Weekend Edition – Two Personal Luxury Coupes built ten years apart; Which would you take?

Continuing on with the Sunday Edition of the Hooniverse Weekend, and I found a couple of Personal Luxury Coupes that straddle each end of the 1980’s; A 1979 Chrysler Cordoba (last of the original “B” Bodies), and a 1989 (MN12) Mercury Cougar with an aftermarket appearance package. These two very dissimilar cars were trying to attract the same buyers 10 years apart. So, which one would you choose? I will start out with the Cordoba, and according to the listing:

This is a One Owner vehicle, purchased by my Uncle at Mitch Crawford Chrysler-Raytown,Mo in 1979. The car has always been garaged in a climate controlled garage. It has had NO bodywork and has all the original paint. It is two-tone with Cream color over very light yellow. The car was completely serviced last Fall of 2013 with all fluids changed, new carburetor, new hoses/belts, plugs/plug wires, all new filters. It starts and runs like a new vehicle, including the automatic choke. Interior is plush light Gold with 60-40 seats. It has a 318 c/i V8, power steering, power brakes, A/C(not working), power door locks, power trunk opener, power windows, power antenna, cruise control, MAG alloy wheels, AM/FM/ 8 Track stereo, and a digital clock that still keeps perfect time! The car is in excellent condition. It has one dent in the left quarter panel as shown on photo. It averages 15-16 mpg in town and 20 mpg highway. The transmission shifts smoothly and everything on the vehicle works properly, except the A/C.

This car currently shows a little over 87,000 miles on the odometer. The non working A/C is a bit of a sticking point, and one wonders what they underlying problem might be if the current owner hasn’t fixed it as of yet. The asking price for this car is $2,749 which seems to be about where the market is for such a large coupe, but there is still the question about the lack of A/C… Take a look at the listing here, and tell me what you think. The other coupe in to look at is this 1989 Mercury Cougar, with the aftermarket Bostonian Appearance Package tacked on. This is the first year of the Ford MN12 Platform, shared with the Ford Thunderbird. It was also the first year for the Independent Rear Suspension, something unheard of in a Personal Luxury Barge, which was suppose to contribute a smoother ride while delivering better handling. According to the detailed Craigslist Listing:

I have for sale a 1989 Mercury Cougar Bostonian Edition. The vehicle was purchased new by my father-in-law on June 14, 1989. I have the original window sticker as well as the dealer sticker with the add-on for the Bostonian Package at $1,495 and a Custom Stripe Package at $295.00. The original window sticker on the car had a total cost of $18,050.00 (plus the Bostonian and Custom Stripe packages). What makes this vehicle special is that it has only 17,375 original miles. This is not a misprint; the mileage is low and original. I also have the original keys and all tags. I purchased an original set of manuals for the car and they are included as well. The color is Currant Red Clearcoat Metallic and the interior is Currant Red Cloth. On June 16, 1989, my father-in-law had Ziebart rust protection done to the vehicle. He also had an alarm and concealed radar detector installed. The vehicle has been garage kept except for one year during my ownership which is approximately 9 years. I just had the air conditioning system updated to the new R134A refrigerant and it works great. The vehicle is in great shape with no rust. This will make a nice addition to an enthusiast’s collection or provide a great low mileage car for daily transportation.

With less than 20,000 miles on the odometer, this is really a time capsule to the 1990’s, and the asking price reflects that point. The seller is asking for $6,850, which is at or near the price spectrum for this or any MN12 on the market. Take a look at the listing here, and tell me if it’s worth it.