Folks,

I'm a Dodge Truck owner, but I'm in need of a third car that's economical and relatively trouble-free. I've been thinking about spending $5,000 or so on a used Neon and I'm wondering a couple of things. Note that I will not be modding the car at all. It will strictly remain stock.

1) What should I be able to find with that kind of money? (Mileage-wise and options-wise)

2) Are there any known issues/factory recalls that Neons over a certain age have problems with? (For instance, I heard they eat head gaskets?)

3) What's their average stock MPG city/highway?


Thanks in advance for your time.

RJ

 

I got mine for $7700 for a 2003 Dodge Neon SE with 12,000 miles on it.

 

the headgasket problem was mainly for the 1st gens that came with the composite gasket.

for $5000.. youd probably be looking at a decent 2g with fairly low miles.. not sure on the exact range.

mpg? on a 2g manual trans.. should easily see near 40mpg highway.. 30ish city?
ive been able to get up to 44mpg highway in my 1g dohc mtx.. and (when it was stock) around 30-33mpg city

 

For $6,500 I got a 2000 Dodge Neon ES Automatic, 44,500 Miles, with a 3yr/80,000 on the power train (Certified pobably worth $600) Mostly Mint body, just a few MINOR dings on the Rocker Panels, Interior...Mint!

I heard that to keep an eye on the power steering pump...make sure the level is correct.

MPG>> Depends how I drive 25-28 City and (never clocked Highway) but, guessing 30-32 Highway

Hope this helps ya,

Joe

 

I paid $4995 for my 2000 es with 45k miles

 

i paid $4000 for my 2000 with 48k. i get 30-35 on the highway and 25-28 in the city.

 

2nd gens (2000-up) will get worse gas mileage than 1st gens (1995-1999) becuase they are substantially heavier. ATX's will get worse gas mileage than MTX's for obvious reasons. The head gasket issue that gave Neon most of its bad name was solved during the 1998 model year. you should be able to pick up a decent 1999 Neon with under 100k miles for $5k or less. Might try hunting around the classifieds at www.neons.org. My vote would be for a DOHC MTX. Even if you don't modify it, it'll still be a blast to drive. Last choice would be a DOHC ATX, slowest of the bunch...

My '95 typically gets 34-36 mpg on the highway, 30-32 in town. 234,000 miles with mostly routine maintenance and a few hiccups.

Best of luck!

 

substantially? i think that depends on the year of the 2g. my one friend's 2000 weighed a mere 60 lbs more than mine. thats not very substantial.yup. halfway through supposedly. but ive seen some late 98's that didnt have the MLS, and have even heard of some '99s without it. always check to make sure tho

 

True, and since most non-MLS Neons have had the head gasket replaced by now, it's not much of an issue. Easy enough to check as well.

Substantial may be a bit of an overstatement - most 2nd gens I've seen come in at 2550-2650 lbs, most 1st gens come in at 2450-2500 lbs. Maybe it's the ride height that throws me off, but I can't stand to drive the 2nd gens.

 

my option-less '98 r/t lists as 2575 for the weight imagine with sunroof and power everything. hehe.