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by the way, i see great conservativism in dodges claim of the razor doing sixty in 6 flat. it weighs 400lbs less than the neon srt and has 45 more hp. just some food for thought.
Then, last night, the damn thing wouldn't start, so I had it towed (thank goodness for my motor-club membership). The shop told me the starter AND solenoid were bad and, oh by the way, there's an oil leak on the bottom end of the engine. It's not the typical dreaded head gasket failure, and the leak isn't affecting oil pressure (unless I let it ALL leak out!) but even so making a real repair would involve taking the engine apart down to the block level, and then replacing all those non-reusable parts.
I've been wanting a new car (Impreza WRX) for over a year now, but fears of my company's stability warrant against saddling myself with a new car payment.
DjB
In 1995, my future wife bought a brand new Neon.
We met in 1996.
In 1997, I bought a 1995 Nissan 200SX SE-R.
The SE-R is still running great at just under 100k miles. The Neon was traded in for $3k to a VW dealer. I still think he was a sucker for paying that much.
Sitting in the two cars was like night and day. One was a cheap but well-built car... and the other was like sitting in a plastic bucket.
The Neon was slower.
The Neon held the road a little better... but felt like it might fall apart when you were driving it that way.
The Nissan is quieter, more refined and more fun to drive at 99.6k miles than the Neon at half that much.
If all you want is low 0-60 times... then buy a motorcycle or look for a late '60s Chevy Nova w/ the v8. If you want a car that is going somewhere besides the track (and the shop) I would look at cars other than the Neon.
But - It's a Neon...
And this LAST Neon seems bent on beating any Nissan Sentra 0-60 by a full second and a half!
One day we went to pick up someone to the airport DFW so after picking up this very important people the DAMN car wouldn’t start. I had to rent a car immediately (a Toyota) just to get of the problem and called my motorist club to take care of the problem.
The battery has been replaced two times and the alternator one. And they actually tried to charge me 115us for the second which I didn’t paid, so then they tried to charge me 45us for the “service” of telling me my battery was dead DUH! Witch also of course didn’t paid. Went to the closest Autozone got the best battery they carry for 35 bucks.
My wife bended a wheel on a small highway accident, the original Steel well without hubcap is MORE THAN 120 bucks! So I got 4 alloy Montegui Sport 16” for $400 on NTB.
Please people do whatever you want even getting a FORD but please don’t get a Dodge specially a Neon.
I have the Neon now as a backup car and drive every day 20 miles on a 150k miles Audi 90 Quattro and I love it.
PS. The Audi S4 is Bi Turbo V6 with 240 horses and 260 lbs.ft torque AWD there is just no way in hell the Neon could beat it. AWD put a lot more power to the road than FWD or RWD, a good driver can control the overspining anytime but he/she would sacrifice torque to accomplish that. In an AWD you just need to floor the gas and take off on any surface EVEN snow. It is almost impossible to overseer or loose control. If you want to spend less than 20K for power, control, comfort and sophistication go to ebay and get any A4 triptronic Quattro, you’ll never go back to the dark side of American cars.
Hardly...w/the torque-steer of the FWD SRT at full-power and/or wet roads the WRX will handily put it in its place. It's good to dream though. :-)
Stephen
I don't remember an AWD mention anywhere. The equal-length halfshafts are for real though.
This thing sounds hot. Considering the number of Neon enthusiasts out there racing and autoXing lesser models already, well, it'll probably be in pretty high demand...
I just wish the SRT-4 would have come out sooner, then I would have bought it and the only thing you would see is my bumper,...See Ya....
I couldn't believe how bloody fast the thing was, until it pulled up alongside me at a red light. Then I saw the hump on the hood and figured it out- Turbo.
Yesterday I was chased all over by a Mini Cooper "S"!
How long have these things been on the road?
Boosted engines all over the place. I'm getting a supercharger myself in the spring (planned on it for a long time!).
Is it some kind of HP race like the arms race 20 years ago??
How long are all these tiny boosted engines going to last?
He's a fresh neon race story...
Last night I was riding around in my friends 94 GT convertible. He only has a catback and 3:55 gears, and 125K miles. This pos neon come zipping up and all we could hear/see was this big fart can. Anyway, he cruises next to us, gives us 3 honks of the horn and they both take off. I'm sitting in the passenger seat in surprise that this neon isn't really getting destroyed by the Mustang. It was actually keeping up for the most part. In the end though, it'll still be a neon hehe.
I too like the idea of having a 215HP car for less than $20,000 but reading owner experiences on here remind me why I would never consider one. A RSX-S has 200HP normally aspirated and is probably worlds ahead of the Neon in quality and refinement.
Well, according to the Dec. issue of SCC, it's going to be very interesting:
14.2 @ 99.6 mph
0-60 in 5.8 sec
braking 60-0 119 ft
skidpad .85g
slalom speed 69.0 mph
yea the srt-4 is a fast car.. i'll give it props. But dont forget its still a dodge neon, A car that has awful reliability when its naturally aspirated. A turbo model? forget about it.. these little crap engines are going to be exploding left and right.
