Looking for tips on buying -- 1995 Neon.

I am looking at a Neon for my daughter, 1995 automatic. 145000Km.

Looks and sounds ok. Drove well, there's what feels like a slight 'wobble' in the brake rotors (felt the pulse on my foot when braking.)

Transmission was not quite the smoothest I have driven, but I don't know whether that is a problem or if I should be worried. 1st to 2nd seemed to hesitate slightly.

is the kilometer figure reasonable? I was thinking that 20k km is about the max for a normal user.

Asking price is $2500CDN -- is that a reasonable figure? Are there any gotchas that you might know that I should look further for?

Thanks in advance PDC

Reply to
PDC
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I paid $650 USD for a simmilar condition one last year. Drove it for two months and sold it for about the same price. I'd say it's worth maybe $1500CDN with the minor problems.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Thanks for the swift reply Joseph I will see if the seller willl drop his price. What's the usual book time for a tranny replacement/repair for one of these? I guess (looking at the tightness of the design) that it's going to be a fairly large number of hours just to get the thing dropped.

Is 90000miles a long life for a Neon engine? I am getting the impression that the powertrain is considered to be geriatric around that figure...

Cheers -- Phil

Reply to
PDC

Inquire as to whether or not the Head Gasket has been replaced along with the Cam sensor seal. There were so many problems with the 95, 96 and maybe

97 year Neons that DC has/had a "courtesy warranty" with these items. DC most likely wouldn't honor any sort of "warranty" with this car due to high mileage and age. At any rate, I don't know if you are past the point of return that if it hasn't failed by now, it won't. Bottom line...find out one way or another before you buy. My 96 Neon has been good and am very happy with it... HTH Rich Arnold
Reply to
Rich Arnold

If the transmission is automatic, the car's worth $1200 USD less. (basically a brick maybe worth crushing). If it's manual, a clutch job might run you $450-$600USD, hence the deduction I noted.

I'd definately not pay more than $1500CDN for it.

They have known head gasket problems as well, plus several other defects. Personally, I think that that era Neon is close to being one of the worst used cars. Look at a simmilar era Stratus with the V6 in it. That engine's pretty reliable (or at least one of the two v6s is - I forget which).

Another option would be a 1993 Volvo 240. Very good and reliable transportation.

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

Great advice Thanks guys!

Reply to
PDC

The first-generation Neons are shitboxes by just about any measure.

Find a low-KMs Spirit or Acclaim that belonged to grandma and grandpa -- much better, more durable, safer car for the money.

DS

Reply to
Daniel J. Stern

First generation Neons use the venerable old 3-speed automatic. It will out-live the rest of the car. The engine will also last forever IF its had the replacement head gasket installed. If the owner can't produce documentation that the head gasket has been replaced, use that as a negotiating tool and plan to have it done immediately after you buy it. The weak points of the first-gen Neons are body fit/finish, plastic bits (headlamp lenses) etc., not the drivetrain (except for the head gasket).

Reply to
Steve

OTOH, if the transmission is hesitating or slipping between gears, it's likely close to wearing out.

These things are like old VW Bugs - nobody really gets rid of it unless it's suffering form something they don't want to deal with. (about as reliable as well, too - lol)

Reply to
Joseph Oberlander

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