Our Cars : Steven Ward’s Chrysler Neon
January 13, 2013
· 
Keith Adams · 
35 Comments
Can you believe that we now have two Chryslers on the fleet – first, Richard Kilpatrick gets behind the wheel of a 21st century Rover P5 in the form of a 300C.
And now this… Steven Ward buys an automotive joke for the right reasons and loves it
Bright Lights
To those who are about to whinge I apologise now. This is a Reader’s Drive story fit only for that illustrious Car-Comic that was Jalopy. Sadly Jalopy was so far ahead of the curve it predicted the demise of the Dead Tree Press by nearly 20 years. Which means instead of this Bangernomics Story appearing in a Pot Boiler form, it’s here electronically – for free. So quit complaining.
Late last year saw my delectable Coupe Fiat (AROnline CotY 2012) off-loaded to Ben Adams of this parish. The part-ex I’d taken in was an Omega that was losing its head, so it was sent to the Block and converted into £249. This was to be my budget for my new automotive adventure.
The missus does a daft daily commute from the ‘burbs to the country via a wretched stretch of dual carriageway that rarely moves quicker than gallop. Which means her usual steed, a Disco Diesel is hard work for two reasons; 1) That clutch doesn’t get any lighter and 2) In winter the engine never warms-up enough to heat the cabin until into its into the next county.
Christmas was coming and she wanted a new car for the now twice daily cold commute. So I thought I’d treat her while at the same time getting myself a new motor. two birds, one stone, clever of what? The only remit was it had to be auto and it had to be petrol. I knew of just the job!
A part-time Trader friend of mine had been sat on this particular bit of Detroit Iron for over 18 months. It had been his wife’s third Chrysler Neon in a row and had been maintained religiously. This was the later four-speed autobox and was the subject of the marital strife. You see, where previously the Neon used an old but lovely three-speed auto, the new mk2 model four-speed had an Achilles heel.
The new ‘box had a known issue of a weak Valve Body and this example had chucked it entering a busy bridge to the City and that was it. His missus walked away from it and picked up a Golf, vowing never to trust the Neon ever again. He fixed the car with a brand new, improved valve body from Chrysler (at vast expense), gave the car a full service, new brake pads all round and a couple of new tyres. But she wasn’t going back.
I offered a derisory sum of money as his missus was by now wanting the covered parking space for her Golf. Reluctantly and just hours away from Christmas, he called to say I’d bought the Neon. Y679HGY, a 2.0 LX finished in silver with mink leather and 60k miles showing was now mine.
A quick check over in the workshop revealed a few issues to be attended to before the MoT, but nothing serious. An odd design of brake flexi-pipe which incorporated a metal section was showing signs of surface corrosion to all four calipers and the front subframe was also showing a very slight surface corrosion. Nothing to worry about, but these are the MoT tester’s favourite failure points all the same.
Emery Cloth in hand, my mate and I sanded the surface corrosion from the brake flexi pipes until shiny metal was exposed. The subframe was attended to with a wire brush. Both areas were painted with two coats of rust converting chassis paint from an old tin I had lying around. Once they were dry, large sections of the underside were sprayed using old aerosols of stone chip guard. Then I bought a large tin of Hammerite Shultz and used the air-line gun to give the whole underside a generous coat of thick black rust-proofing. Expenditure £6. Black Snots; numerous
While the car was in the air, the four alloy wheels complete with steel centre caps were sent away to be shot-blasted and repainted in the Chrysler silver to match the body. Two tyres were new, so they were re-used. Another tyre was barely worn, while the other had suffered side wall cracks from age and low inflation. That was replaced with a new Goodyear while all four wheels benefited from new valves and a re-balance. Costs; wheels £110 while one new tyre, four valves, four lots of balancing, and one disposal = £57.60.
A rear stop lamp had failed as had a front fog lamp. The rear lamp bulb was an odd design which my local factor didn’t carry, but Halfords did. While at Halfords I also bought a new 22in driver’s side wiper blade complete with a spoiler and a 18in passenger item. The failed front fog was traced back to a connector which had unconnected. However, while sussing this, the other front fog lamp exploded as it had damp in it due to cracked lens. Costs; stop lamp £2.29, Wiper Blades £8.90.
A trip to the local scrap yard found a replacement fog lamp with a working bulb. This was soon removed from the damaged car and refitted to mine while it remained on the workshop ramp. Cost £12. Luck; plenty.
