1987 Chrysler Fifth Avenue 318 (5.2L) 2bbl
Summary:
Best car ever made! (my opinion)
Faults:
Power steering has failed a while ago. Doesn't bother me a bit; good upper body workout! (or maybe I'm a little lazy, I only fix the major stuff)
Otherwise just brakes, exhaust, regular wear items.
General Comments:
I absolutely love this car! A true testament to American made V-8 cars. Odometer is creeping toward 240000 miles and she still starts and runs like a dream. Gas mileage is adequate if you don't push her too hard. Close to 20 mpg. Nothing I have ever driven cruises as nice on the highway. They just don't design interiors like this anymore. I could drive this car for 12 hours without stopping to get out and stretch.
She is showing a little rust, but nothing major. My 86 Jeep Cherokee looks much worse, and the Chrysler sits out and the end of the driveway all the time too. It makes me wonder where Chrysler went wrong. I hear so many bad things about the 90s era front wheel drive sedans, but my 87 Fifth Avenue is an unstoppable TANK!
The 5.2L Mopar 318 is a true GEM of an engine. I'm a busy guy and don't give her the maintenence she deserves, but she never complains. Oil changes sometimes come at 10,000 miles or more, but never an issue with my baby!
The bottom line is that iron block rear wheel drive V-8 sedans may be inefficient in design, but that design will hold up to the rigors of daily punishment better than any other arrangement ever used. Talk to me about fuel economy, transfer of power, slippery conditions traction, etc., but when it comes down to reliability, I will take a rear wheel drive, carbureted V8 powered full size MOPAR sedan any day!
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 12th May, 2005
31st Jan 2006, 13:50
I have one and I love it as well. I call it the Voodoo Kitty because its got about 9 million lives. No matter what happens a simple repair is usually all it takes to get it back on the road.
My previous car was 94 Chrysler Concorde and it was pretty, but poorly built. I spent more on repairs than I did buying it. The transmission went twice and I gave up.
After having the Fifth Ave, I won't drive anything else. It just goes and goes and goes. Drove it 800 miles in a day to North Carolina and it ran great the whole time.
9th Dec 2005, 00:09
I also thought I was the only person who loved these cars, drove a 2005 Magnum, I'd take a Fifth Avenue any day. May well be best built car by Chrysler ever. I've driven a lot of them.