Drove the car over 300,000 miles before the head casket went,Infact the only time it has needed anything other then gas and oil change was brakes and tires and a radio.

Radio went bad after 3 years and tons of miles.

96 dodge neon, bought new, I love the zip it has, the handling, I have been very lucky with this car it has served me well because I serviced it well.

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honda prelude

speedy acceleration; good handling; smooth ride for inexpensive cars; roomy; economic

known head gasket problem; major mechanical breakdown after reaching 100,000 miles (happen all at once!!!!!!)

Got this car brand new and from experience I can say for sure that Neon is a "MADE-TO-BE-THROWN-AWAY CAR AT HIGH MILEAGE". Just like all other Neon victims, the head gasket blew even before the first oil change visit. After that, it hasn't given me any problem (and I mean absolutely no repair at all), UNTIL it reached over 100,000 miles. That's when all sorts of minor and major problems started. It was in and out of repair shop 4 times in 3 months (totally different mechanical problems each time and very expensive problems). That's when I finally got rid of it even before finish paying off the car. And you don't need to pay it off to trade in for another car, so that saved me alot of money fixing the piece of junk. But other than that, the Neon runs really great before reaching 100,000 miles and I enjoyed every bit of that 100,000 miles of Neon driving experience.

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Ford Escort -- Neon definitely offer a smoother ride and speedier acceleration than the Escort.

Toyota Corolla -- Get the Corolla!!!! They live forever, you won't regret. Smaller and feels lighter than the Neon though. But engine's very reliable.

SPEED and HANDELING! 0-60 6.8 sec., 1.01 g skidpad

That damn air intake is to restrictive! Needs more tire!

GREAT CAR! It's so FAST. I spend all day wipping on all those SLOW musdangs and cameros! O yeah and thene there's the cheep imports (no chance) Ya'll complaining about repair costs, headgaskets, poor handleing you never drove a "real" neon (R/T)! Now when you can find a car that costs only 16 grand but can Pull Over 1G on a skidpad and has a 0-60 time under 7 seconds then you can all talk! CUZ THAT IS MOPAR POWER!(It'll spinn the tires going int third gear) O yeah i've got 40,000 miles on my neon and it's only needed some new sparkplugs about every 6,000 miles to keep it rumnning good! (The R/T package is more than just stripes and lettering, you get a different 5-speed, polyurathane bushings, stiffer 1"lowering springs, diferent exhaust, aloy wheels, and bigger swaybars and brakes.)

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You find me a ford, chevy, honda, acura, or any thing in the $16,000 price range that can run with this!

Cant think of any

Absolute junk! Three years old and needs head gasket, and EGR valve (never even heard of one before!) and new battery. God knows what was replaced before we bought it a year ago. Thank goodness for the extended warranty we purchased which will handle the head gasket (less $100 ded) but we are on our own for the battery and EGR valve which is crap!! No car should need ANY major repairs in 3 years. This is my first Chrysler product (dad always warned me about them - sorry for not listening) and it will be my last. The guy at the dealership tells me they dont have any more problems than any other car - guess he means any other CHRYSLER car because I've never had this before. My 12 year old GMC van wasn't pretty but at least it ran and my husband has a 1984 Toyota truck that is a rust bucket but has had just ONE repair in 3 years - a new muffler. Chrysler should be ashamed.

JUNK - and nothing but. I know its a cheap car and I shouldnt expect much but no car should need major repairs this soon and this often. All I can hope for is to get out from under this loan before I go broke and then dump it. I would gladly trade this for a 15 year old Toyota on the spot - any offers????

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Doesnt compare to any vehicle I have ever owned including ones much older - nothing but a money pit. The Edsel of the modern world!

The 132HP Engine. The look, and I guess low purchasing price

The mechanics bill when he gives it to you. As I write this, its the shop awaiting 1700 dollars worth of repairs. Also, I have replaced the head gasket twice, the brakes have been replaced twice, the muffler fell off, I am always getting small things done to it, that the dealership suggests, but never seems to improve anything. I'm not rich, and I figure with all the money I have put into this car, I could have saved up for a more expensive vehicle. So far I haven't had any wind leaks, I guess thats something to look forward to. I like to take pride in the car I drive, and I don't have much pride left driving a Neon.

I'm very sorry I purchased this car, and now I feel trapped buy it. I still have to pay off $7500 for it untill its mine, and I feel even if I try to trade it in, I will only get maybe 3000-4000 dollars for it.

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I have driven a rusty 1987 Ford mustang that actually was less expensive to fix. I also drove a 1988 VW Jetta that was more reliable.

Handling, Looks, price, power for $$$$$, Parts are cheep

I have to Agree, the brakes are crap!!! I had the master cylinder replaced after just one year!! The brakes also make this horrid sound at slow speeds. Ever tried to change a belt on this thing? Good luck!! And now we get to those horrible dodge dealers, I have had better service at my school caf. They say it is good on gas, yeah right!! Only buy this car if u love to fix things. Oh yeah if your buying used, u better get a repair manual first and study!

