New car soon, any experience with these?

[Inspiribomb]

I have decided that I will be buying a new car soon. I have been thinking about a few, but today went to a dealer and looked at one of these:

SRT-4 (http://www.dodge.com/srt-4/)

I will be test-driving one later this week. Pretty much a no-frills performance car, which is perfect for me :D I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this vehicle? Keep in mind that this is a totally different animal than the standard Neon. At under $23K, its hard to beat. Seriously, if you have any such-and-such brand sucks comments, don't even bother.

[vega ls-12]

very fast car and a good performer.
my only question would lie with durability..
after seeing my sis own a 97 for a few years, i personally would look elsewhere.
she bought the car with 30000 miles on it, 4 yrs old, owned by an older lady.
car was dealer maintained from the beginning.
my sis used mainly to commute to and from school a 40 mile drive each way..
suffice to say in under a year and a half the car needed a new head gasket(which they are known for) and a rebuilt tranny,, all for a car with under 50000 miles on it,,,and yes the car was meticulously mainted by me and my father.. did some checking and these problems are very common, hence the low resale..(out of a dodge mechanics mouth)

sorry for the long post, im not knocking them, but there are better values elsewhere imo ... does some shopping first :yes:
i understand this isnt a base neon,but the price difference is performance not quality,the cars a rocket,driven one on a test drive, but imo the are better values.

and yes,, i know ill probably get flamed for this :smoke:

[2DualsNotEnough]

Car and Driver has a comparison test in the Sept. issue with the SRT4,the Subaru Impreza WRX,Saturn Ion Red Line,the Chevy Cobalt SS,and Acura RSX Type-S.The Dodge finished 3rd,the WRX 2nd,and the Acura 1st.I know Acura has a great reputation for reliability,and Ive driven the WRX,and if I had a choice,Id pick the WRX in a walk.That is one fun-ass car to drive thru the twisties.
Jimmy

[Don C]

Link:
http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=9845

[blue_lateral]

and yes,, i know ill probably get flamed for this
Nah. I won't flame you. :D But as a Dodge mechanic in the mid 90's I had a different experience.

Neons were without a doubt the best cars we had. The only pattern failures they really had were fan relays, and spark plugs. Yeah, there were some head gasket problems, but that was in most cases that was a little oil seeping down the back of the block. Thats hardly a show-stopper. Most of these cars were still pretty new.

IMHO anything with an aluminum head on an iron block is likely to lose the head gasket completely (ie combustion getting in the radiator) between 80k and 100k miles. The aluminum expands faster than the iron, and this flexes the fire rings on the gasket. You can only bend a piece of metal so many times. It will break. I saw lots of neons with over 100k and original head gaskets, but any engine built this way (and there are lots of them) with over 80k has a head gasket that is on borrowed time. My $0.02.

Transmission failures were few and far between. At that time most of the Chrysler lineup had 4 speed automatics that were causing a little trouble :worried: . Neon automatics were 3 speeds based on the old torqueflyte design going back to 1960. The were almost Impossible to break. One way to break them was to burn off and get one tire spinning really fast. The spider gears would get to some ridiculous rpm and the differential would explode. I saw a couple of those. I didn't do tranny work, but I don't remember ever seeing a bad 5 speed (my preference anyway).

I like neons. Though we were selling a bazillion of them I didn't get very many to work on. Most of my time was spent on other models.

At that time the no-bullshit version was called an ACR. I really liked those. :yes:

I sure wouldn't write it off just yet

and Ive driven the WRX,and if I had a choice,Id pick the WRX in a walk.That is one fun-ass car to drive thru the twisties.
Jimmy

I have too, and they're an absolute blast. I haven't driven the SRT-4. Are they in the same price range?

John

[Inspiribomb]

19k-22k

[vega ls-12]

Nah. I won't flame you. :D But as a Dodge mechanic in the mid 90's I had a different experience.

Yeah, there were some head gasket problems, but that was in most cases that was a little oil seeping down the back of the block. Thats hardly a show-stopper. Most of these cars were still pretty new.

Most of my time was spent on other models.

:

I sure wouldn't write it off just yet

John

an oil leak on a fairly new car is alarming to me...
mot of your time spent on other models, speaks volumes on quality...
seriously though,, i value your opinion, but hold my ground :scratch2:

[Inspiribomb]

Going for a test drive later this week, and I can't wait. My 1988 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe is damn quick, but I haven't driven anything new, so it'll be interesting to see how this new turbo vehicle drives, supposed to be fast as hell. The salesman was telling me about the Stage 2/3 kits that are available that bring HP/Torque up over 400!!!

[Punker X]

I own a 99 Neon ACR, extremely fun car to drive. No major problems so far.

