How reliable are Neon's ?

[b5blue]

I'm looking at (well) used cars that would end up going to my son. I found a clean 98 Neon R/T for under 2K, it has 133K miles on it. Are Neon's any good? Reliable transportation is a problem for me as I'm so far out of market I don't know was is good or bad for the last 15 years. 

[ITSA426]

My nephew would say not very since his is forever broken, but most people I know don't have any serious problems with them.  I'd like to find a stick shift R/T to play with.  I think the older ones had problems with the heads cracking. 

[b5blue]

Thanks! This is a stick, blue with white stripes and gray guts. Looks nice in the photos. Bad heads huh.....you think nephew is beating on it too much and that's why it's breaking? I use to beat the crap out of all my cars when young. 

[Aero426]

I have two of them, a 96 2 dr and a 99 4dr.    Both are SOHC and owe me nothing.   The 96 has a ton of miles on it.   Neons can be a little noisy on initial startup, like piston slap.  But as long as it goes away after a minute of warming, that's pretty normal.   Most of them that have had head gasket problems are now old enough now to be through that.  

Go look at it like any ten year old used car.  If it starts up, runs and drives OK and isn't rusty underneath, I would say go for it.   If I could find another cheap clean stick car, I'd be all over it.

[RD]

i have a 98 with SOHC motor.  215,000 miles without any major issues.  the only thing i have had to replace is/was:

fuel pump assembly
oil pan gasket
cam seal
timing belt
egr valve

all of which have spanned across the miles since i bought the car in 2002 with 62,000 miles on the clock.

i have a 5 spd which helps out alot.

[b5blue]

Thanks guys  I want to get something to replace the 200K+ mile 90 New Yorker that's slowly kicking the bucket. (very worn out but still going) I need something to use while I start getting the 70 ready for paint. What ever is left of what I buy will go to one of my sons.

[chargerboy69]

My wife had a 99 Neon when we met.  Head gaskets are the main issue with Neons and she had to have hers replaced.  Watch out for transmission issues too.  This is my personal opinion, but I would avoid the Neon.  But, I avoid all Chrysler built stuff (except Jeep) from the mid 70's to present.

[RD]

head gaskets were really only an issue pre-98... they fixed the head gasket after that.  any head gasket that craps out since this is either due to age, natural wear, or owner not maintaining their vehicle properly.  just an fyi.

trans issues are specific to automatics.. manual transmission issues are more concerned with shifter cables.

[b5blue]

Any input is welcome good or bad Thanks! 

[Cooter]

RUN! Fast, get away from a NEON as far as you can!

1. Head gaskets leaking
2. Dash wiring problems
3. Transmissions are junk
4. Head cracks if you look at it wrong


Those cars are Big 'ol POS Same thing with the PT Losers...

[RD]

RUN! Fast, get away from a NEON as far as you can!

1. Head gaskets leaking
2. Dash wiring problems
3. Transmissions are junk
4. Head cracks if you look at it wrong


Those cars are Big 'ol POS Same thing with the PT Losers...

umm.... i guess my neon is crap too huh?  no offense mate, but generalizations without actually providing proof to your claims in regards to the overall effectiveness and ability of a vehicle are about as worthless as tits on a boar IMO.  especially if said opinions are based upon what you read and not what you personally experience.  if you have personal experience, state the year and the issues.  broad generalizations wont help this guy out in regards to purchasing a vehicle.

lastly, what you claim can be said for hundreds of vehicles.

[b5blue]

Thank both of you....Cooter may be in a position where he only sees the bad side as they come to him to be fixed, but the information is all useful as I don't know squat ether way. All I know from real experience is the nut down the road got a fairly nice purple one and it was running great till he beat the crap out of it then tried to soup it up with the standard fart cannon tuner crap and blew it up. No car he's had ever lasted 6 months before or since. What I'm getting here is to be certain not to get one that's been beat on that's for sure. (no ex kid cars)     

[Silver R/T]

first generation had head gasket problems. I can find one with blown headgasket on craiglist any day of the week. Later ones are not so bad, good first car

[miller]

I had a 1998 Neon Highline Sport. It was a very fun little car. The headgasket went at 70,000 miles (I talked with dodge enough to provide the part free of charge), and the Speedometer and Tachometer would sometimes quit working (all it took to fix it was some of that gel sold for electric connections).

Just a little word of advise, the Automatics can not peel out, even with the DOHC motor, so dont try it, you will only hurt it.

I would buy one again in a heart beat, given that the head gasket was already replaced of course.

