Unsatisfied Dodge Neon owner

Well, that's it, I can't put any more money into this shitbox. I bought the 1995 Dodge Neon Sport 2.0L SOHC a little over two years ago and have no money left for any more repairs.

Two months after having the O2 sensors replaced for the second time, I sprong a leak in the rad, but that happens to many cars. So I took it into my mechanic to find out that yes, the rad needs to be replaced ($400 Cdn) and "oh by the way" the antifreeze is full of OIL, HEAD GASKET needs replacing (+$1200 Cdn)!

The car only has 148,000km (92,500 miles). The head gasket should last a lot longer then that. Did a few searches on the net to find that I am not alone and that a few people have a problem with the head gaskets on the 1995-2000 Dodge Neons.

The car has until May 2005 until I'm done paying for it, so I can't even sell it or throw it out until then.

I contacted Dodge-Chrysler Canada and was told that it was outside of warrentte and there is nothing they are prepared to do. Well, I don't have the money for the repairs and I can't even sell the thing until May 2005.

So I've decided to put a big sign on it that says "IN MY OPINION, DODGE NEONS ARE CRAP. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND BUY SOMETHING ELSE" and park it at the end of my driveway beside the very busy street I live on. If I can't get satisfaction, then I want to make sure that the 1000's of people a day that will see it will not make the same mistake I made by buying one in the first place. It'll sit there for the next 20 months warning people.

Mike

Reply to
MMMMMike
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AND, call your local news station and/or radio station. If they do a story about you and put it on the news you will reach millions! I have a 97 and 98 neon...both had the head gaskets go at about 3-4 years old out of warranty. Chrysler did extend the warranty for me because it was close and replaced them for $100 each, but that does not change the fact that they went with low mileage so obviously something is wrong. Go get em. I currently own three Chrysler products..my nect car is going to be a Hundai which I am shopping for right now. They may suck...but they will cover me for ten years.

Reply to
jtees4

Oog. First-year Neon. Not a particularly good choice of car. I don't defend the degree to which US automakers tended at the time to release very buggy first-year models and let the first customers be the test engineers. Nevertheless, *you* should've done your homework. Pretty much any source -- auto ratings, public forums, owners of that year and model, the mechanic at the corner service station -- could've told you in advance that the '95 Neons were fairly problematic.

This is not a common problem on the car -- it sounds as if it wasn't done right the first time. It's also fairly uncommon to need both O2 sensors at the same time even once, let alone twice.

The head gasket *is* a known weakness on the early-production Neons.

...so why didn't you do a few searches on the net *before* you bought the car?

Whoah...you bought a six-year-old Neon (2001 - 1995) and you won't be done paying for it for two MORE years, when the car is TEN years old??! How much did you spend for it?!

Sounds like you made a *really* poor choice of used car.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J Stern

Sounds like a troll, actually.

Reply to
Steve

Kia has the same warranty(Hyundai bought them out, IIRC) but IMO, they have nicer features and more powerful engines. The little Rio Cinco is a hard car to beat for basic transportation. It uses the same components as the Aspire and Festiva, but has a whopping 40HP more in the same weight.

Very nice budget cars. Few problems with that 10 year warranty.

Yeah - the Neon was never as good as the Colt(Mitsubishi Mirage) it replaced. Ford's Escort was also not as good as its other models. Unfortunately, this is typical - the bottom line cars are usually substandard no matter which brand you get.

At least with Hyundai and Kia, you get a bulletproof engine for ten years - even if it has to be fixed several times. Warranties are great things :)

All are 2003 models

Kia Rio:

104HP/104 ft-lbs 2403lbs $8995 after rebates for a basic model including delivery. $10495 for the microwagon.

Kia Spectra

124HP/119 ft-lbs 2661lbs $9495 after $2500 rebate(ouch!) - superb deal on basic transportation.

Hyundai Accent. Not as nice interior-wise, and not as good on reviews. $9539 for the base 2-door coupe. Get the Spectra. 4 doors, and better features. More power.

(same for the three above) Basic: 5 yr. / 60,000 mi. Drivetrain: 10 yr. / 100,000 mi. Roadside: 5 yr. / Unlimited mi. Rust: 5 yr. / 100,000 mi. As close to bulletproof 5 year loan as you're likely to find.

