This message was posted on the Pacific Northwest Merkur Owners Network list service, on 8/5/07, in response to a new member stating that he wasn’t having any fun with his XR4Ti and was thinking of selling it. I thought the post was an excellent introduction to the XR4Ti for prospective purchasers. -- Michael
Hello Kasey.
A couple of quick points -- even the folks in the group whom I would describe as experts in the field of XRs work on them. If you aren't mechanically inclined, or perhaps more importantly willing to learn, you should probably sell you car. That being said, I have owned four XRs and put well over 150K on all of them and they were running and driving when I sold them. My suggestion for keeping them dependable while making them fun to drive is to leave them as stock as possible with the possible exceptions of a Gillis valve and an intercooler, as both should help reliability if used properly. I still believe that a stock XR with a Gillis valve and an intercooler is still one of my favorite cars to push hard on a twisty road or on/off ramp, and I have owned many newer/lower/more powerful cars. First and foremost, I would suggest going to the Merkur Encyclopedia link attached below and read the whole thing. Although XRs do break, most of them break the same way. If you follow this message board you will find that most of the problems from the less experienced folks can be diagnosed by the experienced folks without even looking at the car. That's not because they have a crystal ball or mental telepathy, it's because Merkur's have design and manufacturing flaws just like every other piece of machinery. If you read the attached link and all of this sounds too complicated, I would suggest buying a Japanese car with a warranty and making a monthly payment. Just my 2 cents worth, good luck in whichever direction you head.
R. J.
http://www.merkurencyclopedia.com/
XR4Ti Introduction
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Rocky Leitch
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:12 pm
- Location: Ocean Shores/Issaquah, WA.