Bang for the buck
Front oil seal failed at 80k miles.
I haven't had any major problems with this car. It's cheap to drive, and peppy enough to get somewhere in a hurry. Take care of it and it'll take care of you.
This is my 3rd Neon, and all are still in the family and running excellent.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 4th March, 2009
Excellent first car/daily driver
I don't know about any problems the car had before I started driving it:
Fuel pump needed replacement at 100k miles.
Display only works a percentage of the time (starting at about 115k miles) - speedometer often rests at 0mph, occasionally the tachometer and gas gauge do also. When the tachometer sticks or falls to 0rpm, the tripometer and odometer don't turn. Hot or humid weather seem to make it happen more often.
Bad wheel bearing at 125k miles, had replaced.
Most of the time when I try to listen to a CD (it has a 6 disc changer in the trunk), the display reads "NO CHRY" and doesn't work. Sometimes restarting the car fixes the problem.
This car was given to me by my mom when I started driving. She'd already driven it for a few years, and had around 100k on it already. We bought it used. Considering I don't know much about cars and don't do anything to it but get the oil changed, it's held up very well in the four years I've been driving it.
It handles nicely, good with turns. Very light and therefore scary in icy conditions.
The clutch is very heavy, perhaps because it's ten years old.
Sometimes when I'm starting out of first or trying to reverse, it pops out of gear.
The cloth interior looks BRAND NEW, and not because I keep my car immaculate. It's just good quality.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 19th July, 2008
Good times/ bad times, this car has had its share.
A/C never worked.
Turn signal relay failed shortly after I bought the car.
Plugs and wires replaced at 132000km.
Front engine mounts cracked around 128000km but never replaced them.
Tie-rods needed to be replaced, but I never replaced them.
Needed new front shocks. (never replaced them either)
Timing chain worn.
Transmission slip on a 2-3 shift.
Small oil leak from valve cover.
Minor transmission leak.
Door panels cracked and falling off.
Numerous light bulbs burnt out prematurely.
Several electrical glitches.
Despite all the numerous things that went wrong with this car, it really wasn't a bad car. I bought this car in July 2007 for $2600 and sold it in April 2008 for $3300.
I live in northern Canada where we have long winters and the temperature drops to about -45C. I used this car as a daily driver throughout the winter, mostly trouble-free. My Neon always started even on the coldest days. I was pleased and surprised about how well it held up through the winter
This car is made of some of the cheapest material, and therefore parts breaks easily.
This car handles very well under most conditions.
Surprisingly bad gas mileage. (About 21mpg average)
Car was very noisy.
I finally sold it in April as I could not afford the repairs it needed.
Sold it for $700 more than I payed for it, so I'm happy.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 17th May, 2008
The car is the best car I have owned
Who ever complains about Dodges they must not know anything about a car, because I have 4 Dodges in my drive ways, and two are under 94, and one's a 97, and ones a 98, and they all run great. Neon's just need a little work but they get the job done.
I have had my 98 since it was new, and it was in the shop once for head gasket when it was under warranty, and that was the last time it really had a problem.
Well maybe if people took car of their cars then they won't be going down the drain. And maybe servicing your cars yourself is helpful because it does cost more at a garage because it is a business.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 13th April, 2008
Yes -- and many people thought that Transformers was a 4-star movie and that Kanye West is a talented musician. Having had 3 Neons with well over 200K miles, as well as an SRT4 that had over 250K plus miles (plus being in Mopar clubs and witnessing hundreds of other people with similar results), these cars are not completely terrible. They need to be taken care of, and in return they will take care of you -- better than any other compact car of that time. Not to mention, my R/T easily pulls away from any 98 GSRs when we hit the curvy backroads.
14th Apr 2008, 13:58
I think you got lucky with yours. The Neons, especially the '95-99 generation, are know to be riddled with design flaws. If a majority of owners have big problems, that's a sign it has quality problems. If only a select few were complaining of bad transmissions and headgaskets, just to name a few common problems, then it would be easier to dismiss as abuse or neglect. If a car has inherent design flaws, no amount of babying or maintenance can keep it from experiencing the same defective problems. Mechanically speaking, it was a low quality car, period. There are people that just glow about their Ford Taurus, but those have major design flaws as well that most people experience, and as a result, think it's a POS car.