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There are other places to see and other things to do here! Neon-related: Changing the oxygen sensor in a Neon Car-related: My tribute to the Nissan Micra Shameful Drivers of Southern Ontario External related sites: |
A Web Page about the Dodge NeonI bought my '95 Neon used in early spring of 2000 for $6,800 and 148,000 kilometers on the odometer. My reasons were simple: we (my wife and I) decided that it wasn't our style to be a one-car family. We needed a second car, but since my wife's goal was to be a homemaker, it had to be cheap yet relatively reliable – being a 2 car, mortgage-laden, single child and single income family, this was very important. It had to have an automatic transmission so she could also drive it (I would've preferred a stick shift), and we both preferred it to have air conditioning (which didn't work when we bought it, allowing me to bargain the price down further). I wanted something that had pretty good performance, handled well, and got respectable gas mileage. It had to be a 4 door, since we do have a child to consider.
The paint on the roof, just above the passenger side of the windshield, has started to peel - badly. I will have to get this repainted. We bought the car because my wife liked the colour, but now I think we will go with a basic, easy-to-maintain colour. Something that will let me blend touch-ups easier with. Here are some of the projects I intend to undertake this year for this car: -Get a Darwin fish on my trunklid. I always wanted one of those. -Fix the stereo wiring. For some reason, I lose the right side once in a while. The stereo's an aftermarket with a nice CD player, so I presume whoever did it didn't do it right. I'm going to tear it out and wire everything properly. It is a nice Pioneer deck and matches this car quite nicely, so I'm keeping it. -Wire CB power direct to a power source. Currently, it's running off of the cigarette lighter adaptor. It works fine, except now I can't use that port for anything else while using my CB. It'd also look nicer to have the wires hidden. I'll do this while I have the stereo out and have access to all those wires. It has it's own fuse, so I won't have to worry about that. -Replace the passenger door speaker. It's not working right. -Install dashboard tweeters. There's a spot for them, so why not? Pretty low on my list of priorities, however. This may not see the light of day until next year. -Cold air or RAM air induction. I want to make something myself, simply for the pleasure of designing, building, and installing something very unique. -A repaint, as I've already mentioned. Maybe a white or an off-red, but something that's easy to colour-match (with a growing son in my family, I'm sure to be doing some body work in the near future as he learns to throw balls, amongst other things). I'll probably do the prep work myself (to ensure it's done properly). -Bigger, better wheels and tires. My car came with 13" wheels. I have since put snow tires on those rims. I'd like to get 14" wheels with good rain tires on them this spring, so I can swap my tires and wheels from one season to the next. I'll probably get used rims from the local scrap yard (I can't bring myself to buy something brand new for a 6 year old car!) -More internal gauges. My car came with the fuel and temperature gauges, as well as a spedometer that ends at 260 km/h! The rest is idiot lights. I like the ability to read the OBD codes, but I need more. I'd like to see what the battery voltage is at. I'd like to know what RPMs my engine is idling and running at. I'd like to get these gauges and mount them in my car. I'll probably wind up designing a very cool-looking console which will incorporate everything I want. -Lights, lights, and more lights! I'd like to have underdash floor lights that come on at the same time as the dome light does. I'd like to have map lights for both the front and the back seats. I'd like to have a light inside my glove box. I'd like to have an underhood light when I need to check under my hood at night time. I want to have lights everywhere you see them in more expensive cars. -Headlight washers. I discovered this past winter that these would be an excellent option to add!
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The
Neon met our criteria. On one hand, it's cheap: it was cheap to
buy, insurance rates are pretty good, it's cheap to maintain,
and it gets pretty good gas mileage. On the other hand, it's
fun to drive: it corners and handles well, it's pretty quick
(especially once the engine gets wound up), and it's a
comfortable car to drive. It also has a back seat that's very
easy to get in and out of; very handy when putting a small child
in the child safety seat. Comparable to the Honda Civic, we paid
about the same for a '95 Neon Highline sedan with 148,000 km's
on the odo as we would've for a much older, higher mileage Honda
Civic.
The next problem came
when there seemed to be a loss of power at times. I first
replaced the spark plugs and then the wires, which did make it
run a lot smoother, but the problem persisted. After posting my
problem at neons.com, it was brought to my attention that the O2
sensor could be fouled. Indeed, it was. I changed that myself,
and in the process discovered that the "Check Engine"
light bulb was missing, so I replaced that as well (and
discovered how easy it is to replace instrument cluster light
bulbs in this car). I also had to replace the front brake pads,
cleaned the brake dust out of the rear brake drums, and
thoroughly cleaned out my air box. For insurance (based on what
I learned about this car at neons.com), I had the timing belt
and water pump replaced. The timing belt was in good shape, but
the water pump showed signs of wear - good thing I replaced it.
For just under $1,000, this used Neon was just like a brand new
car.
I
later discovered that my '95 Neon has a high performance cam
shaft and a better air intake system - noiser than later Neon
models, but offering up more power. During my test drives of
used cars, it did seem faster than other similar Neons, and now
I know why. After driving for four years in a Nissan Micra, the
noise level inside the Neon is downright quiet in comparison.
I
put in a CB radio I had in my Micra. Once I tuned it, I was
pleasantly surprised with the results. My range is better with
the antenna on the trunk of my Neon than it was with the antenna
on the roof of the Micra. I had thought about getting a bigger
antenna, but I'm quite satisfied with the range I get with my
mag mounted stainless steel whip. The CB sits where the ashtray
used to be, and is powered by the cigarette lighter (being an
ex-smoker, I have no need for an ashtray).