Next year I'm getting married and that means that my wonderful 2005 Mustang must go . I'm now looking towards the more budget minded end of the market and economy class cars. out of everything I've looked at so far the 2000 to 2002 years of the Dodge Neon are my favorite. I just wanted to make a post here and see if anyone has any advice when I hit the car lots as I look for a Neon?

It's always a plus to go in armed with additional information above and beyond what you can find at Consumer Reports, KBB, Edmunds, etc...

Thanks!

well i have only had my 01 R/T since Dec but it is awesome. it is still stock but what a great ride. now the r/t does have a different drive axle gear ratio that makes it rev higher at higher speeds in 5th gear (mine gets to almost 3500rpm around 70-75mph) so it can be a little noisy and you get a little lower mpg than other neons. but even my 01 with 64500 miles on it i get 30 mpg on the highway. not bad. the other models with the standard 2 liter will probably get a little better gas mileage (your mileage may vary)

any reason why not the 03-05 neons? the interior is about the same, but the steering wheel is different (3 spoke on the newer ones) and the front and rear fascias are different but i guess its all about what you like. plus newer ones would be more expensive. i paid around 6500 for mine. also the 01 r/t (but it could be all 00-01) have crome door handles on the inside. makes it look nicer, the 02 and up are grey.

not really sure what else you are looking for, so just ask if you need anything else. i'd be glad to help

I bought new an '05 Neon SXT and love it. It has the Orange Blast paint, I have been getting 37-41MPG average since putting in Castrol Syntec oil at around the 20,000 mile mark. I thought it was a typo, but the lowest was 37 and I just got 41mpg on the last tank. I pampered the car until it was well broke in. My only issue is the CD player will not kick out the CD with thick stickers but other than that, it's been smooth sailing. I just put on TSW Volcanco wheels and a little wider tire 195/55/15 and it handles quite nice now. It doesn't burn any oil whatsoever, there is a slight squeek when moving on the driver's seat which I haven't had time to put some lube on the seat track (which is all that it is I'm sure), for a standard 4 cylinder engine, it's no rocket but has plenty of power for me and hauling kids. There are some upgrades you can do from CAI to cams to installing a turbo or SRT-4 swap. Overall, I never thought I would find myself in a Neon, but an old van and a great sale on Neon's persuaded me to get this one ($10,999 for new, $1,500 down=$9,499 and I bought it brand new in 4/06 with 69 miles on the clock). For a cheap little car to which critics have been annoyed with road/engine noise, cheap plastics and the rental car feel, I have been happy, the road/engine noise is no different than a car in the same class and the plastics, well if they are cheap, they look good with Meguiars Natural Shine on them and no cracks or misfitting that I can see and no problems with wear or squeeks or rattles, it's a solid car for 9500 bucks. 00-02 cars will be cheaper but have some mileage on them and you need to make sure you get one that has been well taken care of. I read you can get 150,000 miles out of them with little or no problems before big time kicks in. If the maintenance is done, your golden.

The '05 is different than the 00-02 years on the front and rear end but quite the same as so I've read. The older ones may have more mileage, but newer one's are more expensive. I read the automatics are dogs so...stay with the 5speed. I've seen SRT-4's going for $15,000 or less for a decent car not all beat up.

Good luck with your efforts.

Aaron

I Enjoy both of my Neons - I have a 99 Neon R/T and a 01 Neon ACR

I regret that I have put my 01 Neon ACR up on Ebay - but I have toomany vehicles and too many Projects and not enough time nor enough Money!

I have no complaints on either of Neons - and I must say the ACR is a very fun car to drive

You can see my 01 Neon on ebay - just look up Ebay Item Number130114294670

Did you have a specifc question about the Neons? Performance Question? Maintainance Question?

On the purchasing of a used Neon - Have a Mechanic check it out!

If you are DIY Mechanic?? Its nice working on the Neons with having to buy special tools - one tool that I found invaluable (with any car) is a ODB-II scanner - a quality one does much better then the basic one that pulls codes and then you have to decipher the code.