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2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4

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Even if it's less reliable than a Honda, parts are friggin cheap. Now that excludes all the SRT-4 upgrades on it. I have a buddy who had a 2000 Neon. He used to beat his and it still ran great. Somehow he managed to pop a freeze plug outta the engine one time. He got it towed to the shop, they put a new plug in replaced the coolant and off he went. Another time he somehow managed to bottom it out on a driveway apron where there was a puthole and ripped the whole radiator crossmember off and tore the radiator open. I guess his shocks were toast before that and it had been riding real springy. Anyway, they welded in a new crossmember, replaced the radiator, he had I repalced the suspension on all four corners and off he went again to kill it. The thing that finally did him in wasn't even him beating on the car. He got tboned from behind while making a left turn. Bent the hell outta the roof line so it was pretty much totalled at that point. So as far as cars go, I'd say you could do a whole lot worse. Salvage title does make me nervous though. If it was stolen why the heck wasn't it returned to the original owner? Unless the guy who stole it is the one you're buying it from! Mad shady!
 
Originally posted by: alimoalem
i'm looking for something preferably $5-6K (if possible) but $8k if it's a real good deal. i'm only using craigslist to search right now (it's the cheapest place i know...) and can't find an rsx at that price....anywhere else i can search for cars.


BTW, the SRT-4 has dropped to $7300 (i've been looking at it for like 2 weeks....it started at ~$9000+)

at what point will it be worth buying it and turning around to sell it (assuming the car runs)?
Click to expand...

Look at Acura CL 2.2, or Honda Prelude. Both very classy, reliable, and upgrade-friendly. Will hold value as well.
 
The SRT-4 holds it's value very well.

A buyer is buying my properly moded SRT-4 for 15K (went for the balance instead of all out power). 99.99% daily driver, it never even touched the track - lol.

Mileage: 45K
Mopar Stage 3 Turbo Upgrade Kit
Mopar Rear Tension Strut Kit
Mopar Performance Air Filter
Mopar Performance Plug Wires
Mopar S1 Springs
Tokico Illumina's (Adjustable Struts)
Clutchmasters Stage 3 clutch
Short Throw Shifter
Injen Catback
MaxFabb Downpipe w/ Hi Flow Cat (bolt-on interchangeable to a race pipe).
Aftermarket Wheels (w/ 225/45/17 tires)
AIS Direct Fit Bar and Plate Intercooler - re-cored - looks like stock (except stock is tube and fin) and keeps the crash bar and you safe.
Energy Suspensions Lower Control Arm Bushings
Prothane Motormount Inserts
Tranny Mount Inserts
Regular Neon Wing

Not many are around, lots of boy racers crashed theirs (they made 33K or something, half of them are gone).

As for being scared about buying a used one for a good price. If you are worried about drivetrain abuse

eq.

Engine - You can buy a brand new short block for 900$ (same engine used on the PT Cruiser GT's) . The engines are rated up to 400WHP, Iron Block, takes absuse well.

Turbo - fairly easy to get replacement turbo's, lots of people upgraded or went Mopar stage 3. Lots of aftermarket options available.

Tranny - Can get them rebuilt, but they are tough from the factory.

Do note that the SRT-4s are fairly reliable, Sport Compact Car noted that out of all their project cars, the SRT-4 gave em the least problems. If you really want to get unbiased info, take a look at how reliable the PT Cruiser GT's (turbo version) are. Same drivetrain, Platform, except the SRT-4 has a stronger manual tranny.

Now that the ECU has been cracked, alot more people will end up keeping them to unlock more power.


At 40k miles these types of cars shake rattle and roll.
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You should ask Mitsubishi EVO owners who paid over 13K more for their cars which one rattles more - lol.


G


 
thanks for the post funks.

so are you saying i should go and check out the car? it's in sacramento and i live in san jose (120-130 miles away). i do have friends in davis though (10-20 miles from sacramento) so i might be able to meet up with my friends then check out the car.

anyway, thanks everyone for ur help
 
alimoalem - I say take a look at the car.. Maybe go to www.norcalsrt-4.com and see if you can get one of the norcal peeps to go with you.

For that price - $7300, that's pretty good. As long as there's no damage to the frame, and the suspension bits are good to go, and the A/C works correctly.

If you are really worried about the engine due to abuse, replace the shortblock (the shop will also be able to double check the head make sure that it's all in order) , then slap on Mopar S3R without toys in there and call it a day - lol.

If the used shortblock is still good, you can sell it to other people fairly easily (as a spare for engine build-up).

11k will give you a beast of a car that will put down 300 WHP to the ground, all plug and play and tuned like a stock car.

G

 
As another data point, the stock SRT-4 with 118K on it I bought a month ago survived a (road) track day at Sears point today. So even after the miles are put on them, at least one is still durable 😀
 
I'm glad to actually see some love for the car seeing as everywhere I go people just make fun of it so I'm used to it now. Worst thing that gets made fun of is the fact that only the front door have power windows and the rear are crank which is no problem for me since I'm never in the back and it only takes a few cranks to roll down the windows anyways.
 
The roll up windows are one of the best parts of the car. The lameness of it all (having power in the front but not the back) just makes it even better!
 
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