Dodge Neon SE

132HP/130ft-lbs 2581lbs $11075 after $2500 rebate for the base model. I'd save $1500 and not sweat the 8hp. Basic: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi. Drivetrain: 7 yr. / 70,000 mi. Roadside: 3 yr. / 36,000 mi. Rust: 5 yr. / 100,000 mi.

The first two kind of suck. The two extra years are vital - you should be covered completely during your loan period, IMO. Makes for a good experience. When the car is paid off, then you can drive it into the ground.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Actually, Kias are very reliable. The little Festiva Ford sold was made by Kia and put the Escort to shame in terms of reliability. So did the Aspire(though it had no power - the Rio fixes that).

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Kind of reminds me of the saying........ "a fool and his money are soon parted"

Reply to
Daniel

Warranties are NOT great things. They are tantamount to over-paying up-front for expensive repairs on poorly-designed equipment. I'd rather have a reliable car WITHOUT any warranty at all than a junker Kia or Hyundai even if it came with a 50-year warranty.

Reply to
Steve

You are thinking of the old Hyundai. Kia makes better cars than Hyundai and is why Hyundai's quality shot up so fast once they bought Kia out. For under $10K out the door, you can get a car that is guaranteed good for 100,000 miles. That's not a bad thing.

They actually don't need repairs on their engines any more often than most other imports. Not Toyota, to be sure, but nowhere near as bad as GM and Ford.

Ford's little Focus is not better built than the KIA, but costs a good 2-3K more for basic transportation. The Neon is also in the same situation - more money for a car that has a worse warranty and no better construction. At $9000 after rebates, that buys a lot of repairs(cept with the 10 year warranty you'll get the dealer to fix anything mechanical).

P.S. you want truly bad warranties? GM. Oh - and you'll need it for as long as it lasts. They are the only car other than Ford that buying an extended warranty is actually a prudent thing to do.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

I sure am glad I read this post. My wife is looking for a new car. She has narrowed it to a dodge nean...toyota corrola...honda civic....no question the neon is out....thanks for the info..by the way consumer reports does not reccomend the neon...used or new...

Reply to
robert

Thats kinda like saying cows make better manure than horses.

Reply to
Steve

I'd have to look at the fine print, to be honest. My guess is that well - if you are stupid enough to neglect the timing belt on any engine, you're SOL. Neon or Mercedes - makes no difference.

It's kind of a moot point - given proper maintainence that you'd do with ANY car, it'll last you 100K or they fix it for you.

OTOH, if it dies at 55K, they owe you a new engine. Dodge would have long gone past the warranty period, btw.

Warranties work and are a consideration, IMO, in a purchase. Really - considering that a Neon or Focus or Rio or Metro are all about the same - crappy little cheap transportation from point A to B - why not get the best warranty you can if every penny counts and all you want is something basic with wheels?

Now, if it was comparing a high-end(?) Kia Optima to a Camry, yes, I'd agree with you about quality, but the little budget boxes are pizza delivery machines and nothing more.

I think all of them do. Perhaps that's why they have timing belts. ;)

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

If someone posts a shitty experience with a civic, will it be out too?

Reply to
Rick Blaine

So the 7 year / 70,000 mile waranty won't cover this ? Why not ?

Reply to
Gdt876

| | So the 7 year / 70,000 mile waranty won't cover this ? Why not ? |

The Chrysler warranty _will_ cover a engine with 55K miles on it, as long as it's within 7 years.

Reply to
James C. Reeves

Only if they post it in a Civic Usenet group. Of course, the guy won't see it because he's looking for Civic info in a Chrysler newsgroup. (He probably is looking for Chrysler info in the Civic newsgroups)

Ted

Reply to
Ted Mittelstaedt

Reply to
mic canic

The car purchase was part of consolidation loan. Although the car portion would be paid for, it's still part of the cosolidation. I guess my point is, I can't sell it until May 2005.

Yes, looks like I made a bad choice. My wife has a 1992 Shadow and it's been a solid car, so we assumed the predicessor would also be a solid choice.

Mike

Reply to
MMMMMike

Glad the post helped.

Mike

Reply to
MMMMMike

For me personally, one post wouldn't stop me from buying a car, but it would start me to dig a little deeper into the problem. If my post stopped one guy from buying an older Neon, then hurrah. Wish I had read a post about it 2.5 years ago.

Mike

Reply to
MMMMMike

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