Most of the time when we feature finds that have been donated to charity, there are major questions as to the running condition of the car, but this Cordoba is said to run and drive very well. It’s in Orange, California and is being auctioned here on eBay where the current bid is just over $4,000 but the reserve hasn’t been met yet. Thanks to Charles H. for this cool find!
With T-tops, metallic brown paint with a half-vinyl roof and two-tone “Corinthian” leather interior, this Cordoba is absolutely a product of its time. But look at that shine! According to the seller, the 19,397 miles might actually be accurate, and looking at various parts of the car it’s either true or someone really loved this car!
The seller believes the bumpers have been rechromed; they are certainly very shiny! It hasn’t been registered since 2004, so this will be an expensive proposition for California buyers as they will have to pay all the back fees (I believe–feel free to differ). Obviously the car has been stored inside for at least that period.
Here’s that wild interior. I can hear Ricardo Montalban now talking about the soft Corinthian leather and I’m thinking this would be a nice place to spend some time as long as the air conditioning was fixed (it’s not operational). I was surprised to see that the seller states that the dash protecting carpet is just that; the dash is supposedly uncracked underneath the carpet! Wow! Now, I realize this level of ostentatiousness isn’t for everyone! But for those of us that grew up in the 1970’s, this is seriously cool!
There weren’t many cars at all that could even get out of their own way at this point in time; the auto makers were still working on how to deal with smogging. But a 360 with a four barrel is nothing to be ashamed of. I think this could be a great find for someone, but you’d better hurry as the auction is ending soon!
Here come the “Richardo Montalbon” quotes. Shows how powerful marketing is with certain vehicles. We all remember that. ENNHHHH ( BS buzzer) No way on the 19,000 miles, but these were very nice cars. Kind of the “gentleman’s cruiser”, like the Monte Carlo, Grand Prix or Thunderbird. ( sorry ladies, that’s just what they were called) I wish sellers would stop playing the “low miles ” card, as to most of here, we can see right though them. ( although, it must work once in a while) Still a very nice car.
I’m not sure what you are ‘seeing through’, but I’m seeing something with low miles. I spend more time than I care to admit look at and buying cars based on pictures, and frankly think, from the pics, that this is truly a low mileage car. It’s certainly not 119,000. I’d have to see it in person to verify, but there are things that get worn, simply from maintenance, over 40 years and 100,000 miles that appear totally untouched on this, particularly under the hood.
Hi Walrus, a few of the “giveaways” are, worn steering wheel, worn weatherstripping on passenger door, messy trunk and old spare ( that should all look like new) mismatched heater hoses, just general shabbiness under the hood. Every once in a while, a car comes through here that actually has low miles, and I’m sorry, this just doesn’t look like one.
I’m with Howard on this one. 19K miles? I don’t think so.
This is interesting, because I actually come down on the 19,000 mile side after looking over the pictures closely. It will be even more interesting to see what the consensus is!
Why in the world are there fees due for a car that hasn’t been on the road? I will never understand California. Paying the state for for the privilege of owning an unused car is like paying to not go to Disneyland. It doesn’t make sense to me. Is it like property taxes where you are actually renting your own property from the government? I do not understand their system.
I like the “paying to not go to Disneyland” comment.
If this an original untouched car there is no way that it can be this clean and straight at 119k. I’m with Walrus on this 19k seems more realistic. This is a gorgeous car top of the line in its day, and the price is reasonable from what I can see. Nice addition to the BF cars.
And to further stir the pot………. I believe Ricardo said, “RICH Corinthian leather”, not soft.
I thought so too until I listened to the video. He said “rich” about another Chrysler.
I thought it was “Fine Corinthian leather”….
There is no such thing as Corinthian leather !
Richardo Montalban said it is Corinthian leather. Who are we to argue with a man of his stature. With his accent it sounded so elegant.
I’m in the boat of 19k, really and truly, I don’t think this car has done 119. That’s, really hard to believe unless it was restored fastidiously at some point or only ever taken out for half an hour on somewhat sunny days
Will !!! Think about this…. “GOVERNMENT” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.. California is one of the most expensive states to live in and this is only one reason why..
Nice car though..
move to chiraq, U ain’t seen nothing yet! fee,fee,fee, tax,tax,tax.not to mention the shootins’ lol.
Try Taxachusetts.. You pay an excise tax on your car every year you own it, forever.. Some cities and town tax you to use the sidewalks….
Let me Re-iterate…. “GOVERNMENT”
“Aah yes, the Chrysler Cordoba… Personally, Tatoo, I find it rather fetching! And certainly worthy of a FANtasy..”
…I thought we all agreed to keep personal politics (religion, etc etc) out of the comments section ? see the Rules. plenty of other places on the web to discuss that stuff. can we keep the comments here about cars?
So the back fees mentioned in the article can’t be discussed because you think its political? Hmm. I guess I’ll have to think about how I feel about this a bit.
From the looks of the drivers seat, I would think 19 not 119, although trunk does look strangely worn. Don’t think the bumpers were re-chromed as the cost may out weigh the value of this car
Looks like it could be 19,000 to me. Mismatched heater hoses and cracked weatherstrip mean nothing. Age does the same to rubber with use or not. The bumpers have a nice shine, the interior has even wear throughout and the engine compartment and trunk would clean up nicely once the dust is removed. Of course you can never fully prove mileage without documentation.
ALong with Jeff, I remember it being “Rich Corinthian Leather”, and it was a Cordoba commercial. Often there was more than one version of the commercial but not all are on Youtube. If this car truly has 19K miles (very unlikely), it’s the bargain of the week.
Just like Montalban, drive this and feel like a “Bossss”
Not a Mopar guy, but I always liked this model’s style. Nice looking ride.
