2003 Dodge Neon User Reviews

Great Sport Package On A Discontinued Production Line From Dodge! — I've only had it for a few months now and haven't taken it on the highway but from I've driven of it so far it's terrific! Rides like it's on rails, has pretty good pickup. Not mind blowingly fast but is 'peppy.' Braking power is a little on the weak side but gets the job done. The aesthetics of this car are simply awe inspiring and one of the main reasons I picked this car up used. It comes stock with body trim with spoiler, R/T badging, 16 inch aluminum rims, also 6-dash in car cd player, leather wrapped shift boot and steering wheel, power package, cruise control, ABS, and a 2.0 L DOHC generating (manufacturers figures) 150 lb. BHP, and 147 ft. lb. torque. It also has an aggresive looking front faschia and some cool teardrop headlights and the coolest fog lights i've seen. I highly recommend the 2003 Dodge SX 2.0 R/T. Update: after having it for a year now and taking it on the highway and getting snow tires my opinion has improved. This is still a great sport-compact. It's not mind blowingly fast but you can get up to highway speeds in a flash and the cruise control helps a lot. The car does make a lot of creaks and groans i've noticed though this could be due to the cheaper build quality though. Also I might've exagerrated on the 'awe-inspiring, visuals.' I was still on a high from recently purchasing the car. Don't get me wrong I still adore the looks of it but compared to say a Lambo, or Ferrari it's relatively meh... which is ok it's a sport compact not an exotic (apples to oranges). For what it is I like the looks of it compared to say a Focus, Civic, or Sentra. Even it's replacement at Daimler/Chrysler the Calibur has nothing on this car in terms of looks, at least in my opinion. Cost of ownership is great. It's not to hard on insurance costs and gassing it up is not frequent. It's all around low maintenance which is great. Lots of SX 2.0 and Neon parts around if need be. The car is just fun to drive. The gears are quite short, so you'll get a bit of a rush upshifting and downshifting and the car has a nice throaty sound from the exhaust and engine. Throttle response is nice too compared to say a Contour or Cavalier. Unfair comparison you might say?? Well i'm basing this from what I've driven it's certainly fun to drive, compared to those. Thanks for reading my review!

My Impression Of The Neon, Is That It Nickel And Dimes You To Death, But Sturdy And Good — Dont get me wrong it does great on gas mileage, but other then that i have had it since 2004 and i have had to replace the radiator, all 4 motor mounts, calaper's, went through 3 or more sets of brakes, 3 sets of tires, ect. I just wish that the transmission would not have went out! It no longer goes in reverse and hasnt for a while. Also ever since i got the car the CD player makes a clicking sound when it goes to eject a CD

Primary Use: Family transportation

Well If You Can Find One, Good Luck — any car will last as long as you take care of it. The neon has been running great and looks like a 2007, but its a 2003. So be scared, i get off the line faster than most. have a good one

Primary Use: Commuting to work

Good Buy — I like that it is red and has a spoiler. It has good acceleration and runs really smooth. The interiors are really great - red and black, instead of the beige that is so commonly found in used cars. In addition it is fuel efficient. 22-24 miles in the city per gallon.

Primary Use: Commuting to work

The Greatest Car Ever Built. Period. Exclamation Point. — This is, by far, the greatest car I have ever owned. Period. I bought this particular model because it had no equipment; manual windows, manual locks, no A/C, and in a manual transmission. When I bought it, it was 3 years old and had about 70,000km on it. Since then, I have really only replaced brakes, tires, rear wheel bearings, cam and crank sensors, and serviced fluids and performed tune-ups as required. It has a few upgraded parts on it as well. I installed B&G drop springs, a Progress 3-way adjustable rear sway bar, and installed a custom front strut tower brace, cool-air intake with heat shroud, and replaced the muffler with one that's a bit louder. I also installed EBC Greenstuff brake pads. I drive this car all year round, and for the summer I have a set of 15" Motegi wheels with GT Radial 328 tires. I will admit, with the car lowered, it's a bit of a plow in the winter, but that's life. The car has nearly 200,000km on it, and the last 130,000km has not been easy on it. It's had many miles of hard driving, and even a track day thrown in for good measure. It's still running with a factory clutch, factory alternator and factory starter (knock wood), and the engine has no leaks.

Primary Use: Commuting to work