Any NEON owners out there?

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zakimodo

zakimodo

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I am looking for a commuter car (bout 70 miles round trip). I have found a 2000 neon with 168K that I think I can get for under $1600.

Just looking for some insight from any NEON owners. I know these things have a rep for being piles of junk but at the same time I know of two with over 200K on them (have been properly maintained).

Any thing specific to lookout for? Pros /Cons?
 
Brakes, brakes, and brakes.. they also made it to Canada's to ten stolen cars in '08 because they are so easy to get into....I would run..
 
My ex wife killed a brand new one in less than 70,000 miles. Junk....

3 sets of brakes, 3 trans rebuilds, head gasket replaced, 7 mirrors....
 
I have a 2005 Neon. I think they got better as the years went on. 2005 was the last year and there's probably a reason for that.

I bought it in 2008 with 30k on it. Today it has almost 90k. Things done or fixed: brakes (typical), steering (front tie rod end was bad and gave a nasty shimmy), bad cam sensor (easy fix, threw a code as to the problem so no troubleshooting required).

I also had it throwing codes for a misfire in cylinder 3, probably 50k miles ago. I messed around with the fuel injector wiring and switched injectors into different cylinders to find the problem. Never did as the code went away after that. My guess I knocked loose some debris in an injector when removing and reinstalling.

I also had a leak in the sunroof that had me stumped for a while because of where the water was flowing when it leaked in. It would run down the inside of the front driver side pillar, behind the kick panel, and get the floor wet. Roof was bone dry from the inside appearance of the interior.

The car is very sensitive in the steering. A shimmy returned to the steering wheel about a month ago, but this time only at a particular area of speed. Tires rebalanced did the trick.

Overall most of those problems occured within the first 10k. So it's been an okay car since then. But I've yet to hit 100k so maybe I should get rid of it before then. (I've probably jinxed myself saying what I've said in this post anyways. :)) I've heard the 1st gen were the really problematic ones. I believe 2000 is the first year of the 2nd gen.

IMO, I would pass on it. You can get more for your money elsewhere.
 
My parents had a '97 Neon that I drove for a bit. Interior was a bit cheap, but other than that we didn't have too many problems with it outside of normal maintenance. It needed the head gasket changed immediately after the factory warranty expired, but the dealership took care of it as if it was still under warranty. I think at one point it got CV joints, but my parents live 2.5 miles down on a gravel road, so all of their vehicles chew up suspension. We had over 170k miles on it when it was traded in.

I had a '04 SRT4 for 40k miles as well. Other than the engine/trans, it was pretty much all Neon. Same deal there, interior was pretty cheap, but hey, Neons are cheap cars. Engine is a whole different story from a neon, that 2.4 turbo was pretty spectacular. Other than a CV joint on that, I had an o2 sensor and catalytic convertor changed under warranty. Probably both because of the Stage 1 ECU and bigger throttle body I put on it. Never even changed the brakes, and I drove the living hell out of that car. Sold it with 40k miles on it to get my Challenger.
 
Pop's got a '97. Nothing spectacular, just a stripped out Neon. He loves it. Pretty nibble little car, takes the curves around here nicely.

Gets him around 35-38 highway (he once got 45mpg, but hasn't been able to duplicate it).

Engine's been out once. Crank went out of round at the rods at around 100K. Big ends were right, but the journals egg shaped out. New crank and bearings for a $160. He couldn't replace the car for that little.
 
I had a 2000 neon manual trans. I know the head gasket issue was 1st gen. I've never heard of one in the 2nd gen, and had friends that had them and never had head gasket issues. I put on 250k on that car. Only thing I did was the timing belt. Never had any mechanical isssues. Other than struts and brakes, but nothing excessive. I would buy one again and it was a fun car to drive.
 
2000 was the last year for a 3 speed automatic with locking converter.Driving one right now.Going on 14 years old. Electrical problems though minor were anoying.Yes it had a headgasket leak also fuel injector lines leaking.Front brakes and rotors, rear shoes didn't wear out but just fell apart. Last thing was Valve cover gasket and spark plug tube seals.Oh yeah the sun roof cable broke too.All in all not to bad for 14 years of daily driving.
 
