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Here's my "problem". I swapped my '04 Dodge Ram 3.7L for the '05 Neon SXT that I now have thinking that they'd be tuners like HyperTech, ect. to control my computer and make tuning easy. Problem, there IS NO tuners like that available only soultion is to add a stand alone like a MegaSqurit, which I really don't want to get into and don't have the money to get into anyway since I'm currently unemployed.
I know I'll never get out of the car what I've got into it and I wonder if it's even worth it to "throw" more money into it knowing that for less money I can get a VW Bug(or maybe something else) to be quicker with less headaches.
So, the way I see it I can either:
A) Sell the car, take my losses and get into something I can mod till my hearts content.
or
B) Keep the car, mod it and be happy with what I have knowing that something else could have been made to run quicker for less money.
I really don't know what to do. I don't want to put more money into a car that's not really worth putting money into but I don't want to drive a "stock" Neon either.
It IS a good little car, don't get me wrong. For someone who doesn't mind driving stock it's great but I'm a "Tuner and Tweaker" from way back and I just can't get out of the habbit of messing with things to make em' run or work better.
What the heck should I do?

Keep it untill you're gainfully employed. especially if it's paid for. If you can sell it and buy something else for cash then go for it. But unless you can afford the mods, whats the point of getting another car? You will have a more tunable car, but not the extra $ to put in it. Kinda like a catch 22. In the end it's what makes you happy.

The thing is that if I can get say, $8500 out of the Neon I can roll that over into a VW Bug and have plenty of cash for all the mods I'd like to do to the Bug. A VW will run $1500-$2K, Pro Comp Transaxle will run $1K, engine with carbs and everything would be around $3500 so that takes care of the car and drive train for $6500 which leaves $2K for other things like drop spindles and front disc brakes, seats, gauges, ect. I'd have plenty to mod out a Bug and make it screem for $8500, heck, I'd be running 13's in the 1/4 easy with that Bug if not a bit faster. That's my point. For what I've got into the Neon I could have had a killer VW with cash to spare.

occasional demons wrote:Keep it untill you're gainfully employed. especially if it's paid for. If you can sell it and buy something else for cash then go for it. But unless you can afford the mods, whats the point of getting another car? You will have a more tunable car, but not the extra $ to put in it. Kinda like a catch 22. In the end it's what makes you happy.

couldn't have said it better myself

OK, I can see your point, I was thinkin' "new " bug for some reason. Heck you could even put the liquid cooled engines in there if the swap parts are still around. I used to have a Dasher with a 1.6 that would smoke the tires rolling at 35 mph. Damn I miss that thing.

Yep, the good ol' Air Cooled VW Bug. I can get a turnkey 2332cc that'll put out 180 HP easy for $3500 ready hook to the transaxle. ProComp transaxles with close 3rd n' 4th and all the "bells and whistles" to keep it together will run about $1K. I've seen lots of '68-'72 bugs for anywhere from $1K to $2K and there's even a guy in Ohio with a Bug that his wife used to race(still street legal though) that I could probably get for $5.5K. It only has a 1915cc(69x94) in it but heck, it'd be a start and I can tune the carbs and stuff unlike my Neon.
Still, I really like the way the Neon can be made to look with the right Body Kit. It's to damn bad that someone didn't pick up the ball and make an OBD II flash tuner or at least a program we can put on a lap top to plug into the OBD II so we could adjust our ECMs, that'd make life a lot easier on all of us.

I got a little taste of the VW bug this summer. My buddies have dunebuggies running those engines. They're pretty sweet. Its really just a rollcage with a motor and suspension lol.

In the latest issue of Hot VWs there's a guy running a 2468cc IIRC and he's making 330HP N/A. Just think what he'd get with a turbo and a bit of boost.

Sell the Neon ASAP. If you don't want to put in the time, you won't get much out of it.

occasional demons wrote:OK, I can see your point, I was thinkin' "new " bug for some reason. Heck you could even put the liquid cooled engines in there if the swap parts are still around. I used to have a Dasher with a 1.6 that would smoke the tires rolling at 35 mph. Damn I miss that thing.

liquid cooled in a bug ... ugh! ... (speaking of that i just got a line on a 2.0 and tranny from a 911 for a good price)

another disadvantage of a neon ... they never sell for as much as you paid for them ... less you find a suck... err someone who needs a car ...

If you want fast, fun, and reasonably cheap, buy a 90s Talon TSi or Eclipse GSX. Every little mod you do goes a long way! and they are plenty of used and aftermarket parts available. Once you have an AWD turbo car its hard to go back to anything else. I had a 97 Talon with well over 400hp with a stock bottom end and I only dumped about 5k into it. I did the Vdub thing years ago, I had an ITB class Rabbit, 2 street Rabbits, 3 Bugs, one with a turbo that would stand up in 2nd gear. Its fun for a while but they are known to rust out all over and the prices are getting outrageous even for a project car.

03blackrt wrote: If you don't want to put in the time, you won't get much out of it.

Especially with NGC.

I think I might go back and talk to the salesman at the dealership where I got the car. Maybe he can buy it back for cash and make me a decent offer. Like I said, they had it listed at over $12.5K so maybe I can get $8.5K cash from em' or maybe now they've got something in that'd be easier to mod that I could swap for.

TN.Frank wrote:I think I might go back and talk to the salesman at the dealership where I got the car. Maybe he can buy it back for cash and make me a decent offer. Like I said, they had it listed at over $12.5K so maybe I can get $8.5K cash from em' or maybe now they've got something in that'd be easier to mod that I could swap for.

if you are wanting something you can plug in a programmer and play with ...

