Reader's Opinions - '97 Ply Neon - Opinions of car?

[DOCTORBILL]

I just bought my son a '97 Ply Neon 2 door with 95,000 miles for
$1,400 (the blue book price for "fair" condition - repainted - peeling).
5 spd manual. 2 lt engine. Interior in good shape.

The second(?) owner was a car "simpleton"...when I looked at it the
dipstick was below the 'add oil' mark...! Many people don't check
their oil very often. He let a local car place 'take care' of his vehicle.

He is a 'salesman' who sells electronics parts....semiconductors.
I hope I didn't get scammed.

I added oil immediately. Needed coolant also.

It seems in good shape. Shifts OK. Peppy. Brakes good.
No oil dripping underneath. Not smoking. Good rubber on tires.

What mpg's can my son expect from this car?

Any bad stuff to look out for? Special stuff this car requires?

How do they handle in snow? We live in Spokane, WA.

DoctroBill

[das2123]

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

What mpg's can my son expect from this car?

If you don't mash the gas pedal, around 30-35 MPG in the city around possibly around 35-40 on the highway/freeway.

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

Any bad stuff to look out for? Special stuff this car requires?

The timing belt is a 100,000 mile belt. So you may want to look into either changing it out your self or having someone else do it. The tensioner pulley and water pump should be changed at the same time also.

Spark plugs should always be the copper champions or copper NGK's. The neon does not like platinum or split-fire plugs. The neon will not benefit at all from either so save the money and buy the stockers!

MTX fluid, always use the dealer Mopar fluid. It's a bit costly, but way cheaper than a tranny rebuild. It will keep your tranny shifting smooth for years to come.

The neon can be a very reliable vehicle is taken care of like any car out there. I know people who have over 300,000-400,000 miles on their neon with both the stock engine and tranny.

Originally Posted by DOCTORBILL

How do they handle in snow?

I live in Texas, so I have no first hand knowledge on this, but I do know people who don't have problems in the snow.

[nimitz23ky]

when i bought mine for a few months it was left stock. bought it in winter. i live in a semi to moderately snowy region. it pulls fine, some slips, but as with any car....i have plenty of hills to climb, and it took them with relative ease....decent snow traction, but as well depends on driver and tires. high performance tires will get you no where...get all weather tires.. not snow tires. too big, and they clump up and cause you to pull more snow....gets slick after a mile of so...