after test driving a 2003 neon, I was wondering before buying - how many miles do these things go normally before having problems? It currently has 75k miles and I would like it to last.

 

wow....um....really depends on the mainainence of the car and how good its condition is kept......75K...youdont know if its been maintained up until that point properly......but if you get it and do the routine maintainence on the car it can last a long time....i know alot of neons up in the 160k+ range....older ones anyway...and the newer neons should be just as reliable if not more so...pretty cheap to work on too.

 

i have a 03 neon 5 speed that just rolled over 200k original motor and tranny and still going strong just keep up on it and your car will last

 

I have a 2000 with a little over 160k on it with an auto trans and I beat the hell out of it and haven't had any issues with it in the almost 30k miles I've had it. It gets an oil change every 3k-5k and new spark plugs every 6 months or so. Make sure to change the timing belt and water pump at 100k if you do get it.

 

My '01 hit 155K before the head gasket gave up the ghost. It was immediately (1 day later) followed by a failed transmission cooling coil in the radiator.

There is a decent list of things to look for at the top of the 2gen page.

I will say that mine has impressed me until this round of repairs. I have had no major repairs until these.

Joe

 

I have 235k on my 2000 neon and still rides great. Just like everyone else said if you keep on the maintenance it will last. These 2.0 litres are tough cars when treated right. The problem is most people just look at these cars as cheap econo boxes and dont give em the TLC. I personally like the neons and understand it needs maintenance. Change that oil and filter, timing belts, tune ups, etc. I am hoping to keep driving my car over 300k and beyond. At this point I would never sell it, and it will be fun to see how many miles it will go. I know somewhere on the net there is a 97-98 neon RT that has 486k on it and still drives decent. There was an article about it.

 

Lol my friends first gen has over 500k and that's no joke.

My 03 just hit 150k today on the original drivetrain.