Some buyers walk into dealerships with a strict budget, ordering their new car with few or no factory options. Others throw caution to the wind, splashing significant cash to create the car of their dreams. The original owner of this 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 chose the second path, equipping the vehicle with features that perfectly combine comfort with impressive performance. The Coroent presents beautifully and is a turnkey proposition that is ready for immediate action. I must say a big thank you to Barn Finder Mike F. for spotting this beauty listed here on Craigslist in Brighton, Colorado. The seller set their price at $48,000 OBO.
After a five-year absence, Dodge revived the Coronet badge in 1965 when it released its Fifth Generation range. Buyers were spoiled for choice, with this car’s first owner selecting the range-topping 500 variant. The car presents superbly following a 2003 bare-metal repaint in its original shade of Ruby Red, with a Black vinyl top. The process proved fairly straightforward because this classic has remained rust-free and accident-free throughout its life. The absence of any glaring signs of deterioration after over two decades suggests that the shop performing the work prioritized quality. The panels are straight, and the sparkling trim perfectly contrasts with the paint shade. The tinted glass is clear, and the narrow whitewalls provide the ideal finishing touch.
Sadly, the seller supplies no engine bay images, but there is plenty of good news hiding under the hood. This Coronet is more than a pretty face, with its 383ci V8 delivering 330hp and 425 ft/lbs of torque. The first owner teamed the 383 with a three-speed A-727 TorqueFlite transmission, power steering, and power brakes. That combination should provide an effortless driving experience while commanding respect at any “Traffic Light Grand Prix.” Potential buyers prioritizing documentation will welcome the news that the deal includes the original Window Sticker, and Service Records dating back to Day One. Therefore, verifying the odometer reading of 86,600 miles should be a piece of cake. The seller states that the Dodge runs and drives like new, ready to head into the sunset with its new owner behind the wheel.
The first owner continued ticking boxes on their Order Form when they focused on the Coronet’s interior. They equipped it with air conditioning, power windows, bucket seats, a console with a factory tachometer, and a pushbutton radio with the Reverb feature. The Black trim appears to have a couple of minor imperfections on the seats, but there is no evidence of rips, tears, or UV damage. The dash is excellent, the pad is crack-free, and the carpet exhibits only minimal wear. I would consider the condition impressive for a survivor-grade vehicle of this vintage, with no glaring needs or problems, and no aftermarket additions.
If you favor Mopar classics, this 1965 Dodge Coronet 500 will look pretty attractive. Even if you aren’t specifically a Mopar fan, the thought of owning a potent 1960s classic may draw you to it like a moth to a flame. That is understandable, because it has so many positive attributes. Those focused on pure performance will appreciate the 383ci V8 under the hood, while those seeking a complete package will welcome the interior features. The Coronet has only been on the market for a few days, and I won’t be surprised if it finds a new home fairly quickly. If you have previously owned a ’65 Coronet, could this car tempt you to repeat that experience?
The friend across the alley, the guy that had the Fiat 850 coupe, this was his 3rd car. After such a dismal experience with the Fiat, he traded it for a ’68 Barracuda, 273, 2 barrel, 4 speed, that was on the dealers lot they couldn’t sell, and was kind of a cheapie car, and then he got this, as kind of a luxury car. Compared to the Barracuda, we all laughed at him, but it was a nice car.
Wow, that is one pricey Coronet. Hagerty has it at 41K in concours condition.
The repaint sounds nice, but that was 23 years ago. I guess the seller can always come down on the price.
Pretty much agree….it’s surely rare with the options it has and being the top of the line 500…..better to start high and come down then start low and exspect to get more…..nice car.
If one starts too high one can scare folks away from even trying to bargain.
It’s a nice car. Great options too. I know an in person inspection needs to be done before buying it, but from the pictures, it looks like the repaint has held up very well. But, I’m with Rex, thats very, very, pricey. And I’m wondering how long it will sit at that price.
I’ve seen a handful of `65 Coronet 500’s over the years, and this one is by far the nicest. Power windows on a Coronet?! That is a first for me to spot on ANY Coronet, let alone a `65! Adam may be right–this beauty may not last long.
GLWTA!
