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| 1995 Dodge Neon Review, Jim Bender, From Oregon, WI
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Neon Highline
| | Model of the car: | Neon Highline | | | General comments: | For all the trouble I have had I still love this car and will drive it until it dies in about 5 or 6 more years. Hopefully the wheel bearings and the clutch will last and I don't lose the head gasket. I'm going in next week for a timing belt and I think the tensionor is going too 'cause it's making lots of noise down there. But that is routine maintenance- no biggie. One more problem- mine is one of the first neons off the line so I can accept some early production problems. The weak clutch was just a stupid bean-counting mistake by dodge. They underdesigned it for the strong engine it had. The wheel bearings should have been covered by warranty as well as the parts for the clutch as they were an upgrade kit which tells me that they are basically admitting they underdesigned it.I complained earlier about the brakes. Since mine was early production and I ordered 14 wheels but they gave me 13"-wheel brake calipers out front on the 14"-wheel rotors. I guess they just didn't have the right parts. Needless to say the front pads only last about 30K and then the rotors are slag too. Aftermarket rotors are only $25 a piece and the pads have a lifetime warranty (suckers) so every year or so I just swap out the whole works for $50 but I feel sorry for some unmechanical slob shelling out $300 bucks a brake job. I'm surprised I have not read anything about this here. I would recommend this car to someone who wanted a cheap performance car as it can really be souped up with aftermarket parts (all I have is a K7N filter though) or just someone who likes to work on cars because it is easy to work on and you might need to. STAY AWAY FROM THE AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION AND VEHICLES ASSEMBLED IN MEXICO. From everything I have read those are the problem cars. Most of the lemons came from Mexico and many of them were the automatic trans version. (Automatics are sissy cars anyway)For all its faults I still love my car. I have beat the heck out of it and really embarrassed the heck out of some other drivers who were really surprised that I walked all over them off the light. This car is fun to drive. I think I'll buy another one (used this time on the cheap) after this one expires in a few years. | | | What things have gone wrong with the car: | Hit and miss quality control. Dodge dealers are the worst PERIOD. OK- mechanical problems to date. Rear window scratched on delivery. Replaced but ever since it has leaked black goo every summer. A | | | Previous car: | 86 Escort GT - Awsome car but the neon beats it hands down. much more reliable. 87 Pontiac Fiero - Yeah it sucked - can't even carry a passenger + a small dog |
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