1979 Chrysler Cordoba 318 from North America

Summary:

Personal Luxury from the 70's

Faults:

When the car was new there were many, many small problems. The car was in the shop weekly for warranty work until the warranty finally ran out (12000 miles).

None of the problems were major, but all were annoying to say the least. Fit and finish were not good, but considering it was built in the 70's that is no surprise. The major problems were: Transmission Torque Converter went out at 80000 miles, only one week after having the fluid changed. The radiator was rotted out at 120000 miles and I replaced it with a new one. At 100000 miles there was one burned valve so I had a full valve job done then. Many problems with the carburetor, including problems with the choke. Finally replaced the carburetor and it was somewhat better after that. The car was very hard on brakes during the first 10 years, but got better after that.

General Comments:

In all the Cordoba is a classy car with too many small problems. I would not classify these as design flaws, but problems with quality control at the factory. It seems as if the factory expected the dealers to re-do the work for them that was done improperly to begin with.

Still have the car, but it is stored now. Still has the original paint and leather seats, all look exceptional.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 29th April, 2002

14th Apr 2006, 15:46

I owned a Cordoba in the past, until the highway salt melted it away. It was a beautiful car to drive, and was a great highway car with lots of passing power. It was a bugger to park sometimes, but you kind of got used to it after awhile. It was very roomy in front, as I am a pretty big guy, but people in the back were kind of squashed. I was only disappointed that it did not have a 4 door model, to make it easier for passengers to get in/out of the backseat, as well I was always worried that I would get the overly large door nailed by a passing car. I loved the marker light on the outside, made it look even more classy. I was kind of ticked off when the Cordoba was cancelled by Chrysler, as I probably would have the current version of that model.