I’m in the 119K camp. Too many tells.
Rich Corinthian leather is how I remember it.
And, since no one else has said it yet…
KHAN!!
Not a big Mopar fan here as well as some others but I do like the style of this and have since day one. As far as the mileage I would be willing to say it sports the 19k miles. I do not think the original owner would have had the bumpers replated especially in CA with a cost of close to $500 ea for a decent job, the car may have been in a minor crash resulting in an Ins. replacement.? The blue plates would be original to the car, appears no front plate which is illegal in CA, (must have both on car at all times). If the plate is lost, no replacement is available so DMV will issue a new pair of white reflective style plate’s. Small cost but still another expense to the buyer. Bad thing on this is car also it’s a smog dog, minor on the smog but still a hassle and a cash cow for CA dmv, also the car apparently was not on a non-op which would have prevented any back fees with DMV, I just do not understand people in this state who let a car sit,.. if you don’t want to reg. it pay a $10 ONE TIME charge only and let the car sit if you so desire, this will prevent any back fees. Also the “seller” is required to smog the vehicle not the buyer, appears they are passing along the $50 fee on this also. From what I read the buyer will pay this whether it passes or fails, something wrong here and I am not sure if this is legal for them to do in CA? All in all if I were looking at all the figures on back fees and taxes and smog etc. I would have to pass on this regardless of the mileage and condition. You would have to really want this car to step up and deal with the seller on this. Curious as to the reserve price, if it meets reserve hope the buyer has some deep pockets.
Non op only protects you from penalties not back fees. The penalties double the registration every year it is not registered. We have a cottage industry bringing high fee California cars to Idaho, licensing them and sending them back as out of state cars with no back fees.
I have heard of Montana registration but not Idaho. Have any more info?
I liked Cordoba’s when new and I still do. Nice car.
I’m with the 119K group on this. Howard’s points about the trim details are spot on. One of the shots of the right door jam seems to show some overspray and worn plastic such as from someone climbing in and out of the back seat. The rubber trim looks worn in several spots from use. The chrome on the instrument panel is slightly pitted. That carpet on the dashboard may be hiding cracks. The peeling and absent paint in the door jams suggests opening and closing for a lot of miles. The engine compartment is a lot dirtier than 19K would be, including goop or grease residue on the hoses. And then there’s the trunk carpet and tire.
Don’t get me wrong…the car is in wonderful condition overall, but it’s like a 65 year old who looks 45….but not 25.
19K? Maybe, I dont think I would want to be seen driving it. LOL!
Wonderful gentleman cruiser
However the catbird Tbird is the premier
Disco choice
This Córdoba is gorgeous
Cali taxes r ridiculous… Weather not do much
My only new car was a 1977 Lebaron bought when I lived in Germany. My wife was tired of having a different car for her to drive every week so I went down to the AFFE’s car sales and paid cash for it. Dark metalic grey with a black padded roof and black leather. It really was a Lovely car. It came with the cat in the trunk because unleaded fuel was not available in Europe yet. It was a very good car, the 318 kept up with traffic easily on the autobahns. We put over 200Kon the car. Can’t remember any major repairs. It got good fuel economy, over 20 mpg if driven sensibly.
this is a non air car with dealer added air which is easy to see not the non factor air compresor. these york dealer installed ac units were prone to a short life and very costly to replace.
Damn, looks nice in the pics at least. Like the rally wheels, buckets and the T-top. Cool color too. Seems these had a more elaborate pinstripe originally. I’m thinking it had a Spanish motif.
Can anyone explain how California “back fees” work? No rants, just the facts.
You gotta love the unusual, big round headlights on a car from the later ’70s. As for mileage, I always look at the very front of a car…the grille, bumpers, lenses and windshield too. A bunch of miles cutting through the air/debris/bugs will certainly show! Ricardo Montalban could sell oil to the Arabs with that accent…
I’m with the 19k bunch. Love these cars–the fronts remind me of the early 70’s Camaro RS’s. A $75 doc fee?? Don’t know why they didn’t remove the dash carpet for the pics though.
Born and raised in California. Non-op fees work like this: if the owner files for a non-op permit before the next registration is due, no back fees will be due at time of new registration. However, if the owner files a non-op permit say five years after the vehicle has been sitting, all prior registration fees plus penalties must be paid before a current registration can be issued.
Thanks Greg !!
Had one identical to it Back in the day when it wasn’t so cool to have, Bought in in a wrecking yard, Engine had back fired and caught it on fire, melted the carb and burnt a spot on the center of the hood before they could put the fire out. cleaned the top of the motor and replaced the carb and a few wires fixed the paint on the hood and drove it for a year or two then sold it for about twice what I paid for it. Loved it but they weren’t so cool back in the day, would sure like to have it now.
Guys, that car has probably 219000 miles. I’m the happy and I really feel that way new owner. That car was repainted for higher sailing price, seats were repolstred . Hoses in the engine department are for after market AC. Car runs great, Ijust jump in it and drove 400 miles to home wideout any issue. Was no back fees or whatever on DMV. Smog is not issue because those cars pass even without catalic converter. But you have to have it, of course. I’m happy owner of 7 of these. I build 400 blok- put 512 kit in to it on pump gas with efi carburetor- around 650HP. Every body knows mustangs, camaros, but Cordoba? Every body like it. It’s not too many on the road anymore. Sorry for my English I am still learning.
Congratulations Pavel, and thanks for the update! Be sure and post a picture!
Hi Jamie. How I can post a picture? Today I already own 9 Cordoba, but two I had to ship to Europe to my house because Im sort with parking here in California. Thanks