Someone was determined that they would not be denied what they wanted. While power windows were depicted in brochures they were viewed as frivolous and problematic, another way of saying status. Air conditioning was expensive and yet to be integrated as evidenced by the under dash design we see here. What a tremendous vehicle we see here. Amongst all the “one of’s” we see on these pages, this car truly is.
In these write ups the term “customer ordered” is a common phrase. In the car selling industry it is an accepted fact. That once a person decides to buy a new car. They “pull the trigger” within 10-15 days. Not enough time to specifically order a vehicle. Most of us here would prefer to order something to our specs. But the average car buyer wants it right away. Being in the vehicle sales business, but most of my retail buyers (I sold to anyone but my focus was on commercial customers) would buy off the lot or what I could trade for. (dealer trade one of mine to a dealer that had the color the customer wanted) I would say the only about 10% ordered the exact vehicle they wanted. So, always saying the customer/buyer ordered a vehicle to that spec. in my experience is just not accurate. As an aside note. We were noticing that we were doing alot of “dealer trades” which sometimes cuts into the profits and definitely adds additional work to the deal. So we decided to go back to the previous year, and make notes of engine, color and option packages. And then combine those with current sales to determine what we should be ordering. Not just go by the seat of our pants. Between the 3 of us we had a combination of 120 years in the car business. We would spend virtually all day every Tuesday ordering replacement vehicles for the lot. And we gave special ordered vehicles a double count. (We normally stocked about 250 new cars and mostly trucks.) We did that exercise for 3 years. And our monthly average of dealer trades stayed the same! However, our monthly new car sales increased by close to 30%!
Being in the business, I have to agree with you. The typical customer needs to be behind the wheel as quickly as possible. People will leave deposits, tying up your inventory, while they continue to shop. If you can assure them that they can have what you don’t have in stock by way of trading you can preserve your deal and unit sale. Our dealer is good at reading the market by stocking what is popular plus a few extras you didn’t know that you wanted. Larger selection doesn’t prevent dealer trades but does attract attention and results in added sales. We will always order your new car or truck to ensure you get what you want. That still doesn’t prevent people from buying something somewhere else.
To Nelson and Wayne – You guys are in the business today, and dealing with today’s customers. Nowadays, the mantra is, “I’ve gotta have it NOW – it’s IMPERATIVE I GET IT NOW!!!!” Back 60 years ago, when this most likely was indeed ordered special, that was not the outlook of a large percentage of buyers. Today’s world demands immediacy, but that wasn’t the case back then. We have Amazon to thank for a lot of this attitude. I feel sorry for you guys having to deal with some of the big babies that are customers nowadays.
exactly – every car Adam writes up as “customer ordered” whether its a bare bones model or a top of the line model. Dealerships then and now want to get a person in and out , and they usually had many versions of the same car on the lot, with a mix of options and colors .This Cornet could very well have been a showroom car ; loaded with options to show a potential customer what you could get with your new Dodge. Most sales are off the lot , few cars were special ordered , and if there’s no proof they were ordered , it shouldn’t be assumed it was
car has had a repaint. now it is no longer unrestored. the 48k price could be in line if were 100% original. car is nice but not 48k nice. 30k is all the money. i guess they were watching this past weekend’s auction when they priced it.
Yep. Ask $30k, accept down to $25k. This was the equivalent of your dad’s car, with an average engine upgrade.
Certainly a truly beautiful and heavily optioned Coronet that I would have no problem treasuring, but at almost $50k it would probably just stay on my wish list.
Dan, luckily for me, I retired 10 years ago. As a whole I had great/nice customers. You deal with a different class of people selling to commercial/business folks. Not all my customers were business people. But the ones that weren’t were referrals from my business customers. It was a great compliment when they expressed having fun buying a vehicle for the first time. I kind of miss that. But what I don’t miss is the 12 hours days. (I sold vehicles all over the country. So being in the Pacific time zone ment that I needed to be at my desk at 8AM Eastern time. It was fun as every deal was different and each had its own set of challenges. But it was also a ton of work.
I’m noticing that the Dodge interiors in these years were a definite step down from the Chryslers of the same years. Dodge interiors from 1957 to about 1962 were always different from Chrysler but still lux in their way. The dash on this car looks like a plastic panel. Contrast that to the dash of a ‘65 Newport and the market differentiation is so obvious.