MN Merkur Scorpio – BUT, for someone with the energy and enthusiasm, etc., if you’re going to be replacing the timing belt/chain and will have the heads off anyway, and fixing/modernizing the AC too, and you have the budget (or time and skills) you could warm the power plant up quite a bit. The Merkur X4RTi had a turbo, so if there’s room in the Scorpio engine bay you could get jiggy with it – and with the 4 wheel independent suspension and anti-lock brakes, you could have a real “Cars and Coffee” Autobahn sleeper – it’s nice to know about, anyway. Meanwhile I’ll keep looking. Auf Weidersehn