The neon is a over priced ecnobox. It is not all bad though, i learned how to fix almost everthing on a car.

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92 civic
kills the civic in part cost, power and looks

This car gets great mileage (32mpg in town, 38mpg on the highway), accelerates well, and is surprisingly roomy for such a small car.

As anyone reading this list already expects, the head gasket is leaking. The stupid thing was good when I bought it, but at about 70,000 miles, it started leaking oil. The oil leak then destroyed the left inner CV boot, so it now needs replaced. The local Dodge dealer is telling me it will cost about $1200 to fix both problems. I have decided to harass Chrysler until something is done about my head gasket, at least.

Basically, I guess you get what you pay for. If you expect $20,000 worth of quality from a $10,000 car, then you need to think again. Why do you think it costs $10,000 less?!? My experience with the people at Chrysler will determine my future as their customer.

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I also own a 2001 Neon, it is far better behaved, so far...

150hp engine. good gas milage
Excellent acceleration for a 4-cylinder
Good stock sound system
Very roomy, 4-door
Perfect dash design, white-face gauges, everything lit softly at night
Sentry key & alarm security systems.
Love the roomy trunk and the 60/40 split rear seat.

While I love the dash design that Dodge has put in this car. it may be difficult to install custom stereo equipment, etc. without it looking out-of place. But I am very happy with the stock sound system and think it has very good bass.

I love the handling on the R/T model. The 150hp engine with the performance suspension and steering make this a fun car to drive. Great acceleration for a 4 cylinder, plus pretty good gas milage. Performs noticeably better with premium fuel. The interior is very roomy, and I love the dash design. 4-disc in-dash CD changer with stock 6-speaker sound system sounds great. Cruise control and comfy seats make it a great travel car. I have not had the car for very long yet, but I really enjoy it so far and would not change anything about it.

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1980 Datsun HatchBack B210 - This was my first car & I will always love it, but the Neon has handling and acceleration that would leave my previous car wondering what happened.

GOOD PICK UP GOOD LOOKING FAST STARTES WITH NO PROBLEM EVEN IN COLD WEATHER
ABS WORKES GREAT REAR DEFROSTER IS THE BEST IVE SEEN ON A CAR VERRY ROOMY GREAT GAS MILAGE.

TAKES A WILE TO WARM UP IN THE MORNING AND STARTS TO SHAKE WHEN YOU GET CLOSE TO 100MPH AND THE BACK WINDOWES ARE MANUAL.

I RECOMEND THIS CAR FOR SOMEONE WHO WHANTS A SMALL CAR WITH GOOD GAS MILAGE IS FUN TO DRIVE.IT IS ALSO GOOD FOR A FIRST CAR OR A NEW DRIVER GREAT FOR A HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT.BUY THIS CAR!!!!!!!!

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CHEVY LUMINA 1997 NEON IS BETTER

Not much at all is right about this vehicle. Reading other reviews almost makes me laugh as they gripe about tranny problems, strange engine noises and such. My wife drives a 97 Toyota Corolla. Let me tell you- THERE IS NO COMPARISSON!!! Never, ever consider buying a Neon. Anyhow this is the strenths colum so I won't waste any more time here. NO STRENGTHS HERE! Hey, it's a peppy little car when it's not in the shop!

Is there enough room in this space to write everything? After all the problems that I've had with my Neon, I've now dedicated my life to steering people away from my own painful mistake.
*If you want to drive this car in the winter please leave yourself 1/2 hr.
to let it warm up. Failur to do this means...
-Slipping transmission
-Strange engine whines and squeaks
*Transmission is garbage. Doesn't want to shift at the appropriate times.
*If the car sits for more than 2 days, get ready for the worst sounding start of your life. Not to mention the check engine light might come on for a few days.
*Nice rotors Dodge/Chrysler! 50,000 miles they were pitted beyong belief, leading to a horrible breaking noise. They've been replaced and within weeks the squeaking came back. Junk brake system.
*Alternator went right after the warranty ran out. But wait, I had an extended warranty! Oh, that's right, it didn't cover "electrical" problems.
*Try taking your Neon to a Chrysler service center to have your problems fixed. These "5 STAR" dealers really don't have a clue. My tranny slipped ever since I bought the car. Somehow the dealers never could figure that one out. Now it's becoming a bigger problem; my problem.
*Horrible customer service after the sale from corporate all the way down to my local dealer.
*Noisy little SOB, inside and out. Uhhh...
*Read the other reviews and everything they dislike about the Neon, I totally agree with them.

It's a shame that American car companies are putting out junk like this. The engineering on the Neon is horrible. Is this a new generation of cars supposed to compete with its Japenese counterparts? Please... start over from ground zero and fire whoever is in charge of producing this scrap.
Union made cars should be the best in the world. They sadly fall very, very short of that title.

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97 Toyota Corolla
Like comparing Tiger Woods' golf game to my own!
Let Toyota rule the world! Forever !