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that many of the problems Neon owners are facing are caused by incompetent mechanics. dtownfb has a valid point too. His point is also valid for Honda too. I was a loyal Honda customer for long time. new generation Hondas have lower quality than older generations. I know many people that have new Civics and have many problems with their cars. I can't comment on previous generation Neons, I never owned one. But the one we have is running pretty well. Good luck with your next purchase.
Someone actually vandalized the car last weekend by partially ripping off the left windshield wiper. The dealership replaced it for nothing too, but they would not provide a rental car while the car was in service. Oh well, guess you cannot have enerything.
You should probably try a Chrysler dealer first, since it's a known defect and they will in some cases pick up most of the cost of the repair.
I've decided that I want one for my first car. Specifically, a preferably somewhat base model, 5-speed stick and 4 doors. Any color works, particularly blue or red.
Is there anything I should know about these things? Any special major defects? I dont care about lousy fit and finish, only a comfortable ride, a smooth stick and plenty of power. The A/C on the courtesy car was crap, all it did was surge the engine and didnt cool the air in the least.
Erin talks at great length with a very helpful Town Hall member, Tony Murray, who uses the Town Hall ID of 0patience. Tony founded a site Bat Auto Technical for the purpose of making otherwise unobtainable information available to the consumer at no charge.
You can request the full text of any TSB and the site will provide it free of charge.
Check out the article. And say "hi" to 0patience if you see him around - he really is a very valuable Town Hall community member.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Board.
I thought that the best people to ask about this would be previous owners. Would you recommend this car and what should I watch out for?? I would love to hear from everyone.
You have been repeating yourself like broken LP. I recommend you to stay in Mazda Protege Problems topic to read what type of junk Ford manufactures.
I am a former Mazda owner (87-323, 97-626) and Chrysler owner (91 Plym. Sundance- bought it 94K crashed it at 128K). Both Mazdas had many problems. 323 was visiting the shop every month like I was making car payment. 97 was in the warranty, tranny, valve cover, AT locks are changed along with many small parts and car never run properly (you can read the detailes in 626 problems topic). But my sundance was never in the shop except oil changes.
These are real owner experiences unlike what you post.You are reflecting someone else's problems here.
At 15,000 miles and the car has only had oil changes and a tire rotation. Everything works as it should, zero defects. What a difference from my 82 Camaro and 83 Charger.
My question is how much longer will it last, and could there be any more possible problems i may have to worry about?
-Protegextwo
Thats it. I can say I will never buy another Neon again.
I have 29,000 miles so far and am in need of 2 new tires. Im looking to upgrade now so Im in the car market again.
One thing I was wondering is if I am going to get penalized if I try to trade in my car a little over 2 years before my lease ends, and if so how much?
I've been looking to get a 2001 Mercury Cougar with a v-6 for the longest time, but now I am going to go for a 2001 Neon R/T. After looking at it on the Dodge website, I am all giddy I figure I can get a fully loaded Neon for the price of a partially equipped Cougar. Im quite fond of the R/T design and really liked the new interior of the neons with the leather seats.
Any comments would be appreciated!
So if I try to end this lease early and start a new lease would anyone be able to give me an approximate amount of penalty I'd be facing, and how much in the hole I would be. I still owe roughly $6,700 in lease payments, and my research on my trade in value came to $5,700. If that puts me $1,000 in the hole I can live with it, but just curious if anyone can help before I start going to dealers and get caught off guard.
Thanks!
hersbird is correct, there has been some leasing conversation in SS, but FWI is a better source for you I think.
Good luck.
Pat
Host
Sedans and Women's Auto Center Message Boards
Computer was reprogrammed a few times in first 9 months. Last reprogram was during tuneup 1998. Blew the head gaskets twice during the 75,000 mile extended warranty!!! Finally there is someone who hosed Chrysler with warranty claims.
Got all the recall stuff done- gas lines, steering/torque absorber, etc.
Timing belt, waterpump, and head gasket done at 106,000 for around $800 with coolant r&r and belts. Struts and alignment just done at 125,000 when 3rd set of tires purchased (Bought 2nd set premounted so I have 8 rims total). Radio/cassette died at 82,000 but was swapped with same one from my Dodge pickup which was still under warranty, Orginal exhaust was $25 patched July 2000 though it has now rotted at a different spot and will require complete replacement.
Accidents: dealer dropped garage door on geometric center of roof January 1995, right rear $3200 collision (and subsequent waterleak chase over the next 9-12 months;1 1/2 full size tubes of silicon caulk fixed that [non-permissible content removed]) March 1995, light left fender front end damage April 1996, right front fender and light underbody (blown tires bent rims, oil pan)damage June 1998 when wife was run off road by drunk driver.
I probably have much more but I must get to bed. I may try to comment more in the pm of 3/30/01.
econobiker
Thanks,
L8_Apex
Host
Sedans Message Board
is so poorly designed as the 95 neon. You really need a Neon account at the bank to keep up with its ailments. In small towns that reputation has gotten around. No wonder they quit making them.
I'm also taking this opportunity to "more generalize" some topic titles to broaden their scope. For example, when the trim level, powerplant or transmission/transaxle option isn't pertinent to the comparison, I'm removing it for the purposes of making the topic applicable to the situations in which more buyers find themselves.
Thanks,
L8_Apex
Host
Sedans Message Board
-B
Head gasket is gone and it looks like I'm looking at a new head as well. My warranty covers the gasket but not the head, so despite getting the best warranty the dealer had on offer, I'm still out over $1300 when you factor in the rental car.
At first I wondered why no recall was ever issued, but it's an expensive fix, so I understand only people that get in their faces get some of the job paid for.
Tommy: "But don't they care?"
No, Tommy. No they don't.
Anyone who's sat in a marketing class for more than five minutes knows that on average, when a customer has a good experience they will tell one or two people about that experience. But when they have a bad experience they will tell eight. This is why intel decided that even though the pentium flaw would affect practically none of its customers that it would swap customers chips at no charge. "Sure, we'll swap it if you want us to, because if we don't we look bad whether there's a problem or not."
Let's think about this: Intel swaps a chip that will likely not affect a particular customer. Chrysler allows the neon to be sold with a head gasket that they know will fail and then they have the audacity to pretend the problem doesn't exist.
Try this: Call their customer service line and describe the symptoms. Tell them your mechanic can't figure it out and ask them if they've heard of anything similar before or have any ideas. See what they say.
Call them back again and say "I've got the headgasket problem."
Note the very different responses you get.
Tommy: "Is it different? I'll bet it's different!"
You're right, Tommy. It *is* different.
And to me that really bites. In addition to the head gasket I've got numerous electrical problems. Are these common as well? I've given up on ever listening to the radio again in my car. I took it in, broke in a month, took it in, broke in month, and on and on. One day I finally called up the dealer and cancelled yet another appointment: "Sorry, I can't miss another day of work because of a car stereo. Maybe in Dodgeland that's like a sick day or a floating holidy, but not here on planet earth."
Tommy: "Is zat why you always sing to yourself in the car?"
Yes Tommy, it is.
My spedometer looks more like a tachometer. One minute I'm going 112mph and next I'm going -6. When the gas gauge goes I have to rely on the trip odometer and dumb luck. One time I went in for a fillup and it only took two gallons.
It's like Grady Seasons said in "Color of Money":
"It's like a nitemare, isn't it?"
Yes, yes it is.
Well, despite the best efforts of my parents and Jesus Christ himself, I'm big on payback. Screw me over and then walk away? Better think again.
So in addition to covering practically every writable surface on the net with my tale of woe, I've decided to form the Neon Sucker's Club (NSC), an exclusive club of neon owners who have been sold the nouveau lemon, a car designed to explode right outside of its warranty period: the neon.
Current membership benefits are few, unfortunately. But as this thing grows I'll put up a website and make t-shirts. Email me now at jcasetnl@my-deja.com and tell me your tale. Tell me how much time from work it took from you. Tell me how much it cost you. Tell me about that cancelled trip to Disneyland.
Tommy: "To Disneyland? Are we gonna go there?"
Sorry Tommy, busted head gasket.
All stories will be told on the site, and in return for your story you will get your official NSC number. In a year the new NSC members will see your low number and know that you are one of the ancient and wise, one of the first to be suckered! They will look to you for guidance and ask you thinks like, "What is the sound one man being suckered?"
More than anything else, you will know that you are not alone and you will have the satisfaction of warning potential Chysler customers of the kind of company they are about to invest many thousands of dollars in.
Tommy: "Yeah cause tha-"
Shut up, Tommy.
So email me at the above and let's do our little part to stick it to the crooks at Chrysler who built a shoddy product and then left us with the bill.
- jon