SRT4 quality /longevity

[lieu910]

I am helping my nephew (23 years old) shop for a new car. He's not a car nut, but would like something new and fun to drive. Fuel economy and practicality are a big concern.

We have narrowed it down to the SRT4 Neon. It fits his budget and he insists on buying new. We are both impressed with the initial quality of the car - very tight, etc.

I see quite a few old Neons on the road and know of some people squeezing some big miles out of them. Can anyone give any helpful insight as to how the car may hold up?

[Welby]

Personally, I think the lifespan of any car is entirely up the the person that owns it. Take care of it, and it'll take care of you.

[BLACK6PACK]

I'd buy one a year or two old. They take a beating on depreciation. You can get a new one for $21k. A used one with 13k miles on it will run about $16k. I think I'd buy one a year old to save $5,000. He can then take the money he saved and do some upgrades. Base upgrades can get that car into the 350 horsepower range.

[dragonational]

I agree if he buys a new one he can take the other money and customise it. Harry

[machinegun]

I would also look at the wrx. Subaru seems to have it going and they can be had reasonably too. Just a suggestion. So far the SRT4 seems to be a very good little car I have not checked yet but look up tech bulletins and recalls just to make sure. I would by 1 or 2 year old with 10 to 20 K. 7/70 still applies with a small fee and the money saved would allow upgrades. Got to have upgrades

[crownvic96]

if he's not a car nut why buy a car like the SRT-4? thats a turbo FWD vehicle. lots of power, torque steeer etc. i'd just buy a regular neon or maybe a subaru 2.5rs sedan and not worry about a turbocharged vehicle if he doesn't know much about cars or doesn't show any interest in wanting to wrench or learn about them.

for the price range that thing runs i'd look at a nissan sentra SE-R(spec V optional for him). fun cars, great drivetrains. probably last longer than a turbo neon would in the long run anyway.

[lieu910]

Thanks for the input guys. I agree that a car's longevity is typically a result of how it is driven and maintained.

I think he'll enjoy the car and for 21k it's a bargain. I had so much fun it I almost got the itch to trade the Magnum.

Thanks again

[Randy Greenoe]

My son is having a ball with his!So much so that his G.N. is on the back burner again. Buschur exhaust,Stage 1 ecm,and a K&N intake on a set of BFG drag radials netted a 12.84. Not bad at stock boost levels and pump gas.

[FLYNRYAN87]

I own a 2003 srt-4. I have 40,000 miles on it right now and no problems. It's great to have that much power and get 27-30 mpg.

[Slo86GN]

I've actually thought about buying an SRT4 once the Buick sells. Economical, fairly cheap, and fairly easy to mod. The other car I'm looking at is the Mitsu Evo VIII. Took an '03 for a drive a few weeks ago and it was a blast to drive...stopped, accelerated, and turned very nicely. I got back in the Buick to leave and boy was the age difference apparent...lol. Guess I need to go find an SRT to drive and see how it compares to the Evo.

[KevinB]

Another SRT-4 question here. Currently, my wife drives a Cadillac Sedan DeVille which has been very good (only 70K miles). We have one kid and one on the way, would it be worth trading in the Caddy for one of these? I want to get her a new car and the Neon SRT-4 looks like a great deal and a fun car. Is it smooth and comfortable on the highway? Is the back seat big enough for 2 baby seats??

[krom]

Get the Saab 9.2x, same as the WRX but under $20k with all the discounts.

[sr71gn]

Originally posted by Randy Greenoe
My son is having a ball with his!So much so that his G.N. is on the back burner again. Buschur exhaust,Stage 1 ecm,and a K&N intake on a set of BFG drag radials netted a 12.84. Not bad at stock boost levels and pump gas.

wow, thats pretty amazing--sounds like one whale of a bang for the buck to me

[denn454]

Originally posted by krom
Get the Saab 9.2x, same as the WRX but under $20k with all the discounts.

are you sure about that? i've heard that before but i had to question it. they do look similar and both have a 2.0 turbo engine so i guess maybe. but saab is gm and subaru is, subaru. i don't think there is any connection. i'd like someone to prove me wrong on this one.

[Bens87tr]

same thing. the saab is nicer though. Gm has a piece of Subaru too...

[krom]

Originally posted by denn454
are you sure about that? i've heard that before but i had to question it. they do look similar and both have a 2.0 turbo engine so i guess maybe. but saab is gm and subaru is, subaru. i don't think there is any connection. i'd like someone to prove me wrong on this one.

http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/

www.gm.com

[FattyMcTrickle]

Originally posted by crownvic96
for the price range that thing runs i'd look at a nissan sentra SE-R(spec V optional for him). fun cars, great drivetrains. probably last longer than a turbo neon would in the long run anyway.

I just looked at a SE-R spec V at the nissan dealership. I was there checking out 350Z's which the salesmen wouldn't even let me get in. But he then tried to sell me on this SE-R. It was actually a nice car for the price. I believe it was 21k for a fully loaded one with this really sweet 9 speaker stereo. It also had an amazing shifter which I believe should be the new standard for any car, it was really that good.

[Matto]

The 92X is a slightly redone (and a tad more expensive) subaru. I've heard it referred to as a "saabaru" by quite a few people.

http://www.azcentral.com/class/marke...saabintro.html

[lieu910]

Originally posted by KevinB
Another SRT-4 question here. Currently, my wife drives a Cadillac Sedan DeVille which has been very good (only 70K miles). We have one kid and one on the way, would it be worth trading in the Caddy for one of these? I want to get her a new car and the Neon SRT-4 looks like a great deal and a fun car. Is it smooth and comfortable on the highway? Is the back seat big enough for 2 baby seats??

THe backseat will handle 2 baby seats easily. Personally, it would not be my first choice for a primary family car. Occasional small trips with the kids are fine. For my primary family car that the kids are in, it must be a 5 star crash worthy vehicle or forget it.

Ride quality is very good overall for this type of car. Overall NVH is acceptable to me although I would put some resonators on the exhaust to quiet it down.