Most notably, the engine idles very rough.
When cold, the engine knocks for about 30 seconds before warming up.
The plastic headlights accumulate scratches pretty easily, making a scratch repair kit a must.
I bought the car used, and it turned out the upper motor mount was torn. The mounts in the Neon in general are very soft. I threw some mount inserts in there and it's great now.
So far, this car has never given me a problem (except for the ones I created with mods, etc.). Everything still works, nothing electrical or mechanical has gone bad as of yet.
It is sporty in acceleration and handling.
However, the seats aren't bolstered enough for my taste, and it's hard to get comfortable in the cabin if you're a tall person (over 6'1").
The 3-speed automatic really robs the car of power. The car is always either too low or too high in a gear when I accelerate.
It was within my price range.
It has great fuel economy.
Despite any inherent problems such as the "cold knock" and "rough idle", I still love my Neon. =)
The engine knock is SOMETIMES caused by a need for higher octane, instead of using 87 (regular) fuel, use 89 (premium) fuel about 1 - 2 times every 2 weeks.
What you're hearing is not knock. That's the hydraulic lifters before they get fully pumped up with oil. That's a sign that they need changing. Knock is something that you generally hear when the engine is under load and is actually much worse when the engine is warm than when cold. So a cold engine at idle is unlikely to knock.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed 
is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site