Seriously considering buying a first generation Neon

[GranTurNismo]

Found a 1997 Dodge Neon for sale on Facebook Marketplace, about 25 minutes from my house. It's low price and miles makes it really tempting for me to want to buy. It is priced at $700 (firm), has only 54,000 miles, and is described as being in "decent condition" but does not have air conditioning. The description of the ad does not go into much detail other than that the car runs and drives and recently got new tires. Since it is also now a 25 year old car, it is eligible for NJ historic car insurance and does not need inspection, which is a plus.

Should I buy it? I know the low price and low miles may sound too good to be true, so I am anticipating a few mechanical issues when I go to look at the car. I also know Neons are built like crap compared to Civics and Corollas of the same era, and even though it may have only 54k miles, I am not sure how much longer it will last. I already own a daily driver car (2019 Veloster) so the plan for the Neon is to be a project car. I've always liked the way the original Neon looks and I think it would be interesting to own a forgotten car that's basically never seen on the road. Though, given that I have no knowledge on how to fix cars, I do worry that this car will eventually become plagued with major issues down the road especially given the poor build quality of Chrysler cars. Has any member on this board ever owned a first gen Neon? If so, how was it?

Thanks.

EDIT: the Blue Book value for a 1997 Neon Highline sedan with the automatic transmission is between $577 to $1268. So, maybe $700 isn't that unbelievably low.

 

[Pupik]

@Joey D
@Duke

That's exactly what my '95 Neon looked like.

From a quick look at the exterior, that's in pretty good condition. Doesn't look damaged, we just see the driver's side. (FYI: the logo and model emblems were purple, but they're missing...tended to peel off easily.) I enjoyed driving it, kind of fun to drive on curvy roads but after driving an automatic of the same vintage, it's a much less sprightly experience. Figure on 0-60 in 9-10 seconds. You might be disappointed by 185/65R14 T-rated tires in this day and age, but the wheel covers are spot on.

At 54K miles, I'm wondering if the timing belt was ever replaced. The Achille's Heel was the head gasket, as it seeped coolant into the block. I had the head gasket replaced with the water pump and T-belt at like 70K, and it didn't fail on me up to 162,000 miles. The frameless windows made lots of whistling sounds at highway speeds.

I burned out a starter solenoid at around 10K miles, but that was covered by warranty. The clutch pedal return cable snapped at around 60K miles, but that wasn't expensive. I broke a window regulator for the rear window by over-cranking it one day when opening the door to clean it (it didn't have power windows). The A/C blew warm air at around 65,000 miles, thankfully covered by the 7/70 extended warranty (they fixed the window, too).

At around 100,000 miles, the hub bearings were noisy, but I could only afford one side at a time. The grinding was getting annoying with the windows rolled down. Tie rod ends were starting to wear and have lots of play. Lastly, I had the belt pulley replaced because it took over as lead noisemaker after the hubs were replaced. The rear tail lamp assemblies took on water like a fish tank, but that wasn't anything a 1/16" drill bit couldn't solve.

It was put down by a Ford Taurus that charged it at a red light on a rainy day, but by then the Check Engine Light came on with every other start, the steering shook at any speed above 55mph, and the A/C was blowing warm air once again. Insurance had totaled it but it wound up back on the road for a few more years (I looked the VIN up last year at a Dodge dealer, it was sold to a towing yard in 2006, which means it's probably crushed).

Interior was a little scraped up but surprisingly indestructible. Due to advanced age and the heavy amount of plastics in use, it might be very brittle. If it has the stock radio, I think the CD player was an option for the R/T model, but mine was AM/FM only. Rear seats fold down very easily with a quick pull, which was great for stashing larger things before parking in a questionable place.

Mine was a five-speed manual, and the gearbox and clutch never needed replacement nor rebuilding. The Highline model did not include a tachometer; I used the 10-15-20mph/gear rule from reading the specs in an issue of Car & Driver.

 

[kjb]

I had a Hunter Green 95 Neon. I out like 36K on it the first year by the time I traded it in a couple of years later I had somewhere in the range 50-65K on it I don't remember what it was. I didn't have any major issues except for standard maintenance. My brother broke the gas tank cover but that's about it

 

[LM7325]

I say go for it, $700 sounds fair but definitely go look at it in person first. For a brief period I was interested in getting either a Neon R/T or an ACR with the slightly hotter twin cam engine they had.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

In my experience, it only makes sense to buy a car that is potentially time & money intensive if you really want that car - don't buy it just because it's cheap and it exists. A buddy of mine once bought an E36 M3 because it satisfied a number of criteria he had and it was affordable, but he didn't buy it because he really wanted an E36 M3. He regretted it as soon as it gave him problems because the abstract criteria go right out the window when it starts being annoying. I really really wanted a first gen RX-7 - it wasn't just a car that I saw as an affordable & fun to drive car - good thing too because I put a lot of sweat into that car and I would have hated it if I didn't love it. If you really want a Neon, go for it, otherwise I'd pass. However, if you really do want a Neon, I'd track down an ACR and spend a bit more money.

