Electrical system is worse than an old MG.
Had to replace various sensors sets at least twice.
Sparkplugs and wires have to be replaced regularly
Even replaced the Voltage Unit hoping to fix electrical problems. Didn't help
Had to have a new ignition coil after the electrical trouble caused the current on to fail.
Had to replace the flywheel twice.
Car had new engine at 60000 miles and judging on how the car is doing now,, its about due another one.
Car leaks at least two quarts of oil every few weeks.
Horrible gas mileage for a car of its type
Engine rattles and knocks when started or shut off and when idling.
3 speed transmission worse than a old Winnebago, requires you to floor it to even make a minor increase of speed.
Before I got the car it had to have a new engine at 60000 miles.
After having to lock the brakes once for a sudden stop, the A-frame of the front wheels pop like it's about to come off.
Engine performance extremely poor given the light weight of the car.
Getting on the highway safely requires you to floor it which causes the engine to reach extremely high RPM before reaching the next gear in the wonderful 3 speed transmission.
Very low feeling of confidence while performing maneuvers such as minor power slides, feels like the car is going to tip over when you think it isnt.
Cannot do a j-turn worth anything even with just one person.
Comfort level is minimal, seems like all the gravity the car is experiencing transfers directly to the driver and his passengers.
Steering is horrible no matter if you have your wheels aligned and tires rotated, requires considerable effort to keep car straight.
Interior door frame attached to actual door by simple snaps,, these actually popped off and the whole inside of the door came off in my hand while I was closing the door one time.
Now the cars frame is coming apart at the wield points, whenever I hit a bump the car makes noises of cracking and shifting that is evident of wield points shifting and being torn.
Well this car is defiantly poorly designed and has a terrible engine. Everything that someone wants in a small car like better gas mileage and good handling is denied to all who drive this car. The only thing that has kept this car running as long as it has is regular oil changes with Lucas oil additive (which I highly recommend as the only oil additive.) Parents, if you're looking for your kid their first car: avoid this one, do whatever you can to get a Honda even if it's considerably older because no matter how old it is its going to be better in every way to this Mexican made blasphemy of an automobile.
Sorry to hear of all the problems, you must have gotten a lemon
I have a 1998 Neon EX A/T DOHC with 130,000 miles on it just Had to replace a rear right strut, gas filler pipe, and mulffer so far.
My daughter purchased a used 1998 Neon Highline - at the time, it had low mileage, inspection proved it to be in good shape. It now has 60,000 miles, and the head gasket has to be replaced, as well as $1600 of other engine repairs to keep it road-worthy. I have already put in an additional $1400. These repairs are ridiculous for a car that has so little wear on it. I am very unhappy, but we are stuck with this car, because we can't get enough for it to get her a better car at this point. I'm amazed that Plymouth/Dodge doesn't have a recall on the engines of these cars - apparently they are extremely poorly designed, and one of the major repair jobs. Plymouth/Dodge should be covering this expense for all of us, not us!
I've known people with Honda Civics and they've had a ton of problems with them while my 95 Plymouth Neon has hard hardly any. only things that have gone wrong is the head gasket (dealer replaced free of charge) and the clutch got well over 200,000 miles on her before she finally gave out.
Let's be realistic: You don't know tons of people with problematic Civics. They just don't exist in those numbers. Any Civic is a MUCH better purchase than ANY Neon.
You must be joking. I owned 1988 and 1991 Honda Civics, my friends had a 1988 Honda Accord, 1988 Honda Civic sedan, my parents had two Accords and then an Odyssey, and I worked with endless people that had various Hondas including NSX's.
No one, not a SINGLE one, had the endless problems my sister had with her 1995 Neon.
So you knew ONE person that owned a Neon. Yes, that certainly qualifies as an extensive observation pool on which to make an informed decision--NOT. I'm sure your friends and relatives weren't lying, but having good reports about 4 Civics (we are talking Civics, not other models, right) and one bad experience with a Neon doesn't mean every Civic is better than every Neon. Who knows how your friends drive, versus how your sister drives? And because it's your sister, you're bound to hear about every little problem, regardless of how trivial, until it sounds like a big mess. You just don't have the evidence, based on one Neon, to make the blanket statement that every Civic is better than every Neon in every circumstance. You can argue all you like, but you just don't have the evidence.
Save money and headaches. Buy the Neon's predessesor, the Dodge Shadow. FAR more reliable than a Neon and FAR cheaper to own than a Civic. In terms of reliability and value, Shadows give Civics a run for their money and are no doubt a better deal in 200k miles worth of driving.
Lol. Did anyone else find the first post on this thing a little funny. I know I did. Having raced cars for nearly 15 years. And having spent even more time around cars. Having owned both a 98 Neon and a 94 Honda. Plus many other cars.
OK, first off, having been around cars for a great deal of time, there are thousands of cars that I have seen that have knocked, but ran completely fine. For a very long time, no real big deal either way. And guess what, I had the same problem with the Neon, with it and the oil as well. Just a stab in the dark, but I'm guessing it goes away once you start accelerating. Trust me, it's not even that big of a problem. Change the piston skirt and both problems go away. A 50$-100$ fix on both problems. And add a bit in mileage due to proper/full usage of fuel mixture.
As far as racing the car goes. You must be intelligent when you bought the car if you wanted a car to race. With both Neons and Hondas it doesn't matter, you're going to need to do major upgrades. Because a Neon is not meant to drift, it's meant to drive in a straight line down the road. So if that's what you're going to want to do, no matter what car you're going to have to upgrade.
If you truly wonder why its falling apart, maybe its the manner in which you've treated it... Because having driven the car as a town car, and now my children I have had no problems with rust, weld points, etc etc.
Again if you were planning on using the car to get moving fast, the transmission would be the last thing you'd probably deal with, but if it's that big of a deal, switch it out.
And as far as the transmission goes. Both the model of the Civic I had and the Neon have an optional 5 speed manual. And the Civic has a 4 speed auto. But due to the less amount of torque 98 compared to 130-135. Doesn't actually make any real noticable difference.
If you're going to complain about the things you're complaining about, you should really take in to consideration that what you're trying to do is get a race car out of a factor stock Sedan... Not practical, not what it was originally built for. If you want to race, (drag, drift, circuit, etc) you're going to have to spend money on performance parts whether be in the engine, Transmission, or suspension. No matter what car you buy.
Having driven this car as soley a means of getting around, I found it to be a great car. Having only had to do what I'd consider minor repairs.
Regular Maintenance: oil change, etc.
Expected Maintenance: brake pads shoes things of that nature.
Maintenance I was required to do: plug wires, piston skirts (didn't have to, but made a difference), brake lines (nothing major or deadly just wear getting old never actually broke)
Maintenance I choose to do (not required) : upgraded to better/more efficent spark plugs, swapped out original clutch and shift kit to newer and smoother/better one when my kids began driving the car (their first standard), many upgrades to car to increase fuel mileage (to ie. throttle body, vavlves, so on and soo forth)
So really over the course of the past 6 years I've owned the car, I have probably more time and effort doing maintenance I chose to do myself than ones I was required to do. And more money spent on regular maintenance and maintenance I choose to do than on maintenance I was required to do.
In my opinion my Neon has probably treated me and my family better than the majority of the cars I have owned. It's a simple car that's easy to drive, no matter what the age. Mine has been reliable, easy to do work on, etc.
With that said it is NOT a car that was built for racing with stock parts. So I think anyone ever purchasing any vehicle should always ask themselves one simply question before they purchase a vehicle. "What do I plan on doing with this car?"
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