Domestic luxury cars of the 1980s were difficult to distinguish from run-of-the-mill mid-sized vehicles. What I mean by this is you could buy a car that may have been mid-range on the pricing list but still leave the dealer with a luxury-grade automobile. These days, the lines are more stark, with anything approaching what we’d call luxurious sitting at a very high price point. This low-mileage 1987 Chrysler 5th Avenue is a reminder of how many choices car shoppers once had, and it shows just 20,500 miles on the clock. Find it here on craigslist for $14,500.
This 5th Avenue is a stunner with Twilight Blue paint paired with a matching blue vinyl top and leather interior. The moniker was actually an option package, offered on the New Yorker. If you checked the box for a 5th Avenue, you got the vinyl roof, opera lamps, button-tufted cloth or leather, thicker carpeting, and more chrome trim than lesser models. But it wasn’t just cosmetic: a power driver’s seat, better stereo, wire wheel covers, remote trunk release, dual side mirrors, and more. It may not seem like much today, but this was a very well equipped car in 1987.
Of course, it should come as no surprise. Chrysler and the other domestics were battling an onslaught from the foreign makes that were sending over models with names like the S-Class, 7-Series, 5000 Quattro, Bertone Coupes, and more. And if you’re one of the mega domestic brands, what does it say if you can’t chuck everything including the kitchen sink at your premier luxury models? Well, when you take a gander at that tufted leather interior, it’s pretty clear Chrysler wasn’t messing around when it came to its 5th Avenue option. This car is in seriously mint condition.
The V8 option was limited to the 318, with the 360 being dropped beginning in 1982. The engine bay is as clean as the rest of the car which should come as little surprise given the mileage. Still, the headliner was apparently drooping as the seller did replace that. The tires are also new and the seller overhauled the air conditioning system with a new compressor, freon, and alternator. The spare tire has never been on the ground! This is a time-warp specimen and looks like an excellent luxury driver for the money.
Had same car 10 years ago Burgandy on Burgandy , same interior pillow soft leather, ,ran perfect , air conditioner, ice cold , 41.000 miles, got it free, rich people on a clean out, lost title, junked it for 300.00 terrible. Now it’s worth 14.500 and a good deal! Crazy!
These cars are beautiful and the interiors on them are fabulous. I don’t know why you wouldn’t want one, or why more of them weren’t saved.
i have one; they are exceptionally nice driving cars. It doesn’t “float;” it is smooth, steady, stable going down the road and is exceptionally quiet. It drives better than most new cars, especially the silly “potato” crossovers that are “in vogue” now; those people haven’t experienced a true luxury ride. Mine has the premium audio and it is exceptional, even by today’s standards. If I didn’t have mine I’d be making an offer on this beautiful car right now!
Hey John, I was going to “tag” you over here, but that’s not really a thing you can do on this site as far as I know. I figured you’d probably end up seeing it on your own anyway and here you are.
You mention all the potatoes out there, but also think about what “luxury” cars have morphed into (sports cars basically) and the fact that there is no modern equivalent to cars like this anymore. Even just cushy, semi luxury, affordable cars like Park Avenues and Crown Vics. Cars that typically a lot of older folks drove. Now in my area I see them driving said potatoes or Subaru’s. Cushy comfortable cruiser sedans are long gone. I would imagine that it would make the good ones hold their value.
Nice car bad price
If Mike Ehrmantraut drives one, you know they’re good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW2yc94Mcd0
One of my old GF’s went from a Renault Alliance to one of these.
So it was a bit of an upgrade !
I had one exactly like this one other than mine had cloth seats. These were very nice cars. They get better than expected mileage, and The 318 engine has a roller cam that is surprisingly quiet and smooth. That box on the side of the air cleaner is the engine controller that controls the timing and carb mixture. This one doesn’t have the label on it so probably has been changed. The heat/a/c was good. The temp control lever moves horizontally but the actual temperature is printed on the control. You set it to the temp you want and you don’t have to move it. One negative: Premium gas is recommended.
Cops liked these (as a Plymouth, of course) for a good reason. I had one
I bought for $500. Drove it for many years with zero issues until rot got to the undercarriage. Indeed great vehicles, that I believe were under valued by the general public at the time.
Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.
These were a good value when new, because by this point tooling had long been amortized. An old design that still worked.
Had the same car same color. Loved it until the tranny had a melt down at a traffic light. Literally shook & rattled as it died.
I drove for a small-town cab company for a year or so; the owner ran F-bodies (Volare and Aspen) and M-bodies (Gran Furys and Diplomats). The two were essentially identical, except for development. The earlier Volares were lighter and handled better; as the build quality improved with the Ms, the cars got heavier, and drove more marshmallow-y.
These, the later Ms, were reliable and didn’t rust more than other domestic models of the time. You couldn’t kill them, but neither could you learn to love them. When I read of people who remember the car with fondness, it’s probably because of the circumstances of the time – Grandma’s car; or the one the poster learned to drive with.
The cab-company owner used to buy the Ms as used NYC police vehicles – already beat up horribly; and he’d get two years or so of use out of them before consigning them to the parts lot. What typically caused a car to be parted out would be a chassis or suspension failure.
The Volares, he’d get as cherry used cars at auction; they’d typically have hidden rust issues that would become critical in the same amount of time.
318ci, torque-flite, that interior = good driving.
Eric, thanks for the comments and references! I especially liked your reference to “Better Call Saul” as I had no idea. This is a REALLY nice example; a friend of mine here in Atlanta is negotiating with the seller. I told him to buy it as it’s SUCH a nice example. Remember what Lee I. taught us, “if you can find a better car, BUY IT!”
John, you’re friend contacted me on the car and he did a Carfax check on it and the report came back as having 170,000 miles instead of the 20,500 miles that were clocked on it. I did contact Carfax and got that whole mess straightened out, but by the time I got back to your friend he had bought another car.
Unfortunately you’re correct, Bob, and the car he bought is decent but not as nice as yours. I wish you the very best selling it!