 

[phillgt2002]

In my experience, it only makes sense to buy a car that is potentially time & money intensive if you really want that car - don't buy it just because it's cheap and it exists. A buddy of mine once bought an E36 M3 because it satisfied a number of criteria he had and it was affordable, but he didn't buy it because he really wanted an E36 M3. He regretted it as soon as it gave him problems because the abstract criteria go right out the window when it starts being annoying. I really really wanted a first gen RX-7 - it wasn't just a car that I saw as an affordable & fun to drive car - good thing too because I put a lot of sweat into that car and I would have hated it if I didn't love it. If you really want a Neon, go for it, otherwise I'd pass. However, if you really do want a Neon, I'd track down an ACR and spend a bit more money.

Ah, yes, I've learned the hard way as well, although my mini project turned into a restoration nightmare.

 

[LM7325]

Going a bit off topic I know exactly how aggravating a project car can be. At this point everything I own is a project car, a project fleet if you will. The GTO sits front and center because of how hard replacement parts are to come by, I have really considered selling it but then that LS1 and T56 just suck me back in every time. Now I am working on a 2001 Chevrolet 3500 Duramax I picked up with just over 100k mikes for $8500. It's mechanically sound, but being 21 years old means things will break. My daily driver 2005 Silverado is really starting to show its age now also, because GM must have had a built in expiration date on all the plastic bits, everything inside of it is starting to fray and crack and is breaking.

All that being said, I really would like a K5 Blazer or maybe a C5 Corvette to mess with lol.

 

[Eunos_Cosmo]

Going a bit off topic I know exactly how aggravating a project car can be. At this point everything I own is a project car, a project fleet if you will. The GTO sits front and center because of how hard replacement parts are to come by, I have really considered selling it but then that LS1 and T56 just suck me back in every time. Now I am working on a 2001 Chevrolet 3500 Duramax I picked up with just over 100k mikes for $8500. It's mechanically sound, but being 21 years old means things will break. My daily driver 2005 Silverado is really starting to show its age now also, because GM must have had a built in expiration date on all the plastic bits, everything inside of it is starting to fray and crack and is breaking.

All that being said, I really would like a K5 Blazer or maybe a C5 Corvette to mess with lol.

I know how you feel. My RX-7 is sitting in a garage 1508.9 miles from my house, without an engine

 

[GranTurNismo]

At 54K miles, I'm wondering if the timing belt was ever replaced. The Achille's Heel was the head gasket, as it seeped coolant into the block. I had the head gasket replaced with the water pump and T-belt at like 70K, and it didn't fail on me up to 162,000 miles. The frameless windows made lots of whistling sounds at highway speeds.

Ad has no mention of the timing belt (I will make sure to ask about it when I look at the car tomorrow), though looking around on Marketplace, there are more than a few 94-98 Neons with head gasket issues. That being said, there are only 3 or 4 Neons of this era for sale in my metro area, so I had to look far and wide for comparable examples.

I say go for it, $700 sounds fair but definitely go look at it in person first. For a brief period I was interested in getting either a Neon R/T or an ACR with the slightly hotter twin cam engine they had.

Cannot find a single ACR or R/T for sale on Marketplace, period. Though, there was a Neon Sport Coupe with low miles, in good shape, and a manual transmission for $3,000. Still much more than I'd want to spend on a car right now.

In my experience, it only makes sense to buy a car that is potentially time & money intensive if you really want that car - don't buy it just because it's cheap and it exists. A buddy of mine once bought an E36 M3 because it satisfied a number of criteria he had and it was affordable, but he didn't buy it because he really wanted an E36 M3. He regretted it as soon as it gave him problems because the abstract criteria go right out the window when it starts being annoying. I really really wanted a first gen RX-7 - it wasn't just a car that I saw as an affordable & fun to drive car - good thing too because I put a lot of sweat into that car and I would have hated it if I didn't love it. If you really want a Neon, go for it, otherwise I'd pass. However, if you really do want a Neon, I'd track down an ACR and spend a bit more money.

I have enough of a desire for the car to want to buy it for $700. I would not be interested in buying a Cavalier or Escort of the same year and condition for $700. The Neon just has character that other compact cars of the era do not have, and given that it's $700 and can be had with very inexpensive insurance, the "opportunity cost" is quite low. Not sure what I'd want to do the Neon if I get, probably will keep it almost completely stock, but I wil make sure to keep it very clean. Though, as I've mentioned I have no "need" for a second car and if I were to get one, it would need to be quite cheap, which this car is. I feel like were at a point where Neons can only go up in value, especially since most first-gens are now technically classic cars.

 

[phillgt2002]

I know how you feel. My RX-7 is sitting in a garage 1508.9 miles from my house, without an engine

My heart goes out to you.

----


@GranTurNismo - Look at your budget and ask yourself how much $700 and maybe $3,000 in parts and a cheap Maaco paint job means to you in the long run. You may even be able to negotiate it down to $600.

