Hi group, 1st post here. Im in a jeep liberty forum, and a harley forum.. We drive sbout 650 miles every other weekend, and the jeep that gets 16mpg dropped a valve in the motor so were lookin for another vehicle. Looks like it might be a neon. Nothing too fancy.. YET. Ive already looked into the wrt hoods.. and dont have a car yet. Anyways. are there any major known problems with the 2nd gen?? Or what should I look for when buying? kinda want a 5spd.. havent shifted for years. Any input may save me a ton of qustions/worries down the road, thanks,. BAR

ps found a 2000 that needs a tranny for 600.00 BUT kinda scared to start out that way/

 

Do you have any plans for the car as far as engine and performance mods go? Or is this a purely long weekend trip car?

 

not much as far as performance. maybe a hood and some wheels..?? lookin more for realiability than anything..how are these as far as taking high mileage? i got 140,000 on a 02' liberty

 

yup i wouldnt want to start out that way either... and i suggest you check autotrader to find something thats near by and that you can hopfully goto see in person, things you may want to look for is exsessive rust anywhere on the car, you may want to bring someone you know and trust that knows a bit about cars that can help you check the car out, and try to take a test drive if thats possible so you can hear the car go and possibly pick up on small things.... or large ones....

 

If you keep everything maintained, i.e. oil/filters, plugs, belts, tranny fluid, etc... there is no reason why it shouldnt last for at least that long. The 2nd Generation Neons are split into two groups, the 00-02 and 03-05. The main differences between these years are the headlights, bumpers, tail lights, and the PCM's. Beyond that they are mechanically identical (except the 2000, which uses a cable driven tranny/clutch rather than a hydraulic setup that is in the 01-05) and nearly all parts made for an 00-02 will fit on an 03-05 and vise versa.

Some things you should know, the Neon has ticks from the fuel injectors, it cannot be stopped, so if you hear this ticking it is normal. We also suffer from piston slap, which some have been able to reduce with a mixture of different things, but if you hear it (it shouldnt be THAT noticeable) thats a normal sound. If your worried about gas mileage DO NOT buy an R/T-ACR or SRT-4 Neon, they do notget as good gas mileage as the other trims, even though they are advertised as being the same. You can expect anywhere from 30-40mpg on an SE/SXT on long trips and even normal driving...

You should be looking at all the normal things when buying a used car as well...driveability, "wierd" noises, creaking suspension, bald tires, bad breaks, poor idle, oil leaks, fluid leaks, hard shifting, etc...

As far as options go, sky's the limit really...power locks, power front windows, 4-disc or 6-disc cd changer, sun roof, side air bags, traction control, leather seats, 4-disc brakes, GPS units, 6 or 8 speaker sound systems, etc...

 

great i really appricate the help. you'll be seeing alot more of me around here. actually looked at a 01 se toady, gonna drive it tomorrow.

 

I agree with everything that has been said, my neon has 150,xxx and still going with routine maintenance. I have a 2000, so i guess that explains why everytime i press down my clutch i get a clicking sound, due to the differences in the way they are setup.

 

If an 04 R/T is an example of the worst case gas mileage, I'm getting about 29-31 in mixed driving on synthetics. I'm pretty pleased. Still with it had one more gear some times though. [>:]. I think maybe someone should elaborate more on piston slap though. I could be wrong but it's kind of a clatter that you hear at idle. I'd be more conserned if you hear it off idle at all but I used to think it was a valve train thing until I came here and was asymilated. Good luck. P plan on seeing 200K out of mine.

 

thanks alot for the help.. I bought a 01 lx with a ?? dont know what model?? spoiler and 16" seabring wheels
Im sure I'll have alot more questions as soon as I get it home

 

2.0L SOHC...LX model?