Overnight the battery had been put on charge, but not before the electrolyte levels were topped up using some distilled water. I also use a battery acid additive on such occasions to bring an old battery back to life. After a 24 hour charge, the battery was showing as ‘STRONG’ on the meter. Costs £3.60 + mains electric.
While my mate stripped, cleaned, greased and re-assembled the brakes and checked the fluid levels, I brought an old clay bar back to life and set about the bodywork. I then used some old cheap polish to shine the bodywork. The tyres were also slicked using a cut-up sponge and some bumper gel. The external glass was cleaned using a paste before getting treated to Rainex. Costs; nil – everything was lying around the workshop.
Finally a trip to the MoT station where it passed with no advisories! The next stop was the post office where six months’ tax cost a not inconsiderable £148.50. Now we were motoring!
The interior by the way was as clean as a whistle and required no attention.
The Neon is a car which is unfairly ignored and mocked, this I know. ndeed, the point was rammed home when I went to the pub on Sunday and John asked if I needed Pet insurance rather than Trade insurance on my new Smoker…
When I have the whole used car parc at my finger tips, why did I buy such a derided piece of American cheapness? Aside from the daft low purchase price, obviously. Well, in my time as motor trader, I’ve bought and sold four Neons and you know what? I liked them all, with no exceptions. What’s more, none of them gave me a moment’s grief, and in my job, that is priceless.
In my experience, old American Iron while never cutting edge in any respect, settles down to a reliable, comfortable life of unglamorous graft. They just get on with the job and don’t irritate or intrude in your life. So they like a bit of a slurp of the sans-plomb, but then so does any Honda-engined Rover. Essentially, once all of the none essential bits have fallen off, they’ll be pretty much bomb-proof and good for 200k miles.
Chrysler’s potted history is much like our BL, except its still here. There are scores of good websites and books dedicated to Chrysler and the even the Neon. Take a look at this web page on Business Week for an insight into the motivation for Neon; and try not to get too emotional.
The car I’ve bought is exceptionally well equipped. What other car gives you a sturdy, florescent, emergency release handle velcro’d to the inside of the bootlid in case of kidnap? Aside from that its also got, as standard; Leather (everywhere) CD and cassette player, air-con, front and side airbags, electrically adjustable seat, remote central locking, various courtesy, map, vanity, mood and reading lamps, locking glovebox with boot release inside, electric windows and (folding) mirrors, variable intermittent front wipe, intelligent heated rear window and a handbook clearly written by an engineer. Do you want me to go on? I can you know.
The plastics are of a nice grain and of decent quality. There are no squeaks, rattles, groans, zizzes or damaged trim in this cabin. The indicator stalks are chunky, functional and feel fine to use. Visibility is terrific, the footwell is spacious with a great left food rest. The seats are comfortable, headroom is good.
The engine is nippy and tolerably refined. The steering is well weighted and quick. The ride is quiet and well controlled. The handling is sharp enough and strikes a good compromise between sharp and sloppy. The bodyshell looks and feels strong and shows no signs of corrosion. Even the paint is well applied.
It’s a bloody good car for the money, despite what anyone will tell you and I’ll be reporting back on it over the next six months.
Related posts:
- Chrysler 180 Gallery
- Chrysler 180 : Chrysler Centura
- The cars : Chrysler 180/SIMCA 1610
- The cars : Chrysler Sunbeam
- The cars : Chrysler Horizon
35 Responses
Very nice. Much nicer than I remember you describing it to me!!
The design of the alloys looks very familiar. I think Ford may have issued some similar ones to the Mondeo.
Doesnt ir use the BINI engine?
It probably won’t be a surprise to anyone that I absolutely love the original Neon – amazing handling for such a “budget” (as was) car thanks to independent McPherson struts all round (practically the same front and rear IIRC, though I’d need to find an old brochure to remind myself).
And the 2nd Generation looks to be a big improvement. I like the first, I like the low body, the simplicity (the 1st gen body engineering looks like crude box sections with a pretty body on top). And I liked the frameless windows. I’d be really interested to know how this one drives and how well they hold up aside from the surface rust as 2nd Gen Neons are astoundingly cheap – I nearly bought a green one because it was cheaper than tyres for my 300C.
