The most boring intro ever.

Antichrist · Post by **Antichrist** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:07 pm

Ok, so I myself, am a GM guy (Don't kill me yet!)
I own a 1995 Tahoe, 1985 Monte Carlo, and 1981 Cutlass Wagon.

I've been headaching, er shopping the last week trying to find a new car for my mother. I'm the "Car guy" in the family.. so guess who gets screwed, er asked to help?

Anyways, I looked a few hunks of crap, 2 were actually GM products, which I passed on, found the neon, and it was a great deal.

2003 Neon SXT, Red. 139k (Read reviews that these cars are solid, so I took a chance on the higher mileage)

It needs work, I won't lie. I've got 2 rear wheel bearings on order, might have to do front struts (loud banging when hitting some bumps, yet the struts seem to work fine) I was looking into a major strut upgrade to really smooth out the ride quality. (My mother is 53 lol)

Underside is 95% MINT, which is surprising for New York.

It needs a passenger fender (rust/dent), bumper cover (small split), drivers side mirror, center carpet section in trunk near latch, driver side sun visor, driver side sun visor clip, and 1 SXT rim. It has a 7 spoke rim on the driver front.. not sure what it's from, but it'll make a nice full size spare

It just needs misc parts and pieces, nothing surprising for a 9 year old car.

I drove it home from the sellers house. I wasn't impressed with the suspension to be honest, but the engine and transmission were flawless. Shifts were smooth and perfect. It ran like a new car. It just doesn't look like one yet. And I only paid $1400 for it. Similar year/mileage are currently selling for $3000 here.

I plan to fix the misc crap that needs to be fixed or replaced.

After that I'm going to give it a tasteful appearance treatment for her. Seat covers, possibly some new headlights and tails (Non OEM design), eyelids are on the planning board as well, depending on the headlights purchased, I'm keeping the SXT rims on for her, and plan to treat them with either a white, or black paint treatment, with a red pinstripe, and possibly some racing stripes on the hood and trunk. I'm also looking into either an SXT spoiler, or SRT4 spoiler.

My goal is just to give her a sporty looking car that stands out from the rest of the cars on the road.

And I'll most likely upgrade the intake system to an open element. Nothing beats the growl.

If this were my car? All that money would go under the hood. I could care less about appearance mods... but that's her thing, so I figure I might as well help her love the car a bit more.

Thanks for reading.

And thanks for not being uptight about a name... like the last forum was.

haseebgill12 · Post by **haseebgill12** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:25 pm

lol welcome..... that is all.

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:28 pm

Um let's see here, the owner's name is Diablo0, mine is occasional demons, so it might be a little hypocritical of us to knock you on your screen name.

I think most of us know it is in jest...

After all, there was a vehicle named that in the movie"The Gods Must Be Crazy"

Welcome to the forum!

Antichrist · Post by **Antichrist** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:39 pm

Thanks for the help. And yes, although I suck at gaming, so I chose a name for a little intimidation factor lol. I've used this name since.. I think 03.

I'll edit my original post to include a proper intro now

mjrpaine · Post by **mjrpaine** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:17 pm

welcome to the forums ... enjoy !!!

theColonel · Post by **theColonel** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:34 pm

Welcome to the forum, even if you're a GM guy

Antichrist · Post by **Antichrist** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:35 pm

theColonel wrote:Welcome to the forum, even if you're a GM guy

If it helps any, I prefer Mopar over Ford

dblsg · Post by **dblsg** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:53 pm

welcome to the boards

goldramgb · Post by **goldramgb** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:00 pm

The front struts are an easy fix, it took me less than an hour. You can get Monroe Quick-struts for under $300. They have the regular ones for under $200. I put the higher priced ones on my R/T it made a huge difference in the ride. The rear struts take a lot longer to do but it's still not to bad.

mjrpaine · Post by **mjrpaine** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 8:20 pm

Antichrist wrote:
theColonel wrote:Welcome to the forum, even if you're a GM guy
If it helps any, I prefer Mopar over Ford

Mopar
Ford
every other make in the world
gm

NyNeon0813 · Post by **NyNeon0813** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 9:52 pm

Welcome!

Post by **occasional demons** » Mon Jul 30, 2012 10:12 pm

I liked the other intro better.

The top hats on the struts are probably shot. So if you plan on new struts, be sure to replace that stuff too.

Antichrist · Post by **Antichrist** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 5:15 am

Here's a picture of it after the wash, wax, and interior detail:

You can see the rip in the bumper cover at the bottom center, and the rust spot on the front fender.

It was in a minor fender bender, so the fender on the passenger side is sticking out from the normal body lines by about 1/4" but nothing that a new fender couldn't fix

Kraft003 · Post by **Kraft003** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:05 pm

Welcome

I would say to also check out the rearmost bushing on the lower control arms. That is where I found my clunking over bumps to be coming from

stdlystdmufn · Post by **stdlystdmufn** » Tue Jul 31, 2012 11:42 pm

welcome

Post by **occasional demons** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 9:57 pm

When you take the fascia off to repair the rip, you can fix the rust on the fender.

Skitlz · Post by **Skitlz** » Thu Aug 02, 2012 10:50 pm

Antichrist wrote:
It needs work, I won't lie. I've got 2 rear wheel bearings on order, might have to do front struts (loud banging when hitting some bumps, yet the struts seem to work fine)

Sounds exactly like what my car was doing when the lower control arm bushings wore out.

Edit: Whoops, didn't realize someone had already mentioned that, my fault!

Antichrist · Post by **Antichrist** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:18 am

Thanks for all the welcomes

I was going to repair the rust, but the car was involved in a small fender bender at some point with the previous owner. The bumper is pushed under the gaskets on the headlights, and the passenger fender is pushed outward about 1/2" where the tip should meet the bumper. There is also a small crease above the wheel well.

And thanks for the control arm bushing tip

It's really not a disappointment replacing this little stuff, seeing how the car is 9 years old, and lived its life here in NY as a daily driver.

And my mother had the car on the road as of Wednesday, and took it to work for the first time yesterday. Other than the Airplane that was following her (loud wheel bearings lol) She's really enjoying it so far.

And damn that 6 speaker sound is really impressive for a factory system!

dvon17 · Post by **dvon17** » Fri Aug 03, 2012 4:33 am

this:

After that I'm going to give it a tasteful appearance treatment for her. Seat covers, possibly some new headlights
and tails (Non OEM design), eyelids are on the planning board as well, depending on the headlights purchased,
I'm keeping the SXT rims on for her, and plan to treat them with either a white, or black paint treatment, with a red pinstripe,
and possibly some racing stripes on the hood and trunk. I'm also looking into either an SXT spoiler, or SRT4 spoiler.

plus

(my mother is 53 lol)
was funny to me lol...

But, go for it man. Wouldn't be surprised if you turn around and give her one of your cars instead lol

gearbanger4 · Post by **gearbanger4** » Tue Aug 07, 2012 6:47 pm

welcome!

I just joined the dark side myself (GM), as an employee at a Chevy dealer...not an owner. I have still never owned a GM, but maybe one day that will change.

My 04 SXT is about 100,000 miles and I have done only maint related items other than lower control arm bushings, camshaft position sensor. All in all, they are great investments especially if you are mechanically inclined.

2GN.ORG

The most boring intro ever.

The most boring intro ever.

Welcome Antichrist

Re: The most boring intro ever.