GM and some fords ...

good luck at the stealership

i can't beleive they had it marked 12.5 tho ... geeze when they were out new one could be picked up for that price ...

Nutmeg wrote:

03blackrt wrote: If you don't want to put in the time, you won't get much out of it.

Especially with NGC.

x 3

Neons are handling cars first and foremost IMO, with power a secondary consideration (excluding srt-4). If you wanted easy and big power, you should have bought a Shelby Dodge or oldschool Chrysler turbocar like an intercooled Dodge Daytona, as they came factory with good-sized Garrett T3's and still tolerate 87 octane gas... plus $500 worth of stuff would have granted you owning rights to most smallblock V8 cars and more than a few piss stains on your passeger seat.

And they're easy to maintain, parts are dirt cheap, support community is huge and has a goocd 30+ years, and you can buy a clean, well running one for 4k *or less*.

Anyways, sell the Neon, or see this as an opportunity to learn to steer and turn, with reasonable possibilities for a turbo kit later down the line.

man I would maybe get a GTI VR6 and dump about 5k in it and call it my daily driver.

half_twisted wrote:man I would maybe get a GTI VR6 and dump about 5k in it and call it my daily driver.

Well hell, as long as we're going to "Dream" give me an SRT-10 so I can have something to haul my trash to the dump in, LOL.
I think if I could get a body kit and some wider tires on it so it didn't look like everyone elses Neon it'd go along way to making me a bit more happy with it but dang, every time I go for a drive I see 20 cars that look just like mine and it really brings me down.
I don't know, I may try to hang in there until I get working and see what I can do with the dang thing. I know if I can shave the head and install a better cam that'll help alittle bit then a UDP would help and who knows, maybe I can just save up for a turbo kit so it'd not pay to buy a header cause I'd just have to take it off for the turbo anyway.
Is it wrong of me to want something that not only looks good but is FAST too?

TN.Frank wrote: ...but dang, every time I go for a drive I see 20 cars that look just like mine and it really brings me down.

That's because you own an '03+. You don't see many 2000's nicely-trimmed out, so thankfully my car doesn't tend to blend in. Even on this forum you can see that there are a lot more 03+ owners, and very few nicely-done '00 cars, with '01 and '02 owners making up the second-most numbers on here.

I always get noticed by guys driving tuner cars, even though I lack speed still.

This happens to me too...my car is not fast at all and when my friend and i go out cruising(he has a 04 slk350) i get the same amount of looks if not more..even parked at the lake with all the other guys...


I always get noticed by guys driving tuner cars, even though I lack speed still.[/quote]

I guess if I'm going to keep it then I want to get a new front bumper cover and some wider tires on it then. Guess I'll have to wait until I'm working since my wife wants to spend our tax refund on the house fixin' it up.
I'm getting too damn old to race anyway, so I really don't need a fast car. LOL.

speed keeps ya young.

Arro wrote:

TN.Frank wrote: ...but dang, every time I go for a drive I see 20 cars that look just like mine and it really brings me down.

That's because you own an '03+. You don't see many 2000's nicely-trimmed out, so thankfully my car doesn't tend to blend in. Even on this forum you can see that there are a lot more 03+ owners, and very few nicely-done '00 cars, with '01 and '02 owners making up the second-most numbers on here.

I always get noticed by guys driving tuner cars, even though I lack speed still.

I can count on one hand how many modified non-srt neons ive seen around my part of CA. I think ive seen one 00-02 and maybe two 03+ neons that werent stock. Only one of those three looked decent, and I doubt any of them had a single thing under the hood. I must live in the wrong area because tuned neons are very rare around here. Even srts have become scarce.

Oh and Frank, I feel you as far as the 03+ deal goes; theyre everywhere! Looking like everyone else is what its all about, in my opinion. Its whats underneath that counts

or will kill ya...one of the 2

Neon316 wrote:or will kill ya...one of the 2

the speed doesn't kill ya .. the sudden stop ... now thats another story

LOL, when I was in my early 20's I racked up enough tickets to do me for a life time. Don't need to get any more now.
I found a Xenon front bumper that I think looks kind of neat. Wonder if it'd look ok on my Electric Blue car if I painted it semi-gloss black so it'd look like it had a bra on or would it look better painted to match?
Heck, I just may keep the little POS, it's paid for, gets great gas mileage and IS quicker then my truck was.

it would prob look better painted to match ... less you are going to match the bumper line all the way around the car with a satin or flat black so it would fit in ...

now that would look nice .. with maybe a red or gold pinstripe seperating the two colors ...

get some wheels on it that are black as well .. with blue highlights ...


ya get the picture.

-Devil- wrote:

Neon316 wrote:or will kill ya...one of the 2

the speed doesn't kill ya .. the sudden stop ... now thats another story

TN.Frank wrote: I'm getting too damn old to race anyway, so I really don't need a fast car. LOL.

Why do people always think that "racing" and "fast" are terms exclusive to straight-line performance?

Neons are plenty fast and fun to race when there's turns involved. And with lots of room to grow in both respects.

I considered road course weekends with the srt, but that gets expensive with travel, an insane suspension setup, not to mention a couple friends time for a pit crew. The drag strip is going to be just fun enough, I think.

The way I see it I can either race at the local 1/8th mile drag strip or hit the dirt track and I really don't want all that red mud all over my car. I really don't care for road racing all that much. In my neck of the woods if you have something to prove you run a 1/4 or 1/8th mile and the first one across the finish line wins, nice, smiple and easy.