2001 Dodge Neon SE review from North America
"Reasonably inexpensive, nice looking piece of junk"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
I bought this car in August - so I wasn't using the defrost. But 4 months after buying this car I found myself needing the defrost when the weather started to get colder. Whenever I used the defrost, the entire car would fill up with exhaust. At first, I didn't realize this was a huge problem, but after a couple weeks, I couldn't take it anymore and took it in to the dealership.
3 months later (about 26,000 miles) I had to get my rotars turned. Normally, rotars are turned at around 60,000 miles.
Exactly 1 year after buying the car, it rained pretty hard for a few days while I was in Kansas City - I left my car back home. When I got back, the inside of the car was filled with about 4 inches of water. The trunk was soaking wet, too. I left some books and papers in my trunk - which ended up being unsalvageable. Even thought I didn't see any windows left down, I thought that's probably what happened. So I got it all cleaned up the next day. However, it rained pretty good a few weeks later... I finally got smart, looked up this problem online, and took it in to the dealership as soon as possible.
As far as comfort goes... this car pretty nice for short drives. However, on long road trips...it's very uncomfortable. I find my back hurting after a 3 hour drive. (...and I'm a 22 year old male)
General comments?
I'd say the only really good thing about this car is that it's reasonably inexpensive and it looks pretty nice. I wanted something 4-door (to give rides & stuff), but kinda sporty looking. Hey... for under 10K, you can't find much.
I'm looking to get a new car soon and have been thinking about the Mazda6. There's 2 rules when buying a car:
1) Never buy a BRAND NEW car. (a year old at the very most)
2) Always do some research online (in some of the forums) to see if people like the car you are planning to buy. This has proved to be VERY VERY helpful in narrowing down my next car!
Recommended reviews
| Junk |
| Nightmare Neon |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | No |
| Year of manufacture | 2001 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 4 cylinder Automatic |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 7 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 7 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 6 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 8 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 19000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 30000 miles |
| Previous car | Ford Escort |
| Date of Entry | 15th September, 2003 |