Hey everyone, My name is sean and im currenty driving a 2007 scion tc as my daily driver, I absolutely hate that car. I've been looking around at SRT4's and am thinking about biting the bullet and trading the scion in for one. My question is how are you guys doing with gas milage. The scion has a 4 speed auto and it gets probably 15-17 mpg around town witch is terrible in my mind. I'm hoping to get 20-22 with the neon, am I about right? I'm also wondering how insurance is on these cars. Only looking to spend about 1000 dollars a year for it. The car im looking at has 39,000 miles and is slightly modded. It appears to have a larger front mount, CAI and an exhaust. How long do these cars typically last for before I'll start having issues? I'm really looking folward to getting behind the wheel of a skittle.

Thanks a lot,
Sean

 

20-22 mpg is about right for average. Of course if you mash it, it's going to be less. Insurance can be high, especially if you are under 25 and single. I pay less for a 2008 Ford F-150 4X4 with a V-8 than I paid on my SRT-4.......and I'm WAAAAAY past 25 years of age!!
How long they last depends on how they are driven and how well you take car of them.......same thing really goes for any car.

Dusty

 

Well I'm looking to use this as my DD as my Lightning only gets 8mpg not seeing boost, so forget that thing. I guess the only way to find out about insurance is to call Gieco and ask them. I don't really beat on my cars on the street to often, so hopefully who ever had the car before me didn't either.

 

these cars do better when you beat on them. they get pissy and break when you baby them. and no i'm not kidding. those of us with the least problems overall are the ones that beat the crap out of our cars. i beat the crap our of my neon, and she loves every minute of it. other than stupid stuff i've done, i've never had a problem with her. many people i know are the same. people that baby the car blow motors and turbos. just beat her up, she'll thank you.

 

Well I found a Yellow 03' with 10k miles on it, it only has an intake on it. They're asking 14,3xx for it, If I can bring them down a little bit im most likely getting it in the next week or so. I've been reading the 05 is the only year that came with an LSD. Thats a must have item for me, so witch one would you recommend I get? And is there anything else anyone feels I should know about the car before I get it?

btw what part of new york are you from? I'm going down to Island Raceway in dirty jersey this friday with my truck and a few friends, maybe I'll see some of you.

 

04's and 05's have lsd. and it's really not as necessary as you think. i have an 03 and now have a 04 tranny in it so i've driven the car both with open dif and with the lsd. it makes no noticable difference in everyday driving or at the track (exact same 60' times both ways). now for autox and road racing it definetly does help, but in reality it doesn't do a whole hell of a lot that you would notice.that's actually a good price with that low miles on it, i say go for it as long as you're ok with a yellow car lol.

 

I agree, that is a good price for an 03 with such low mileage. Keep in mind there were considerably fewer 03s made compared to 04 and 05 so that may be of interest to you. Also, the LSD only came on the 04 and 05 models, but as PSI Chick said, it doesn't really make a noticeable difference. Other than that, I would suggest finding one as close to stock as possible. Intake, exhaust, and FMIC is no big deal as far as causing problems. And yeah, beat the hell out of it, they like to be driven hard.

As for gas mileage, 20-22 MPG seems a bit optimistic around town, especially if you are only getting 15-17 MPG in your scion LOL. The MPG really all depends on how you drive it. Highway mileage is decent but don't expect to get any better than about 24 MPG. And that's if you don't get on it at all. I usually average 16-20 MPG. And the car requires premium fuel. Don't forget, this isn't really an econo-car. My old '95 neon used to get up to 40 MPG (yes 40) on the highway with the 5-speed. Of course that was when gas was only $0.95 per gallon!

 

.p5 cents a gallon...someone is showing there age!!! I remember those days too!!!

 

ahh the days of $1 gas. i miss those.

 

I remember when I got my license gas was $1.13/gallon. Im 24 now so thats not too long ago. It just sucks that in 8 years I'm playing 4x that amount. Oh yeah btw back to the topic, get the 03 yellow. Low mileage and good color.