I was just wondering.... I was driving back from school and i noticed i hit 140k miles on my 2000 neon and i was just thinking what would be the downhill to the neons motor. I know as many people know that honda engines, as well as other japaneese engines last over 200k and eventually somewhere after that its downhill for the motor even if its well taken care of. I was just thinking whats everybody's opinion or what they think could be the "downhill" on the neons motor even if its well taken care of?

 

It all depends on how the car was driven. It could be the downhill but that is impossible to say exactly. I have seen neons that died at 60,000 and then some that lasted well over 200,000 so it just how it is driven and taken care of. My only advice is that you should make sure you are running high mileage oil and that you get a tune up if possible whenever it is sluggish. Just take care of it and it should last a good deal.

 

like he said all depends on how you drive it you could have 140k but they could work as if they were still at 100k
mine is still at 70k so ill tell you what happens when i get to 140.

 

Japanese cars are great but overrated... a former Honda Civic, Nissan Sentra, and Toyota Corolla owner is telling you this. There used to be a sizeable quality difference but no more, but Japanese cars still enjoy their long quality reputation making many think they're still far superior, which they're not. Today there is not a large quality difference between cars of different makes and origins, and the writers all ignore repair costs, of which Japanese and European cars are the most expensive. In fact, European cars as a group are dead last in quality today.

I have a friend whose cousin is still driving an early '90's Neon with 360,000 miles on it, I **** you not. Regular oil and filter changes and DON'T BEAT YOUR CAR is the key to long service life. I know this is an extreme example; few people get that much life out of a car! If you take good care of your car and drive it until the wheels fall off, American cars are the best value because you get less expensive service the whole time and for the past 15 years the quality difference is small or non-exsistent. Car mag writers don't tell you this but I learned it by living it. This is why I've attempted to impart wisdom to the forum to race your race car and baby your daily car, don't do both with the same car. You'll regret it unless you have money to burn and don't care. I will never buy another Japanese make until they cost no more to fix than American cars, and although many Japanese cars are made in the US today the cost of parts is still TWICE on average than American cars... go figure.

I put my money where my mouth is. I bought a new Neon SXT automatic in October and I like it more every time I drive it. My only disappointment is average gas mileage, which has slowly risen from 24 mpg to 25.8 mpg after 5,000 miles. My numbers are dead-***** accurate, as I filled it to the door every time. It's still winter here in Buffalo so my mileage will rise once summer comes, stay tuned...

I've read that Neons were designed to run rich on purpose, sacrificing mileage for good performance over a wide temperature and load range, increasing service life. Lean running engines are great on gas but they hate heavy loads and high temperatures, wearing valves and burning spark plugs.

114,000 miles ain't a lot if your car isn't rusty and you know it's had regular oil and filter changes and hasn't been driven by someone who routinely puts his foot to the floor. This doesn't mean it's a good idea to hotrod an engine with that many miles, it isn't! I will maintain my car until it needs a repair that costs half or more than what it's worth. That's when it's time to replace it from an economic standpoint.

Arrive alive,

Bill

 

Moobit, one more thing... If you live in the rust belt like I do I can't recommend Rustop strongly enough. It arrests rust! It's only $120 with free annual re-applications. The Rustop treatment has a thin consistency so it seeps into the seams of your unibody, keeping it rust-free. It does run off so it does appear on your rocker panels and such, but it washes off easily with detergent and water. It's a small inconvenience for a treatment that works so well. It's the only effective and the cheapest rust prevention treatment on the market. Other treatments coat the metal. After several years water gets trapped under it and from that point on it ENCOURAGES rust! My father has a 1995 Toyota pickup that's still in showroom condition (and I DO mean showroom!) because he got Rustop when it was new, like I did.

Arrive alive,

Bill

 

Moobit, still one more thing! (I know I'm getting long but this is good info) Your car is still new enough to benefit greatly from Rustop but if the car is treated when new they will stand behind the car for as long as the wheels turn as long as the annual re-applications are made. If a body panel, hood, door, trunk lid, roof, or section of the unibody EVER rusts from the inside, they will pay to have it replaced and painted to match my car. THAT'S CONFIDENCE! Since your car is 5 years old you wouldn't get that warranty, but the benefits are otherwise the same. Rustop has been around at least since I was a teenager (before you were born) so they're not going anywhere because their treatment WORKS! Listen to the old guy... he knows!!!

Arrive alive,

Bill

 

well thanks bill14224 for the long, yet helpfull info. Well as the body of my car goes, its already crap, i think. It had a crappy pain job done to it even though it does look kinda nice from far away, but once you get close enough, it looks disgusting. I personally didnt send it to get the paint job, im not the original owner of this car, i bought this car a few months ago from this guy that i would say was reaching his late thirty's, though it had rims on it already and supposidely proffesionally dropped, it still felt kinda weird. I have done routine tune ups since i do travel a lot and it does run like a charm. As far as having two different cars, one to race and one for a daily drive, im not in a good economical standpoint to afford that so i do mess around with this car once and a while, as you said "floor it" but its not a daily thing. I mean all i have so far is an intake and strut bar that i have personally added. But i do take care of this car even though i tend to mess around once a while, but i assure you not in a stupid manner. But thanks for all that info, i would look into that Rustop treatment, but thats right after i seriously get a nice paintjob on this car, because i guess the previous owner got a bad paint job, its all cracking and falling apart. Well thanks for all the info and i hope you didnt mine my own little life story of my own, right back at you. Thanks.

 

I think you should be fine. My dad has an 01 with 190k an counting and he has not had any problems whatsoever. I think the most expensive replacement that he paid for was the shocks/struts. And I must say that my dad doesn't really change his oil on time either. Sometimes it's 3k, other times way beyond that. I am quite surprised his car is still holding up. He says that car is still running strong and when it dies he wants another neon.