as I was saying earlier . . .
you bought a car that SHOULD be headed to the scrapper
Seems you would have been better off buying a used Accord or Camry
I bought a 2000 Dodge Neon ES, 5-speed in May 2012. The clutch was slipping, I felt the seller was going to have a hard time selling the car, so I made an offer and he accepted. The car has A/C, aluminum wheels, power windows, remote keyless entry, fog lights, power mirrors and CD changer, seemed like a reasonable car to recondition for a daily driver.
During the first month I removed the seats and carpeting for a thorough cleaning, the car had an awful smell of cologne and sweet. This is one reason people prefer new cars.
I drove the car for 6 months with the weak clutch until the weather cooled to a comfortable temperature. Replaced the clutch March 2013, $160 for a clutch kit.
Also, in March 2013; timing belt, water pump and thermostat.
Torn lower control arm bushings; August 2013 I replaced both lower control arms and front struts. I installed high pressure gas struts; these generally add 1/2" of ride height.
Other small repairs; left front door lock actuator and new door speakers.
Things that failed after purchasing the car: belt tensioner pulley and heater core (2015), front window regulators (2018/2020), thermostat (after 9 years), valve cover gasket (2019), headlight switch (2022).
New tires June 2018, new battery 2021.
Seems like a lot of work however, the sales tax on a new car plus first year registration fee would be more than I paid for the car and the 14-year supply of parts combined. Also, consider the depreciating value for a new car is thousands of dollars each year.
See!
Thereâs something we agree on 
For less than the tax 9n a new one q coworker had his 2006 Mazda3 mechanically refreshed with a low mi used motor, clutch and flywheel and suspension rebuild. Expecting to get another 100k miles on it for a total of 340,000. As Long as this neon goes stops wnd turns it should be reliable enough with routine repairs. But a thorough inspection would be a good idea idea.
Our 88 grand voyager worked well enough for h9me depot runs in its later years. But weâd replaced all the electronics and rebuilt the transmission at that point. Window regulatory repair kits and the headliner sag were minor worries. Apparently the holy water in the radiator did the trick. Our mechanics despised that van and probably had a party when we sold it. Worked fine for going around town but weâd used our tow coverage too many times in the past to go our of town.
Neighbor has 2002 v6 Camry for sale. Leather. Sunroof. Itâs a Toyota. Iâd take a Camry over a neon. Ac works. Good tires.
Iâm sold!!
(If I could still find work in America!)
That picture and description of your Neon brings back a lot of memoryâs, if that was 1st bought from a Regent Dodge Inc dealership in Madison TN (now out of business now) originally then it could very well be the one I bought my wife new, it was the only brand new vehicle I have ever bought brand new⊠Loved the wheels on that carâŠ
Am I remembering it wrong or does it have front power and rear manual windows??? But yes ours was loaded for a Neon also, leather wrapped steering wheel and shifter knob⊠If we had been able to of kept it (life happened) one of the kids might have ended up with itâŠ
Neon HD power front windows only from factory, believed to be a cost saving choice.
2013 in uk and Ireland for 1wk ea our Toyota. and Nissan rentals were power front windows manual rear. The Ford Mondeo budget initially gave us on Dublin was the same. We needed something smaller on those roads. Bicycle paths with 2 way car traffic as dad called those roads.
@bcohen2010 Sounds like bypassing the trans cooler in the radiator and replacing it with a stand alone cooler would be a good bit of failure proofing.
I was going to replace the radiator anyways, due to age and mileage. I assume a reputable brand such as Denso First Time Fit wonât have this problem. I recently replaced the radiator in my 2004 Corolla, which was original, due to age.
The selling dealer listed in the Chrysler summary report was in Fribourg Switzerland.
This car has always been in the United States, military sales are recorded through a Switzerland office, perhaps to exclude state sales tax. The original owner is listed as Mr. _ _ Brown.
I had a 1st generation Neon, 5 speed stick, (possibly the Rr/T version, donât remember) for well over 10 years and found it to be reliable, sporty and fun to drive only disposing of it after wife totaled it in a low speed parking lot accident. For potential modifications/upgrades, check the Neon Wiki.
The 2nd generation seemed to have problems with real tail light water leaks and rust so take a look.
Yeah, it was (partly at least) because the adults rode up front and the kids rode in the back, kids didnât need power windows to be playing with all the time, yes you can lock out the other windows but that typically also locks out the passenger window for the other adult in the front⊠Or the kids spilling sticky drinks etc on the switchâs, the back was just more kid friendly using manual rear windows while mom and dad still had power up frontâŠ
I have these in the back of my truck to keep the dogs off my door panels and switchâs, works great when the grand kids are back there too⊠
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PV09VZ4?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title
Hey those little SRT-4âs were fun little cars in there day⊠2.4Lâs of turbo power⊠lol
@bcohen2010 - keep us updated on your experiences with the Neon. I hope you prove us naysayers wrong!
+1
Yes, keep us in the loop on your experience with the Neon. The father of one of my daughterâs friends rebuilt cars in his garage. He showed me one when we picked our daughter up one time. It was terrific, and for sale. He never kept those cars. His daily driver was a salvage title Cavalier that crab walked down the road. He used the good cars as income enhancement.
I would think that just getting the right key made would be more cost effective but I guess it depends on how often you lose your keys.
I might point out some of you guys are bringing up fond memories of Dodge Neons when the cars were new(er)
Cars age and wear out and itâs often been the case that some of the cars I fondly remember from the past turn out to be used-up and junky heaps when I encounter them later on. I donât mean the exact cars from my younger days, but other examples
One of those cars just came up for sale near me, $85,000. Looking at the pictures I think needs $30,000 to get it to the level want. Now, if âtheyâ would just draw the correct powerball numbersâ