1994 Dodge Neon Highline 4dr review from North America
""Hi!" -the cheap little car which could da been a contender"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
MTX- 2 rebuilds and then replaced with new rebuilt before 75k under warranty.
Computer replaced once and then reprogrammed several times under warranty.
Head gasket- typical leak and then replaced (w/ secret warranty assistance) along with time belt/water pump (preventative maintenance) at 108000 off warranty.
A/C croaked at 130,000 but just replaced belt with non/ac belt to still use power steering.
Original headlights have typical neon headlight glaucoma. Tried polishing them, but have to keep after them.
Early model lacked trunk light, but this was retrofitted with an Omni trunk light and a mecury switch from something else.
Early model lacked front door map pockets, but have retro fitted the door panels with junkyard replacements.
Chrysler lost money on this cars 75000 mile warranty.
Over the 10 years owned the car was in multiple car accidents (90% not owners fault) to the total of about $9000 (!) of repair work:
Shoddy repair of right rear door/gas tank area let water in trunk, but was fixed with 1 1/2 household sized tubes of silicon plus spray in undercoating in wheel well.
Radio died after one accident (after warranty out) but replaced it with Dakota radio and then warrantied the Dakota radio out!
Owner replaced clutch, cv axles, clutch cable, shifter cable grommets ("booger bushings") at 160000 miles- wouldn't have been worth it to pay service labor/parts cost to do this.
Want to get Sport front/rear anti-sway bars to replace the Standard front only anti-sway bars.
General comments?
If kept maintained these cars run forever, but the market who can afford these cars usually beats them and throws them away.
Fuel efficeincy for an 11 year old car is between 37-40 mpg using 89 octane (87octane knocks).
Paint has actually held up since it was repainted due to previous accidents.
I got the car from my ex-wife who bought it new 11/94 so having a known history is a help.
'95 sohc models had the better cam versus later models (plus mtx helps!). Drove a '97 or '98 Auto trans car and it was a pig.
Neon s. org helped a lot with keeping this car on the road. Booger bushings for the shifter cables alone saved about $200!
Recommended reviews
| Great car for the first 50,000 miles |
|
| Very dependable commuter car that won't die! |
| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Don't Know |
| Model year | 1994 |
| Year of manufacture | 1994 |
| First year of ownership | 1994 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2006 |
| Engine and transmission | 2.0sohc Manual |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 6 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 5 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 5 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 3 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 0 miles |
| Most recent distance | 207000 miles |
| Previous car | Dodge Dakota |
| Date of Entry | 16th June, 2006 |