This is a car which had to banish the dynamic demons of the K-car. We can look at the budgets, but what the Neon really did was demonstrate the amazing strengths of the Chrysler/AMC engineers of the ’90s; it would have been so easy to blow all that money on a less exciting, ‘safer’ design and end up with a bad car (see Ford’s ’90s Escort). And when I had one there wasn’t a huge difference in price between it and a Suzuki Baleno (estate or 4-door, not the little hatch), both sold in the same dealership. By comparison the Baleno was ugly, crude, coarse and cramped, though much better on economy. On the other hand, I’ve also never driven a manual Neon, so no idea how much better they are for UK roads.
Pete: Sort of. The 1.6 was found in export Neons for some markets, like Brazil. I dread to think what it was like with only 89bhp.
I’d like to try a 2-door Neon R/T with DOHC engine. Cars which could have helped Chrysler’s image in the UK, one of many…
I’ve always liked these for some reason, was sitting in one fresh in my local scrappy that was fresh in, It was a manual RT with black leather, and nothing wrong with it as far as I could tell, the only thing I did not like about it was the silvery fake carbon trim round the radio centre console, a nice bit of fake wood would have been far nicer.. but that was about it!
It’s interesting to read about the European version of the Neon as it sounds much nicer than the one we got in the USA. I have never seen a Neon with leather seats and the diesel engine yours has was never sold over here. They didn’t have the best of reputations and were usually equipped with rather nasty interiors and had too much of a feeling of cheapness to sell well in their later years. They are actually starting to be a rare sight on US roads as so many of them have been scrapped in the last few years. There’s a reason Chrysler went bankrupt (again) and needed a government bailout (again).
Around a third of Neons registered survive in the UK as of 2013 (according to howmanyleft), they were seen as a cheap left field option here in the UK, most Chrysler dealers in London were in more, ahem, run down areas and I believe were a bit easier to buy on credit back in the day than many other makes too I believe.
Nice. Very underrated car, not something many of us would usually consider. I am always a fan of the rare underdog
It’s successor is probably the new Delta, via the 3rd gen Sebring.
I remember being in a mk1 Chrysler Sebring in Spain, thought it was a comfortable big bus.
Sebrings are (sadly) unrelated to the Neon. And worse for it. I assume there’s a reason the Neon platform wasn’t scaled for the Sebring/Avenger, which I think were spun off from the Mitsubishi shared platform that originated with the popular little Eclipse/Eagle Talon.
SHITE. SCRAP IT.
Thank goodness it’s not an old Kia
The car which could have been the next Rover 400, if one of the many ‘what ifs’ had come to pass, in this case the one about BMW offloading Rover’s passenger car operations to Chrysler some time in 1998.
And as for the BINI (Tritec) engined Neon, possibly not such a slug as might be thought. Theres only about 100kg of a weight difference in favour of the BINI over a 2 litre Neon, and the Tritec (in essence a Neon engine scaled down to 90%)is a good deal lighter than the big block.
it does raise the question of what a Neon would go like with a supercharged engine breathed on in a similar manner to the JCW MINIs…
I equate luxury with space more than trim quality, and I’d really have liked a Neon with the Voyager’s 3.3 OHV running gear. Someone on Retrorides is making just such a beast, and I’m watching to see how it turns out.
I have always regarded the Neon as a sort of Morris Marina for the noughties..
@12
Would the 300 have came to pass? Could they still have relied on the E class platform, or could Rover and Chrysler have came up with a large car platform between them?
A Roverised 300, as per a modern P5 would have been very interesting indeed.
The Voyager would have been the MPV that Rover needed.
There was an R/T model though it was a 132bhp automatic.
Apparently the Dodge Caliber was the replacement (the SUV thing).
The US DOHC R/T was 150bhp and manual, and there was the ACR ‘club racer’ model as well.
If Chrysler were offered Rover in ’98, was it post/during/pre DCX merger activity – i.e. was it dangled when they had stuff ongoing, or after the stronger entity of DaimlerChrysler, or an alternative before the merger?
Either way, the LX (not E-class!) platform would have underpinned a larger car than the 75 – I don’t think the British engineers would have liked the 5m long, 120″ wheelbase beast. Just too big for their perceptions of mass market. It would be wonderful with a bit of wood and leather, but I also suspect the sub £40K price would have been nearer £50K in that case and the poor beast would have languished even longer than the 260 and 75 V8. Chrysler didn’t have a platform that would have solved the need for a mass market car, either.
Good for you, Steven. It makes me fume when perfectly serviceable cars of that age and ilk are sent to the scrapyard. That’s an obscene amount of road tax, though!
