Okay, I have a bit of a conundrum here. I'm looking to buy a used car, and I've settled on a Neon. I've found two that are at a decent price, have decent miles, and look to be in good shape. One is a 2002 SE, w/ a 5 spd and 36k miles. The next is a 2003 SE w/ an automatic and 32k miles. They are priced about the same and have power windows, locks and cruise. The '03 has the remainder of its drivetrain warranty, while the '02 has no warranty left. Seems like a no brainer. I should go with the '03 and call it a day. I just can't get over the manual transmission though. I mean, I've always had a car with a 5 speed and the Neons with the 5 speeds get much better gas mileage. Also, I wouldn't really want to modify a car with an automatic.

So, to all you Neon pros out there, what are the problems with the automatics? Do the manual trannys perform better and do they really get a lot better mileage? Also, I know there are some differences between the 2002 and 2003 Neons, what are they?

Thanks ahead of time!

 

From what I know the only difference from the 02' and the 03' are the body styles. With the 03' u have a better choice of tail lights. U can't upgrade your pcm/computer on the 03'-up yet. 02' and older u have reprogrammed / performance pcms.
The 03' you're talking about only has a few thousand miles left on its original warranty from what I can remember. That will be gone in like a few months. Of course it's up to u. Test drive them to test the cars conditions if u haven't.

If u want to hook your car up I would recommend the manual. They are way quicker and in my opinion more fun to drive. If u want the 03' (with a manual) I say just keep looking. Those aren't the only 2 Neons around. U have to spend more money to get an autos performance up more than a manual.
They do have performance stuff to upgrade the autos. Example: they have High Performance Automatic Valve bodies to make the auto trans shift quicker. You know everything is your preference.

 

Hey lblackneon, do you where I can get a High Performance Automatic Valve body that would fit my '05 neon sxt?
That sounds like something I could really use!
Thanks.

 

The 2003 Neon has a 7 year 70,000 mile drivetrain warranty. The 2002 Neons have a 3 year basic and drive train warranty. The drivetrain warranty is a big deal, don't you think.

When I looked up the 2003 and 2002 Neons on MSN autos they said that they 2003 Neons had "Mechanical" improvements. The 2003 Neons also have better gas mileage on both the auto and manual trannys (it's only 1 mpg better but still).

So there had to be some changes.

I would wait for a 2003 manual, but these two Neons are both really good deals (especially the 2003). Also, this Saturday my car is being picked up by the person who bought it. I can borrow my girlfriend's car for a while, but I can't wait forever to get a car.

 

For the 05'? I don't know. Modern Performance has them for 95-2001 Neons. U could call them and ask about it.

alreadyblue: The remainder of that warranty does sound good. U already know if they are the same price the 03' has the better deal. Did u drive both of them?

 

Autos are alot of fun and cool to mod out my 04 sxt I just put a srt exhaust on and wow very cool and mean soundin. I also have a K&N typhoon intake now and soon maybe turbo I also have a 05 acr srt4 5 speed is fun also. So both a auto and 5 speed are cool and fun to drive and mod.I owuld say get the 03 neon better overall.

 

About the gas mileage mine now since i have a intake and srt exhaust gets like 28 in city and 30 or so on highway. So auto is nice when modded out for gas mileage.

 

Airwolf, what kind of turbo are you looking at for your auto?

 

some kind of hahn racecraft sponsored fully I hope. I just got sponsored for alot for my 04 sxt so hopefully turbos in the works with them.

 

If you are planning on turbo get the ATX, if you are not gonna turbo get the MTX. Thats about it, the mtx is much better to mod, except for a turbo, where a built ATX is much better for turbo lag. It just comes down to what you prefer.