Well I have done my homework. The Grand Marquis is basically the same as a Crown Vic or a Lincoln Town Car. They are all the same platform. It's one of my favorite car platforms. I love Crown Vics/GM's and Town cars, so I know just about all on them.
And it's a platform that is retardedly bulletproof. Cops and taxis abuse those things daily, and with proper maintenance, they will last just about forever. I mean, it's a platform that was introduced in the late 70's and was progressively updated over the next 35 years or so. It only ended because Ford decided to kill it.
Its not uncommon for Crown Vics especially, to go for well over 300k miles. 130k is just about average for their breed if they haven't been used as Taxis or Cop cars. And considering its only a 2 owner family owned car, its not bad at all.
Also 2003 isn't THAT old. Car design has really only changed dramatically in the last 6-7 years, and really only because regulations have forced it to change.
I'd argue that the older the car, the easier to maintain it actually is. Because it will have less electronics, and the engine will likely be simpler. I have the power to fix this car if something goes wrong- they are designed to be fixed. But a modern car, with it's touchscreens and digital everything? forget it. They are specially engineered so that ONLY a dealer or mechanic can fix it. In fact, I recall not too long ago, either GM or Ford... Tried to actually make it illegal to fix their cars on your own because you need to mess with their computers, which is proprietary software or some other shitty excuse.
This car has a digital dashboard, for instance, but digital dash in anything before the late 00's is just a gimmick, all the important sensors are still analogue and mechanical. it's just a digital readout is all. And, mind you, digital in the same way your average digital alarm clock is digital. It isn't true digital like the dash on, say, a Ford Fusion which has an LCD screen with a computer.
There's also no shortage of parts for me. I mean, both cops and taxis STILL use Crown Vics, so there's still support for them, and the parts are interchangeable between the Grand Marquis and the Vic. all I need to do is go to any scrapyard if I really need to and i'm bound to find parts.
I will say though, I DID set out initially to find an older car. I was looking for an early 90's Town Car because those look really schway.
I actually started my initial car search looking for an 80's Firebird Trans Am. But those became hard to find in good condition anywhere near me. And the Lincolns similarly. I settled on this one because 2003 is just the right age between older and newer, and also, the color was good. I love that sky blue.