Fascinating to read of the flourescent release handle inside the boot – I doubt you’d see that anywhere else except in custom-built high-end vehicles.
Talking of which, I had a laugh at HMQ’s Bentley failing to start yesterday; given that it only does the occasional half-mile trundle at 20mph while running on margarine, I’m surprised it doesn’t fail more often. The innards must be more furred up than Eric Pickles’ arteries.
I actually quite liked both versions of the Neon. I briefly considered a 2.0LX mk2 as a company car – cheap company car tax and a lot of car for the money. Sadly the local dealer was Dick Lovett and the salesmen were so up themselves I walked out, went back to Hartwell and had a very late 400 Tourer.
I sampled a Chrysler Cirrus in the States back in 96 and that was a very pleasant drive.
A black 51 plate R/T turned up on Gumtree for £500 not far from me, I was almost tempted.
Magnus: the handle in the boot became a requirement on US-made vehicles from 2002, as rightly stated as an “anti-entrapment” facility!
I like them, I had a mk1 neon a lovely met blue color but the biggest let down on the early cars was the windows going out of line and the glass ending up scratched and the major issue with head gasket leaking oil at the back of the block.
That problem was subject to court cases in the US because Chrysler denied there was any issue.
My car had that problem and I was quoted £900 to replace the gasket and that was about 8years ago.
The mk2 had revised gasket so the problem is less common. But it’s. Good to see one being cared for. I have a tow bar for the mk2 if you need one.
Most of these i have come across have been rotten after five years,subframes holed and the like.In America i think they was aimed at college kids and were cheap,over here they was certainly better to drive than the truly awful PT cruiser.
The best selling American car of all time in Britain simply because it was more European sized, but still had some American attributes like chintzy trim, an equipment level like a Bentley, soft ride and an automatic option mated to a leisurely two litre engine.
I think anyone in the market for a cheap Mondeo sized banger that’s a bit different but isn’t a nightmare to maintain like a big French car, should maybe look at the Neon. There’s still quite a few around, used prices are low and parts are quite easy to get hold of.
I must say, the Neon barely registers on my radar- tbh like most others, I’ve dismissed it as a cosmetically-challenged attempt at an American Euro car (usually they take a perfectly reasonable looking European car and hit it with a branch of the ugly tree instead of creating a new car for that market).
Might consider one when it comes to buying a banger, if there is a good one going cheap.
“over here they was certainly better to drive than the truly awful PT cruiser.”
PT Cruiser shares the Neon platform I believe.
The PT Cruiser platform is not shared with the Neon. For starters the rear suspension is a dead beam with Watt’s linkage rather than fully independent with McPherson struts.
Found one on the gumtree
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/chrysler-neon-for-sale/1006054955
Lot of car, low miles and not that old, for such low money!
The big auto US-captive import Honda has really got me into the ‘merkin style of driving compared to the increasingly harsh nurburgring-tuned European cars.
Nice one Steve! That really is the thinking man,s Magentis
Or the car the Nissan QX could have been.
What do you put on the left food rest? Can you use it for a drink?
BURN IT WITH FIRE.
@30, Towerz,
You wouldn’t happen to be Jonn Towerz of Phoenix Four fame perchance?
Mind you, referring to them as the Phoenix Four makes them sound like lycra-clad heroes from a Marvel comic.
Or maybe their evil dopplegangers…
OH SWARD.
Always had a soft spot for these, especially the R/T model, why do people always opt for the German stuff (Golf, urgh!) in the vain hope they’ll be trouble-free? After owning several German cars, I’ll swear I’ll never buy another, over-rated isn’t the word!!
@Steve
I keep banging on like a broken record, but the german sales success and reliability image is all marketing, which they are admittedly very good at.
Neon started off as a concept in the early 90s, when US manufacturers were moving to the European-style ‘aero’ look.
http://i715.photobucket.com/albums/ww151/theyear1992/92.jpg
http://www.netcarshow.com/dodge/1991-neon_concept/
Some hints of overall shape, though the fishbowl glasshouse was thankfully narrowed.
What are the grab handles on the roof in aid of?
Found some interesting Vectra concepts too
http://i184.photobucket.com/albums/x136/GTO-Carsouce/VectraNowspotted92.jpg
The Mondeo doing an impression of a squashed XJ here – http://1992.forumotion.com/t28-1993-ford-mondeo-spotted-1992
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