Honestly, if you're looking to just have a car to wrench on to learn about mechanics in general, $700 isn't a bad start, and much cheaper than taking classes at a technical college - YouTube and my sheer will and stupidity beat any mechanic I had..... until I ran into electrical issues.

Regardless, with a 25 y/o car that was a budget car when it came out, as well as an American budget car, you might realize you'll need to do a lot.

Keep us posted. I'm very interested in what you choose to do!

 

[EngieDiesel]

I would say that the best thing you can do is take the car to a shop and get a full inspection done on it before you consider buying. This may seem a bit pricey, especially for something being offered that cheap, but it's better to know exactly what will need repairing and how much it will cost you to do so, rather than sinking money into it and then discovering it's got an unfixable fault that renders all that work futile. Remember that you're not only buying a car, you're also buying that car's maintenance and whatever misuse the previous owner(s) subjected it to.

If the owner refuses to let you have it inspected, then walk away because they know something major is wrong with it and just want you to buy a paperweight.

 

[Tornado]

Automatic Neons never should have been made in the first place. Crack pipe at any price.

 

[Joey D]

Ohh a Neon!

Ya, don't buy an automatic Neon from that era. The transmission is horrendous at best. Or if you do buy an automatic Neon, do a 5-speed swap as soon as you can. If I was able to figure it out and perform it successfully while mostly drunk, you can likely do it too.

Otherwise, it's not a bad car and parts are dirt cheap for them. When we built our rally car, my buddies and I got 90% of everything out of the junkyard and what we couldn't get, the local auto parts store had it. @Pupik hit on all the stuff that you'd need to be aware of though in terms of what could be wrong with it.

Honestly, if you want to get into autocrossing for cheap this would be the way to do it. Get the car, get a gearbox out of a junkyard, spend a weekend putting it together, then gut the car as much as you can. Once you got that down and all the safety stuff is in order, link up with your local SCCA and start autocrossing.

 

[GranTurNismo]

Decided not to buy the Neon, for the simple reason that the condition of the car did not match how it was described in the advertisement. My grandpa came along with me to check the car out, since he's owned many Mopar cars in the past and has a pretty expensive code reader he can use on the car. Even though the car looked very clean on the outside, and the paint was in great shape, it was not mechanically sound. The head gasket was cracked, clogged radiator (makes car prone to overheating from what I understand), the transmission had a fluid leak, and it desperately needed new brakes. Check engine light was on as well. All of this at just over 54k miles. The car ran and drove fine, but the brakes made a very loud squeaking noise, and I don't imagine it would last much longer as is given the head gasket issues.

Even worse, the owner (original owner) seemed to be unaware these problems existed when we brought it up. He has Alzheimers and hasn't driven the car in months as he is no longer able to, so it is likely he completely forgot about his Neon's issues. The car was listed in his daughter's name, so I have a feeling she listed the car not knowing anything about the car's issues. Ultimately, it made little sense to buy this car, as the costs repairs greatly exceeded the value of the car itself.

I guess I should have been more skeptical of this ordeal itself. $700 really is a low price for a running car in today's demand-pulled used car market, and Neon's, despite being cute looking, are literally the worst build car in their class. Even crapboxes like the Daewoo Lanos, Hyundai Elantra/Kia Sephia, and Mitsubishi Mirage at the time had better quality. So I'd be naive to expect a first gen Neon without any problems.

 

[EngieDiesel]

I'm starting to wonder if that poor thing has even been in for an oil change in its lifetime. Definitely a hard pass on that one, and it's good that you had someone able to accompany you to give it a once-over.

 

[kjb]

Decided not to buy the Neon, for the simple reason that the condition of the car did not match how it was described in the advertisement. My grandpa came along with me to check the car out, since he's owned many Mopar cars in the past and has a pretty expensive code reader he can use on the car. Even though the car looked very clean on the outside, and the paint was in great shape, it was not mechanically sound. The head gasket was cracked, clogged radiator (makes car prone to overheating from what I understand), the transmission had a fluid leak, and it desperately needed new brakes. Check engine light was on as well. All of this at just over 54k miles. The car ran and drove fine, but the brakes made a very loud squeaking noise, and I don't imagine it would last much longer as is given the head gasket issues.

Even worse, the owner (original owner) seemed to be unaware these problems existed when we brought it up. He has Alzheimers and hasn't driven the car in months as he is no longer able to, so it is likely he completely forgot about his Neon's issues. The car was listed in his daughter's name, so I have a feeling she listed the car not knowing anything about the car's issues. Ultimately, it made little sense to buy this car, as the costs repairs greatly exceeded the value of the car itself.

I guess I should have been more skeptical of this ordeal itself. $700 really is a low price for a running car in today's demand-pulled used car market, and Neon's, despite being cute looking, are literally the worst build car in their class. Even crapboxes like the Daewoo Lanos, Hyundai Elantra/Kia Sephia, and Mitsubishi Mirage at the time had better quality. So I'd be naive to expect a first gen Neon without any problems.

Smart man! I would pass it on it too.