Hi all,
Haven't posted in quite a while (sold my old Ram), just got my son a '99 Neon Highline with 39K for his first car. Anything I need to be aware of or watch out for? I've read some past info about head gaskets but that's about it.
Seems like a pretty decent car, drives well and other than some minor paint scratches in good shape. What does the Highline designation mean anyway? I don't see much technical difference from other Neons, but it does seem to look a little more European style-wise than others I've seen, but that may just be a year-model thing.
Jeff K.
RadarLove
07-19-2005, 05:33 AM
1999 was the last year of the 1st generation of Neons. The head gasket problem was solved by that time - the head gasket is a multi-layer steel (MLS) design from the factory. On the older cars (mid-1998 back), the decision was made to sandwich a standard gasket between the cast iron block and aluminum head... dumb.
The Neon came in 3 basic varieties - the Lowline (base model), Highline ("touring" model), and Sport (which included the R/T). The Highline came standard with power steering, air conditioning, slightly upgraded interior, and the softest struts. The ACR was built on the base models after 1995 to save weight and usually didn't have power anything. The Sports had the option of rear discs (standard on the R/T), rear sway bar, and the close ratio 5-speed (R/T and Expresso only, also standard on the ACR).
- Keep an eye out for water in the trunk and rear footwells. The taillights don't seal very well against the body, and all it takes is a bead of silicon to fix it.
- The headlights will eventually start to fog. It's not inside, it's the cheap plastic... There are several aftermarket options available that significantly increase light output (TYC, DEPO, avoid anything that says "projector"...) for a lot less money than new ones from the dealer.
- Change the timing belt in the 85-90k range, even though the manufacturer recommended interval is 105k miles... it's an interference engine and very expensive to fix if the belt breaks. Replace the water pump and tensioning parts at the same time.
- It's not too late to make the switch to full synthetic. Mobil1 is the oil of choice, and 5W-30 seems to work in most climates year round. Those of us in the 200,000 mile club swear by it.
Best of luck!
jklein
07-19-2005, 08:10 AM
Hey, thanks for the tips! Glad I missed the headgasket fiasco years. I did notice the headlights fogging a bit and will check into those. Trunk looked fine at first look but a pre-emptive silicon bead sounds like a good idea. I've been toying with the synthetic oil option, Mobile1 it is, then. I will also definitely change the timing belt BEFORE it breaks this time; my son's (my old) Hyundai Excel timing belt broke last year and it's an interference engine...thank God it was at a stoplight so there was no damaging "interference"...but I won't bet on dodging THAT bullet again, haha.
