Two owners. Low mileage. Unmolested. Beautifully preserved. Those are four crucial boxes ticked by this 1972 Dodge Coronet Custom that has been treated respectfully from Day One. It is hard to fault and is guaranteed to turn heads and attract positive comments. The seller has been its custodian since 2021 but feels the time is right for the Coronet to find a new home. Located in Hopewell Junction, New York, you will find this gem listed here on Craigslist. The seller set their price at $12,900, and I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Rocco B. for spotting this amazing survivor.
This Coronet rolled off the line during the second year of Sixth Generation Coronet production. The first owner ordered it in Fiesta Green Poly with a Dark Green vinyl top. The car’s amazing preservation and lack of visible flaws demonstrate the benefits of treating any classic respectfully. It has been garage-kept throughout its life, with the general lack of UV exposure leaving the paint with an excellent shine and no evidence of patchiness or other problems. The seller doesn’t mention existing or previous rust problems, and there are none visible in the supplied photos. The panels are straight, and the trim and tinted glass are in good order. The Coronet sits on freshly powder-coated Rallye wheels. It didn’t sport these when it left the factory but were dealer-fitted when the first owner took delivery. For those preferring a more stock appearance that is consistent with the original Window Sticker, the factory hubcaps are included.
Interiors often provide an accurate indication of the life a classic has led. Abuse and neglect reveal themselves in rips, tears, and stains. The spotless state of this Coronet further supports the fact that it has been treated respectfully since it rolled off the showroom floor. Trimmed in a Green cloth and vinyl combination, there is no wear, even on the prone seat outer edges. The carpet might be slightly faded, but since that fault is consistent across the entire interior, it could be left untouched to protect the car’s survivor status. It appears that the seller has mounted an FM converter under the dash to supplement the AM radio with its optional rear speaker. They recently rebuilt the factory air conditioning that blows ice-cold.
Buyers could order the 1972 Coronet with a six under the hood, but this car’s first owner teamed a 318ci V8 with a three-speed TorqueFlite transmission and power-assisted steering and brakes. The 318 generated 150hp and 260 ft/lbs of torque when it was shiny and new, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t still do so. The seller purchased the car from the first owner in 2021 and has spent a considerable sum to ensure it is mechanically perfect. They lavished attention on the carburetor, shocks, brakes, tires, vehicle fluids, electricals, and ignition system. It now runs and drives perfectly, and with a genuine 63,000 miles on the clock, it should provide the buyer with years of reliable service.
This 1972 Dodge Coronet Custom is an amazing survivor, and faulting its overall condition seems virtually impossible. There is only one visible and reversible dealer-installed modification that purists may want to change. However, leaving the car untouched is a valid choice since it has been in its current form since Day One. The seller’s price is well above the market average, but the Coronet’s condition achieves the same feat. It has been on the market for a few days, but how quickly do you think it will find a new home?
Love the dealer installed wheels.
Very nice, but I can’t find cruise control on the sticker. Maybe that was dealer-installed. Price is a bit steep, but you never know.
I love green over green and it looks ready to cruise. Price may not be bad if you don’t have to turn around and spend another 3 grand on it immediately or something. Give me this over almost any of the cars with “a larger following”.
My mom had the Plymouth version of this car, the Satellite. Hers was barebones. B5 blue with blue vinyl seats, rubber floors, manual steering, and manual drum brakes. It did, however, have the 318 engine with the 904 automatic and an AM radio. She bought it new in 1972 and then took it to a Sears store to have them install an aftermarket AC system. That thing blew cold. I remember a trip to Oklahoma one year with six of us in that car and we averaged 21 mpg.
This is really in beautiful shape. Seems the couple of add-ons (FM converter and fog lights) are from the era the car was built, so they really aren’t a distraction. I’d say the price, given the condition is reasonable.
Did we really think those fog lights looked good back then? I remember buying a pair I was going to put on my Charger back then, but I never got around to installing them.
Even though it was just a regular (but nicely equipped) four door sedan, someone took excellent care of it for decades. If I was in the market, I’m with TimS: I’d gladly pay a bit more if it was evident the car had recent upgrades and maintenance.
I enjoy studying window stickers. Variable speed wipers: $5.85 ($44 today); right chrome mirror $7.40 ($56 today); total $4259.76 (about $32,000 today). Almost everything which was an option on this car would be standard on just about every new vehicle today.