X

[soundmotor]

SRT-4 (http://www.dodge.com/srt-4/)

Congratulations - Upon taking receipt of your new SRT-4, you are now officially a target for every '02 on up WRX owner wanting to prove they are TeH fAsTaR & wishing to make you PWN3D!

Enjoy the stoplights!

:naughty:

[Inspiribomb]

Actually, the Impreza WRX is the other car I am seriously considering buying, but the SRT-4 seems to be more what I want. We'll see after some test-driving...

[vega ls-12]

Congratulations - Upon taking receipt of your new SRT-4, you are now officially a target for every '02 on up WRX owner wanting to prove they are TeH fAsTaR & wishing to make you PWN3D!

Enjoy the stoplights!

:naughty:

i agree with that. a guy i work with has one..
after a couple upgrades the car spin all four wheels, hard to in awd
the cars a monster,, hes taken out some very good company

[colortrakker]

Wow, toss-up. Impreza WRX has more balls and comes as a station wagon but it's ugly and costs $5 grand more. SRT-4's got the look, but no refinement (interior's still really cheap). Chevy Cobalt SS has almost as much horsepower (205) but you have to take a coupe to get it. SS Sedan's engine only has 171 HP.

If cost and style are no object, spring the $30 grand for the 300-HP Impreza WRX STi.

[Inspiribomb]

SRT-4's got the look, but no refinement (interior's still really cheap).

That is one of the points of this car. You're spending money on performance, not creature-comforts. I would prefer a no-frills interior.

Chevy Cobalt SS has almost as much horsepower (205)

Well, if you consider 205 ALMOST 230. The SRT-4 also has 250 lb-ft of torque. And unfortunately, cost is an object, compare 21K to 30K.

[colortrakker]

No-frills is one thing, Wal*Mart-grade trim is another. That's why I decided against a full-boat Grand Am last time I traded. All that plastic made the car feel EXTREMELY not worth the money.

Here's Motor Trend's head-to-head (http://motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0505_joysticks/index.html) on Cobalt & SRT-4. It's closer than the numbers suggest.

Or read what Car & Driver (http://www.caranddriver.com/article.asp?section_id=15&article_id=9845&page_number=1) says about Cobalt, SRT4, Ion Red Line, WRX and RSX.

[Inspiribomb]

Regardless, the I personally don't find the Cobalt to be an attractive car at all. I also prefer the turbocharger to a supercharger.

[colortrakker]

To each...but either way, the cost of premium's gonna kill ya.

[soundmotor]

Actually, the Impreza WRX is the other car I am seriously considering buying, but the SRT-4 seems to be more what I want. We'll see after some test-driving...

We own an '02 Impreza WRX Sport Wagon, here are a few thoughts on it:

Ours has 75K on it now & we bought it new. Even now with the mileage, it is rattle free and tight as my Audi. Gas mileage sucks but ours is an auto & my wife drives it mostly around town. A stick on the highway will get 26MPG or better. Ours gets 21MPG & sneaks up to 24MPG on the highway. So far, it is stone stock but I have a new Stromung turbo-back exhaust awaiting me to get off my butt & do it. Should both drop the 0-60 times, increase the WHP by 25, & increase the mileage a couple when our foot isn't in it. I am working on a big-brake upgrade as well. That is probably it for mods other than shocks & bars. It is my wife's car afterall.

It has a great interior and the new ones are even better. Not quite up to Audi standards but nicer than many. The cars feel very well put together. It has good comfort, and abominable audio system, fairly quiet cabin, & well placed controls. The new ones are an order of magnitude better in that regard too. Overall, I'd give it an 7.5 out of 10 and would certainly buy another. A coworker has an '05 and I'd say his is a 8/8.5 out of 10. The '06 has even further improvements on the '05 as well.

Good Luck!

[bgadow]

My wife had a middle of the road Neon. No problems, fun to drive in the mountains. Then the service manager at the dealer told her to get rid of it before 80K because the head gasket would likely go. I think it had 60K when she traded for a Civic. A friend of mine, about that same time, had to have the gasket job on her Stratus, 80K. I thought this was totally unreasonable.

[Inspiribomb]

Colortrakker, I'll test drive a Cobalt and report back what I think, didn't mean to get snippy with you. Planning on doing this tomorrow.

[colortrakker]

Didn't mean to push you - just wanted to make sure you had all your bases covered. G'luck, and no big if it doesn't measure up.

[vega ls-12]

My wife had a middle of the road Neon. No problems, fun to drive in the mountains. Then the service manager at the dealer told her to get rid of it before 80K because the head gasket would likely go. I think it had 60K when she traded for a Civic. A friend of mine, about that same time, had to have the gasket job on her Stratus, 80K. I thought this was totally unreasonable.

it is, but these are long known problems with chrysler

[THOR]

My mom has a Neon that is like 3 years old and 66,000 miles. She hates it, everything feels cheap in it to me, the doors, controls, everything. Could be just me but I also test drove a PT Cruiser and it felt the same way to me.