Personally, I have gone 51K miles w/o one single warranty issue except the HG at 40K (build date of 9/98). Except for a few squeaks and rattles, it is in perfect running order. But I expect a little noise in an $11,000 car (what I paid for new).
With any car model, you will have your share of lemons, but the neon seems to be picked on rather harshly. Compare it to it's competition (Focus, Hyundai, Kia, etc.) and I think you will find the newer neons to have higher reliability rates.
I expect the SRT-4 to be just fine.
Early Neon reliability issues had little to do with the plant.
I'd take a shot on this one, if I were shopping the category. Sounds like there will be impressive performance for little cost, comfy equipment included and the styling is still a Chrysler strong suit, IMO, aside from the ridiculous butt-handle and scoop.
These guys are starting (once again) to head in the right direction. QC has improved steadily since '98, though, obviously, like a number of other mfrs domestic and foreign, they have a way to go still.
The 2.4 isn't new, BTW.
Glad we agreed!
~10000mi battery went dead, fixed under warranty.
~20000mi the infamous headgasket, fixed under warranty with the new MLS design, which is much better.
~80000mi thermostat went, total cost to repair - $6
~90000mi starter went, total cost to repair $220
So total unexpected repair cost - $226
Other than the headgasket issue, I think my neon is very reliable. In fact, more reliable than my dad's corolla bought new in 90. My car still runs great and it is faster than it was new, thanks to a few mods. I think a lot of people dismiss Chrysler without ever driving one, then they just repeat other people's opinion like it is their own.
Magazines (Edmunds especially!)always complain about the "cheap" interior of the neon. Well, what do you expect??!You know, if your honda/toyota/nissan costs literally 1000s (like >$4000) more than the neon, it better has nice interior. Hell, I can make the carpet made out of leather with that much money. Yes, a lot of the stuff on the neon is cheap, but they are functional. Everything on my car still works, nothing has fallen off yet. Compare that to my dad's corolla, which had all the door handles fallen off and the radio broken before turning 100,000mi
As for the SRT-4, did you know Chrysler made more turbocharged engines than other manufactures? SCC tested it with 223hp and 250ft/lbs, that's at the wheels, not crank. Did Dodge sent a tuned model? May be, may be not - go test drive one before you judge it.
Not all neons are lemons, just like not all VW/Audi or BMW are great. Here are some suggested readings
www.bmwlemon.com
www.myvwlemon.com
www.lemonaidcars.com/secret_warranties.htm
Peace out
Hey Chrysler I challenge you to stick to your promise of fastest car for under $20,000. Make your dealers sell them for that and I may just get one.
If you call that lying, then Suburu was lying about that "faster and better handling WRX" too. I remember price gouging when that came out, same thing to the 350Z, beetle, miata, S2000,......
See also "Roadsters; Mazda Miata".
See also "Roadsters; BMW Z3.
See also "Minivans; Honda Odyssey".
A MINIVAN! OY!
Chrysler's telling it like it is. Dealerships are independently owned and operated; Chrysler can only charge the specified factory price for the vehicles, they have no say in at what price the dealers turn them around. None.
You want to get mad at someone? Get peeved at the pinheads willing to spend over sticker just to be the first one on the block. Or, like me, relax and let everybody get over it all and THEN make your move. But don't get down on a mfr because they got it right!
It doesn't give specs, only the author's general opinion after test driving. It basically said the SRT-4 should be the definitive cheap pocket-rocket.
As far as matching the published acceleration numbers - that should be pretty easy for the average Joe to do in this car, relatively speaking (compared to the many more peaky engines in the class), given that peak torque comes on low.
This car has me contemplating setting foot on a Dodge dealer's lot. I just wish they had a better handle on quality issues for this car. OTOH, msn carpoint rates its reliability highly, FWIW.
Can't have it all, but for under $20,000, it raises the bar in the class. I'm looking forward to the response from Honda, Ford, Mazda, etc.
Go down a few messages and you will find the factory stage I, II, III upgrades.
http://66.51.98.8/php/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=8307
There is a new review too if your interested.
I can hear the competition already - Yeah, its really fast, but its only a Neon.
and I can hear the SRT4 owners too - Yeah, its only a Neon, but its really fast. Dodge name-plate or not, that would put plenty of smile on my face - and the thing can handle too.
I'm with the later. Folks reciting the former are suffering from a case of sour grapes.
If a scoop can be made easily functional by an enthusiast owner, with little possibility of cosmetic damage in the process, then I'm OK with that. Could potentially (unlikely though) become a resale enhancement, if done by a Mopar shop (no way I'd buy an owner-installed one).
That butt wing is another story completely. Consider that "at speed" is somewhere around or over 100mph, and that it's not going to hit that speed until the end of a 1/4-mile, and rarely in cornering, I think it's nothing more than a cosmetic faux pas. I'd put it right up there with aluminum double Ninja wings for silly styling statements. Especially on a FWD pocket-rocket.
Can't wait to see one in person.