Hey folks, I'm looking at getting a 2002 Neon R/t. Gotta get outta my truck, my commute is too far. What are the things I should look for?
The car is a Black R/T 5spd.
You guys seems to know tons, what kinda things should I avoid or have the dealer replace before taking delivery?

 

Well you need to look at obvious things, like if the CEL is on, oil leaks, making sure it runs smoothly/properly. If it has aftermarket parts it should be cheaper, since those parts decrease the value of the car. Make sure tires are in good shape, check out brakes...i would have a mechanic that you trust look at things iof you dont know exactly what to do, at least thats what i (and my parents) have always done when buying a car from a private citizen.

 

The car is coming from a dealer. I'm trading in my Ram. I'm fairly familiar with the normal things, but I've always been a little wary of the Neon's and problems. Is there something specific that I should ask about?

 

has the car had a tune-up by the lot? If so, ask to see its service log. Things to check for are gaskets, spark plugs, wires. You won't need to replace the fuel filter because it's designed to not need replacing in the first place (that and it's in the tank, so it's a bitch to get to), check the tires. Lastly, see if you can take it out for a spin, get on the gas a little bit up to the speed limit and see how you like it. Be sure to check what warranty (if any) the lot will offer to you. See what the warranty covers. It's not going to be anywhere near as peppy as your Ram is, you're losing a few cylinders and about half the horsepower. The neon is a great little car and is most definitely going to be cheaper on gas than your Ram.

Worst case scenario is that you run in to a few minor problems and you have to come see us to troubleshoot some of your problems and you can do most of the work yourself.

 

another thing; make sure the car still has a service manual; that's one thing I forgot to check when I purchased my car.

 

There really arent any major problems (no more than any other car) with the 2nd Gen that I'm aware of, the 96-98 models had some real issues but all of the problems were fixed. You'll find that they are very dependable cars and the only things you'll run into are routine replacements of parts at about 100k.