I bought a 97 in 08 when gas got to $1.40/liter. Owned for it a little over two years. Currently looking to get another one. Gas is creeping up again, and $50/week just to drive back and forth to work in my 94 Ram is getting to be a little much. I miss being able to go for a 3 hour tour on the weekend without worrying that it'll cost me most of a week's worth of gas. They're fun little cars that get great mileage. Sure they have their issues, but parts are plentiful.
 
I bought a brand new 05 SXT for my Mom for her birthday, Now Its got just shy of 70k on It,...Put a Cam sensor, front pads, a set of Michelins, and Oil changes every 3 or 4k. So far so good. She absolutely loves the little thing. I drive it every now and again just to run a little harder than she does. So far so good,...but hey what do ya want for 12 grand???...A Kia,...I don't think so...
 
I've owned two 1995. A four door At and 2-door Sport 5-speed. One head gasket on the 4-door. No issues on the 95. I commuted 104 miles a day in the 95 getting 36-40 mpg and as high as 45 mpg. I guess I just got two good ones. I would buy another if I needed a commuter car.
 
Yes it can be a fun little car to drive. I enjoy mine overall, except I get 28 mpg, city or highway doesn't matter, if I don't go easy on it. Even then, best I've ever got was 32 mpg. I guess it could be like my Dakota...where under 100k miles isn't broken in yet. It was consistently 16 mpg (V8 5 spd), until somewhere past 100k it finally started getting 18-19 mpg.
 
tml1138 said:
Yes it can be a fun little car to drive. I enjoy mine overall, except I get 28 mpg, city or highway doesn't matter, if I don't go easy on it. Even then, best I've ever got was 32 mpg. I guess it could be like my Dakota...where under 100k miles isn't broken in yet. It was consistently 16 mpg (V8 5 spd), until somewhere past 100k it finally started getting 18-19 mpg.
Click to expand...

got a 2001 new tires clutch ,brakes rotors 5 speed runs great 111000 miles just your normally stuff i'll take 2000.00 for mine its pretty clean
 
Thanks for all the replies.

Are these things easy to work on? I am a heavy equipment mechanic by trade but know these compact cars can be a PITA to work on.


Here is a link to the car in question. It has been on the lot for a while I think a little persuasion could get the car for a decent price.


At this time its either one of these or a Mercedes 300D. Frankie's comments are making me gun shy about this neon thing. I already made the mistake of getting a 98 Deville...... Head Gaskets ring a bell??????????
 
Get a 1999 or older Neon thet can be 2drs, they handle better have the better 2.0 DOHC engine and not as many electrical problems. The 2000 is a new model, and with most Chrysler products never buy a new model year car. We had a early build 2000 that we bought in Dec 99 it was a TERD, bad gas mileage, 3spd trans no O/d 3 cats, multiple trans problems battery problems, did I mention electrical?
I had a 98 Plymouth Expresso 5 spd DOHC 150 hp ran great replaced the head gasket but due to my fault of not getting a hose on right. The 2 drs are really roomy and look great.
I'd still be driving that car today if some dumb B hadn't slammed into me at 45 mph.
 
I wouldn't give more than $1700 for it. Especially with the damage to the front.
Mechanically, they're not bad to work on, just the fact you'll have to.
The head gasket issue was resolved by this model year, but cam sensor seals still leak and aggravate. Most transmission issues, when they pop up, can be taken care of with in-put and out put sensors. The ABS sensors on the rear would also fail from time to time. Again, more of an annoyance than anything. Cheap to fix, drive and insure. Not likely to get stolen over looks, that's for sure. Don't really see them in the shop much any more. Man we sold a boat load of them back in the day!
 
I've had two neons. The first was a two door 5spd. Loved that car wish I still had it. That car had the head gasket replaced before I bought it. The second was a 2003 sxt, it started having transmission issues but was fixed with sensors and a new pigtail on output sensor. They're fairly easy to work on. Cheap to buy parts for. Yes they have problems but what car doesn't. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another, especially a 2 dr 5spd again.
 
Easy to work on? Depends. In the engine compartment, if you compare it to an old a-body then no, not easy to work on. ;-) But for a small car, it ain't too bad.

I know I had to go out and buy a low clearance jack just so I could get it off the floor. Having my Dakota as my main driver for so many years, the Neon definitely took some getting used to.
 
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