Faults:

Distributor, and wires/plugs had to be replaced quite early, after leaving me stranded on the road. Warranty covered it, plus the rental for the weekend.

Some other engine light issue was covered by warranty, but my weekend was shot again bringing it to the dealer.

Brakes always squeaked; the dealer couldn't fix them and said, "It's typical" and to live with it.

Automatic transmission seemed like it needed an overdrive. The engine RPM was quite high on highway travel.

For a small car, the fuel economy wasn't the greatest.

General Comments:

I guess I should have spent the extra few grand more and bought a Honda or VW.

I sold this car at 60000km. The VW dealer said he could not give me much for it as a trade-in because he would have a hard time selling it. I had the car for only 3 yrs and it totally depreciated big time. I feel like I almost gave it away, and still owe the bank money.

I bought an Oldie '93 VW Golf diesel and an old '91 Honda Accord for the price I got for my newer Neon. Both cars I've had for longer than I had owned the Neon, and no issues other than new brakes and other simple wear items.

How is it that I bought a new car and it was in the shop all the time? Buy used quality, and no issues other than tires and brakes.

Faults:

The engine stalls when I use the A/C, but not all the time. I found that I needed a tune-up, and I may have a converter problem.

General Comments:

Great little car. Good gas mileage and standard repairs are within reason.

Faults:

At 95,000 miles the head gasket blew. I replaced the head gasket, water pump, timing belt, a few oil seals, and the alternator belt at this time.

Also at 95,000 miles I realized that rust was appearing on the pinch welds on my hood, they later began wearing a hole through the top (clearcoat) developing a hole that grew and grew. However, the dealer said that he had to be able to see through it in order for it to be covered under warranty.

At 98,000 miles I had to replace the lower torque engine mount bolt (manual tranny) ; because it decided to shear off. I didn't think this would be possible due to the inside of the mount having a urethane insert.

At 99,000 miles I had to replace an outer tie- rod- ends due to play. I decided to replace them with a brand that offered grease fittings. I can't believe the car didn't come with grease fittings!!

At 100,000 miles I decided to not put stock pads/rotors on it anymore due to premature wear.

At 110,000 miles I had to replace the oil pressure switch that was leaking a little oil.

The whole time I've owned the car the rear drums have squeaked (especially when wet outside, or on dusty roads).

General Comments:

Alright bang for the buck, still some quirks to work out.