18th Aug 2004, 23:12

I purchased a new 2002 Neon with automatic transmission. It seems to be good, but it has problem with running the AC at stop lights. The car starts to run rough at low speeds when the AC is on. The dealer checkout the car and swears that everything has checked out OK.

22nd Apr 2005, 20:22

The first reviewer said, "As you see from most other Neon reviews, Neon's from 2001 and newer are excellent buys."

Nearly half of the consumer reviews (15 to 19) on this site are very negative. I would recommend being more specific on the types of reviews to which you're referring -- I suspect it's the reviews from magazines and consumer groups that drive the car new for a few thousand miles and no more.

If a radiator fails at 30,000 miles, there's something wrong with the manufacture of the radiator. What abuse are thinking would cause a radiator to fail at 30k?

All comments considered, it sounds like you have about a fifty-fifty chance of getting a semi-reliable 2001 Neon.

13th May 2006, 05:15

I think it's a better idea to spend a little extra money, and get a more reliable car. We bought our 2001 neon for about 6K and it seems like we have spent just as much or maybe more on repairs. And whenever we take it to the dealership, they come up with a new solution for the same problem. A lot of the problems had to do with jerking on acceleration, shaking like crazy when it was in idle (such as when we were at stoplights it always seemed as if the car could die any second), it jerks when you put it into reverse, and it doesn't drive very well when you have the AC on, somehow the transmission fluid was burnt on a couple different occasions (we had the transmission fluid flushed between these occasions). And these problems have occurred despite us being very meticulous when it comes to taking care of the car.