[skip68]

    I knew a guy that had one and I would say it was reliable.   It drove all the way off a cliff under it's own power.        JK.

I would think it would be a good choice for a first car or even a cheap A to B car for anyone.    

[b5blue]

So pre 98? Odd thing is this one is the cheapest, the only 2 door, stick shift, R/T (what could that be other than stripes and stickers with a little wing on the trunk), and a nice shade of blue (for some reason their mostly red down here) Oh and a sunroof. For me it would only go 4 miles a day round trip to work.

[skip68]

If it runs great, buy it.      One thing to keep in mind with any car like this is that they made millions of them.   So, since there are so many made you can expect to hear more problems about them.   Not that it's a bad car, it's just mass produced and it probably has the same percentage (per 100,000 built) of problems that any car has.

[ITSA426]

Thanks! This is a stick, blue with white stripes and gray guts. Looks nice in the photos. Bad heads huh.....you think nephew is beating on it too much and that's why it's breaking? I use to beat the crap out of all my cars when young. 

He's 16 and it's his first car.  Enough said?

[b5blue]

Been there, seen it......even bought the shirt! 

[71ChallengeHer]

Stay away from 95's and older. Shelby had one. Left her sit 5 times in the 1st 2 months. It was a big headache. The guys in the Neon club told her they would never buy a 95 or older, too many problems. Anything newer your good.

[b5blue]

Thanks! 

[Todd Wilson]

We had a 2000 Neon   new body style and it was a great little car until it got hit by a pick up truck. It did its job in the wreck but was totaled. I really miss that car.
Hated to see Mopar stop making the Neon.


Todd

[Smokey Bear]

umm.... i guess my neon is crap too huh?  no offense mate, but generalizations without actually providing proof to your claims in regards to the overall effectiveness and ability of a vehicle are about as worthless as tits on a boar IMO.  especially if said opinions are based upon what you read and not what you personally experience.  if you have personal experience, state the year and the issues.  broad generalizations wont help this guy out in regards to purchasing a vehicle.

My 95 sucked. In 4 years it spent 4 months total time at the shop for head gasket, head, rear main, throttle body and trans. Head failure was so prevalent that the thing sat in the shop for 2 months waiting for enough to be made to cover the problem. I read an older thread or where someone had nearly the exact same experience.

One bad experience does not make the car. Neither does one good one. However, the consumer reporting on these cars shows that they are statistically abysmal when it comes to reliability and repairs. So perhaps you CAN learn something from reading and not base it just on personal experience? It depends on what you are reading.

Did anyone else notice how many of the 95-98 models were running around one point and then they just sort of dwindled away after 7-8 years?

[RD]

umm.... i guess my neon is crap too huh?  no offense mate, but generalizations without actually providing proof to your claims in regards to the overall effectiveness and ability of a vehicle are about as worthless as tits on a boar IMO.  especially if said opinions are based upon what you read and not what you personally experience.  if you have personal experience, state the year and the issues.  broad generalizations wont help this guy out in regards to purchasing a vehicle.

My 95 sucked. In 4 years it spent 4 months total time at the shop for head gasket, head, rear main, throttle body and trans. Head failure was so prevalent that the thing sat in the shop for 2 months waiting for enough to be made to cover the problem. I read an older thread or where someone had nearly the exact same experience.

One bad experience does not make the car. Neither does one good one. However, the consumer reporting on these cars shows that they are statistically abysmal when it comes to reliability and repairs. So perhaps you CAN learn something from reading and not base it just on personal experience? It depends on what you are reading.

Did anyone else notice how many of the 95-98 models were running around one point and then they just sort of dwindled away after 7-8 years?

w/o dragging this down into a debate of inconsequential proportions... dude (b5blue) go find a neon.. if it runs, drive it.  Homey made is point, his 95 was shit, he had to deal with it.. of course HE BROUGHT IN HIS PERSONAL EXPERIENCE TO BACK IT UP (obviously he didnt read about it).

All cars have their quirks (e.g. QUAD 4 anyone?) but to label an entire line of cars CRAP without distinguishing between the years and consequent upgrades to the vehicle, is just assinine if you ask me.

So.. on that note, I still say and always will say, if you read it somewhere, bring forth a reference or a resource ( i.e. cite your sources; first rule in english when writing research papers).  If you have personal experience, lay it out for all to see.  But do not make generalizations on a topic in the attempt to imbue your opinion on another because it is just baseless and misleading jargon that will not constructively help the discussion.

[66chargerkid]

R/T Neons are pretty cool.
133k isn't too bad. Should be a stick if it is an R/T. I would say go get it!
Q