1997 Dodge Neon review from North America

My head gasket blew at 74,000 miles, costing me over $600 to fix.

Wind noise through door seals.

Brake pads wear through fast. (Not my fault)

The "check engine" light has come on twice. The first time, it ended up turning off after 2 days. The second time, turned out to be a wiring problem. This put me out $380.

Air condition went out in the middle of summer. I had to put another $200 into the repairs.

The lapis blue paint started pealing right after I purchased it. The passenger side and back side have a large amount of paint missing. The only reason the drivers side isn't pealing is because it was repainted after a dent was repaired. Dodge refuses to fix this. To fix this, it will cost me at least $500 for a decent paint job.

Car overheated when the radiator fans sensor went out. $80 for the piece and $100 for the labor.

Car doesn't do well on hills. This causes the driver behind me to flip me off, cuss, and/or tailgate.

Both speakers have gone out in the front and need to be replaced. For 5 months before the left speaker died, it made a loud, high pitched sound when the radio was on.

Despite all of these problems, I like my car. I'm lucky to even have a car at this moment.

Every time I have gone to start my car, it has started. It never fails to get me to work.

Even though the interior has an 80's look to it, it doesn't show dirt or stains.

The backseat has lots of room for passengers.

Wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

I think the pealing paint is an advertisement for Dodge. When I tell people what kind of car I have and they can't put a picture in their mind, I just tell them it's the pealing paint car. Since there are about 10 of them in my city with pealing paint, everyone knows what they look like.