[Chad Hauris]

I have a friend who has a 2002 Ford ZX-2, it is in the same size class as the Neon or Cobalt but seems to have better quality and performance. There has been no trouble with it at all except for needing hail damage repair from being caught in a storm, and needing new tires. It is now at around 45,000 miles.

[colortrakker]

Thor: PT Cruiser rides the Neon chassis, so it's no surprise there's a resemblance. And yeah, the interior of the the PT is kinda tacky.

Chad: '03 was the last year for ZX2, so it's out of the running. Most powerful engine was 140 HP, if I remember, and that was an upgrade from the base 110. Fit & finish is debatable but I'd have rated it at a little over Neon-level: still cheap, but not overtly so.

Since Ford has no SVT version of the Focus this year, Chevy's got 'em trumped with the Cobalt SS.

[yungin's-dad]

IB,

I think that all newer cars are all built kind of crappy, but that's the way things go nowadays, kind of like audio gear. The spec's are pretty impressive though, seems like it would be a pretty snappy little car. Let us know what you think after the drive.

Good luck,

Ron

[Inspiribomb]

Drove to the dealer for a test drive this evening. Start the car and you are rewarded with a loud, throaty roar from the exhaust :D Drives great, we (me and the salesman) got out onto the main road and he said "ok, go ahead and open it up." :D Wow, talk about instant boost. From a stop light, the thing takes off fast, easily chirped the tires shifting to second, and the thing just keeps pulling. Love the sound of that turbo too! I had a fricken awesome time driving this car (got a lot of looks from people too). I walked to the Chevy dealer to drive the Cobalt SS, but they were closed :thumbsdn: Soon though. Damn, what a ride :D

[Tom Brennan]

I never pay any attention to what Car and Driver has to say. They're just a bunch of journalism students who landed jobs writing about cars, they would have been just as happy with a job writing about bean-futures, fountain-pens or anything else that gave them a check writing.

There's also a general prejudice against American cars that's probably rooted in a social status thing.

[SPL db]

Not to hijack the thread... but, last night the family and I were coming
home from the theater after just seeing Madagascar (great movie by
the way), when we see a Dodge Viper at a stoplight heading the same
direction we are.

I made a comment to the wife, "Man, that looks like a fun ride!", to which
she replies, "Doesn't look like it would get around in the snow very well!",
I told here that that kind of car doesn't get driven in the snow, it gets
stored for the winter.

She proceeds to go on about what a waste cars like that are and that
the money used to buy cars like that would be better spent feeding the
the poor and helping the homeless... (well, what was I going to say to
that?).

Sometimes women don't understand the love men have for their cars!

Scott

[vega ls-12]

There's also a general prejudice against American cars that's probably rooted in a social status thing.

what's an american car?? most so called japanese cars are made here in the usa
alot of american cars are made in mexico, canada,etc
fact is japanese cars are proven to be best sellers,for one reason or another.

[Tom Brennan]

Vega---An American car is one made by an American company in The United States of primarily American materials. Like my Cadillac CTS which was made in Lansing or the Focus I bought my daughter which was made in Detroit.

That's an American car. It's not hard to find out where cars are made and the sources of the components.

It's a funny thing that the Germans and Koreans are making cars (in non-union plants) here to get away from the unions and high wages they pay at home. Imagine that, the KOREANS of all people looking down their noses at us and considering us as a source of cheap, compliant labor and markets to dump their products on. Like the Brits looked at India.

[vega ls-12]

you made some good points tom :thmbsp:
the point i was trying to make is,its not as clear of a line as it once was

[TriodeGuy]

Cant say anything about the SRT-4 since I've never driven one. I bought a base model rsx back in 02 when the first came out. Loved it but wanted some more power so I traded it in on an 04 rsx type S last year. It's been a joy to own and drive.

[THOR]

Drove to the dealer for a test drive this evening. Start the car and you are rewarded with a loud, throaty roar from the exhaust :D Drives great, we (me and the salesman) got out onto the main road and he said "ok, go ahead and open it up." :D Wow, talk about instant boost. From a stop light, the thing takes off fast, easily chirped the tires shifting to second, and the thing just keeps pulling. Love the sound of that turbo too! I had a fricken awesome time driving this car (got a lot of looks from people too). I walked to the Chevy dealer to drive the Cobalt SS, but they were closed :thumbsdn: Soon though. Damn, what a ride :D

Makes me excited to drive the Miata next summer after I go over the drivetrain this winter and add forced induction of some sort :naughty: 200+ horses in a 2000lb car should be quite fun :yes: :thmbsp: