Used Car of the Day: 1985 Chrysler New Yorker

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

It's time to party like it's 1985.

If you have $2,500 you're willing to part with and the time to spend on a project car.


It has a 2.2-liter turbo mill and an automatic trans. It needs new tires, some brake work, and maybe a new alternator. It also has some rust on the rockers and the roof apparently needs to be painted.

Still, it doesn't appear to need a crazy amount of work. If you're an '80s kind of person, flip on some Talking Heads and get to work.

[Images: Seller]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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2 of 36 comments
  • Joe blow Joe blow on Feb 09, 2023

    Jesus, what an effin' heap.

  • James A Silcox James A Silcox on Jun 30, 2023

    I had a low mileage 86. White exterior with maroon interior. Mine was quite dependable over the 5 years I owned it. I wish I had it back! I'd ake another.

  • Master Baiter If you rear-end someone, it's your fault, period. If motorcycles need more time to stop, then riders need to increase their following distance.
  • Master Baiter Until recently, virtually every cell phone and computer was made in China and no one seemed to care. The majority are still built there. I'm not a fan of tariffs as it just gives domestic makers a price umbrella to sell their garbage products to U.S. consumers at higher prices.
  • Teleedle It would seem that if the Chinese made cars and trucks are ready to compete on the world market that they should be able to compete without the need for government help through subsidies. That's never going to happen with the mindset of their leadership. The rate at which they've transferred the ability to copy to the rate of their abilities to innovate isn't really astounding, but it is truly indicative of their inherent abilities to see through problems and overcome without a lot of fuss. They just have a different way that seems to continually baffle the Western mind. It only goes back a few thousand years. The rest of the world just has to catch up... Without tariffs, three Seagulls could be bought for the price of one loaded Toyota Corolla. I would settle for a nice small pickup truck that can get 30-35 mpg, if the Chinese want to build something with real durability and value. I'm sure they can do that for about $10-12k US, too, dumping them all the way to the bank. Neither Trump or Biden or Bugbrain want that, though. Restrictive 'targeted' tariff ideas indicate that they all want protectionism and the Chicken Tax to continue. The price of living in freedum in the non compete world... and the hallmark of one upmanship by the political class towards more and more expensive transportation related needs. All costs are ALWAYS passed onto the end consumer. Tariffs are the burden of the extra cost. Tariffs are punitive, remember... as intended. The political class is still living off the backs of their constituents throughout the world... same as it ever was.
  • Theflyersfan One day, some of these sellers will come to the realization that cars are not houses and putting expensive upgrades into one doesn't equal a higher selling price down the road. $29,000? The only Challenger that has a chance of value down the road, and only with low miles, is the Hellcat.
  • SaulTigh The Cyclone engine was really powerful, but with a fatal flaw. Ask me how I know.
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