Wonderful toy.
Why some shop does not make 4 door cruisers with room for the grand kids I don’t understand.
I assure you when I retire there will be 1968 Satellite with 4 doors, 4 speed, either a 413 or 440 and AC.
Cannot wait.
They do make a 4 door cruiser with plenty of room (well, they did) – the Charger.
When I owned one, it make a great vehicle to taxi 5 people around in comfort.
Try a 90-95 SHO or a 2005/6 CTS-v or newer. 4 doors, manual trans and fun!
Ask me how I know.
89 SHO
06 CTS-v
I live in Manhattan
NYso I’m pretty close by I sent the owner a text at 3am no response yet no phone number listed can’t be to serious about selling
Had the Plymouth version of this car in college, same color but with a vinyl roof. Great in the snow, which in Buffalo, NY was a big hairy deal. Did my geology master’s degree field work in it.
Had a Winchester gray 72 like this with blue interior. Grandma hand me down. Cost me what the offered in trade for a Chebby Citation.
318 ran strong and after a Trans go shift kit it went 150k miles. Quite a leaner, needed sway bars front and rear. Reliable as any car I remember. Put them fogs under the bumper!!
Almost makes me want to buy it because growing up Mom drove the wagon model of this thing in the same color
If this Coronet was 200 miles away instead of 1200 miles away there’s a good chance this car would already be in my garage. It’s a beauty, has a lot of nice options, and I like the color green (I once owned a F8 green ’70 Challenger WSS).
Like Bob-N-TN I too like to look at original window stickers. One thing that struck me was the destination charge: $76.00! Destination charges today are typically fifteen times more. Then the dealer adds a processing fee. And don’t forget to add tax, tag and title. They are a wee bit higher now than back then. Our state more than doubled the tag and title fees this year. With the average new vehicle costing $40,000 now; tax in my state means digging deep for another $2,400. Every time I think about upgrading from my nineteen year old car or twenty six year old truck I remind myself about what a rip off buying a replacement will be. If and when I do pull the trigger; I will be seriously considering something like this sweetheart. GLWTS.
Good points Carbob. But the values you quoted are, amazingly, still too low. The destination charge on new Fords ranges from $1595 to $1995. The average transaction price for a new car in the US is now over $48,000.
Sometimes I will see a new vehicle transport semi on the interstate, maybe with nine “luxury” vehicles on it, and think: the driver might be transporting a million dollars worth of cargo.
Craigslist link does not work…
Beautiful my in-laws had one in the early 90s and bought it from a used car lot then but the Plymouth Satellite version same color Sam condition but had only 11,000 miles and the first owners were an old Japanese couple in Honolulu. The car salesman said they only went to the store for groceries and to their doctors appointment mostly for the whole life of the car and hardly mingled with anybody and after that car was gone I thought I would never see another one similar to that ever again until now and good luck to the new owner if I could get this one now I would buy it on the spot no matter what the price is going for right now!
I will have to guess most favorable comments ware based in nostalgia for the time. These were terrible cars with drivability problems and very poor manufacturing tolerances. I buy a car for how I feel behind the wheel, ergo many are cosmetically challenged but work perfectly. This cannot be brought to a standard it couldn’t achieve when new. Please, if you’re thinking of purchasing, drive it before pulling the trigger. Rose glasses will not justify $12000 asking. Slings and arrows not provided.
Dave, I would respectfully disagree. The build quality was variable, however, if you picked up one of these cars for under $200 as I did many in the 1980’s and put a timing chain in you could get another 50k miles, if not more. Expectations for early 70’s cars with over 100k miles were not high, but by and large they delivered well. Perhaps the first ten years culled all the badly built cars, so what I was buying were the good ones as they survived getting old.
my dad replaced his 1967 Dodge Polara station wagon with a 1972 Dodge coronet station wagon in 1986 when the Polara succumbed to the New England salt. for some reason his had the dodge lettering on the hood unlike this one. I was just getting my license and that big blue Dodge was great for hauling my friends around when needed.
He slipped while braking on the ice one day and t-boned a mazda and almost totaled her car his lost the middle D.
Almost for got you could get the one tire fire going but it tended to break engine mounts. Found out the hard way.