1996 Dodge Neon Base review from North America

Speedometer/Odometer not working when purchased. Found cold solder joints on Instrument Cluster PC Board.

HVAC system filled with leaves.

Trunk lock stuck closed.

Water in spare tire well.

Some rust.

First let me say that I have had more than 40 cars in the last twenty years. I do all my own mechanical work and I am a do-it-yourselfer with an engineering degree. I know my cars. In fact, I worked for two of the big three and helped design a few myself. That being said, I consider myself an expert on motor vehicles and a bit of an authority.

The Dodge Neon is an interesting car. On paper, it's nearly perfect; roomy interior, decent ride for it's size, economical, fun to drive, easy to work on and sporty. The big problem with it's reputation it seems, is it's reliablity.

Here's my observation on this point; The Neon is an inexpensive vehicle, sold in large numbers mainly to the young buyer, usually a first time car owner, many times a female but quite often a young male that usually beat the living tar out of the car and never put a thought into preventative maintence let alone regular oil changes and the like. The result of this being that most of these cars went without proper maintenance and suffered at the hands of owners that knew little of taking care of their cars and probably drove them like go carts.

Many vehicles such as the Toyota Camry, Corolla, Honda Accord and Civic were slightly better built and more expensive models that were purchased by more mature buyers that treated their cars much better. Hence the wide spread in perceived quality and reliabilty.

The average Neon, properly maintained, well kept and not abused will keep up with the best of the imports while providing spirited performance and excellent economy. In fact, few modern designs are as efficient as the Neon. The proof of this is the large number still in service with odometers showing well over 150,000 miles.

Do they have their share of problems? Yes, no doubt however, if you buy one that runs good, has a manual transmission and no AC and if you're handy with a wrench, you can have fun driving a neat little car that will save you tons of money in fuel, parts and car payments because you can pick up a clean one for a song. And, you're helping the planet by emitting fewer pollutants and using less of the precious petroleum that our boys and gals are risking their lives for over in Iraq right now.

To those that have had bad luck with their Neons...keep on bashing them, that'll keep the prices nice and low so guys like me can drive on the cheap all day long and whistle a pretty tune all the way to the bank to make my deposit instead of my SUV payment. Cheers.