Lord_Galva

I just bought 6 months of insurance, paid late dmv fees, and replaced the radiator on my 97' Neon. As I'm putting the antifreeze in the expantion tank I hear drip drip. Aghhhhhhh. I've hated this car since I bought it and it hates me back. This is all I got and its costing me too much repair wise. I don't want to dip into my 968 savings account to buy a car.

luckett

sell the neon and buy a honda or toyota.

RajDatta

True, until America shows me they can build a quality car, I plan to stay away from them. Until then my 1st priority will be german cars with Japanese next. Japanese cars are a lot more reliable, even more than german cars, but they are not as much fun to drive.
This is speaking in general terms.
Raj

Lord_Galva

Like I said. Don't want to dip into the 968 savings fund for another POS.
I drove it around the block and its leaking pretty bad.
Looks like trips to Cache Creek will be difficult.

FRporscheman

lol cache creek

I agree! Japanese cars are surprising and often underestimated. My very first car (which I usually don't count as my actual first car, unless the conversation is about cheap Japanese cars) was a '88 Honda Civic. I got it for free at around 130k miles. I drove it until about 170k. Then I sold it to my best friend and he drove it until it spun a bearing at around 200k. It only spun a bearing because the dolt never checked the oil.

I saw a video on youtube where a bunch of college kids tried to destroy a CRX for fun. They emptied the oil and started it up, expecting spectacular noises, sparks, chunks, and explosions. Well the damn thing kept running for many minutes (I think like 10 minutes?) with no oil at all.

And you can get a 88 civic for what your neon is worth, easily. They actually handle well too if you can believe that.

N/a 944

I can atest to things like that... had a car come into a shop i used to go to. Well it was actually a truck but the dude had NEVER changed his oil, and wondered what the knocking sound was in his engine. Uh dude... you spun a bearing...
On a slightly related story I also saw a vid of a toyota tacoma with the 22r engine (4 cyl) that had spat a piston AND a rod and the crank case that covered that rod out and onto the ground. So basically you could see through the engine from one side to the other, and see the spining crankshaft. The dude started it up and was reving it and stuff while he was filming. There was NO oil in it, and it was missing 1 of 4 pistons and rods. It kept going for another 3 to 5 mins before it died at idle. It wasn't a siezing stop though it just kind of sounded like it couldnt catch itself coming back down to idle.

Lord_Galva

Gwaaaa.
Evil Japanese cars will not and have not set foot in our driveway.
I asked my mom and dad and neither have owned a japanese car.
My dad was big on american cars until he visited the Porsche factory in 72'
And mom has only had a rabbit, a volvo, an audi, and various plymouth vans.
Actually if I wanted to waste a grand I'd buy a van before I bought a civic.
No offence to you civic owners.

luckett

then don't whine about having to fix your POS neon! you have choices and you've chosen a neon.

FRporscheman

I'm not one to be oppositional but you were wrong to choose american cars over japanese cars. I understand once one gets into something one has a propensity to have a loyalty to it, but you should just think about it. Classic american muscle cars and stylish collector's models have their own place, but the common domestic auto fodder in this country has no redeeming values.

PorscheDude1

Just look at the billions these American company's are losing by designing very conservative products and missing consumer trends by 5 years.

At least GM hit a home run with ZO6.

Lord_Galva

Glad I ducked from all that incomming fire. Gaaa.
Just to clairify, my dad forced me into buying that Neon. I had hit a guardrail on the highway in very bad weather conditions in my Audi. (non quattro ) It bent up the hood just a bit and prevented it from closing. My dad made me spend the $1000 on the neon instead of fixing the Audi. He then donated it to a charity who then resold it to my old boss. She loved it and said it was a real champ. The charity fixed the hood and the car ran another 3 years before being stolen. I don't know where it is now but we sold it with 300k miles. My loyaties are in Germany and europe abroad. (bring TVR to the US, that'l teach those Corvettes) I'm going to make the best of the Neon now that I want to Autocross it.

Now to business, can I fit the 16" Cup I's on the Neon? It has 14" wheels on it now.

jeff968

Don't be ashamed of your Neon. They sold many of them and there are some Neon SRT4s out there that could spank many Porsche's. My first cars were Chryslers and I had great luck with them. Matter a fact, My 80's mopars taught me that I could get plenty of performance with the practicality of a 4 cylinder 2.2 liter turbo. I owned a very interesting car. A 1990 Dodge Shadow with the garrett T3 variable nozzle turbo and intercooler. It was a great car and served me for 120K miles before i purchased my first Audi. We've also owned jeeps and had great luck with them. My brother purchased a 2003 Acura MDX new and that thing has had two transmissions, the full front end, and air conditioning system replaced so there are japanese lemons out there as well. Don't let anyone tell you different. Yeah, the japanese make good cars but so does the US. I'm rooting that the home team comes back again. IMHO.

RajDatta

Didn't Lotus assist Dodge on that turbo engine?
Raj

jeff968

Good memory Raj, that was the 16 valve version of the 2.2 that came out in 1992. Lotus made the head for them. It got the hp of the 2.2 to 224hp!!! The head didn't hold up well and after a few years, many cracked. They used it in the Daytona and the Spirit R/T and the cars were $20K. A lot of cash for a dodge. they didn't sell well.

RajDatta

I remember them very well. Especially the Daytona RT with the crinkly red finish valve cover. I remember them in the low 6 secs to 60 which was very good in those days.
Ironically, we are using that turbo tech 20 some yrs later.

Raj