Opinions on the next car.

srtgtr34 · Post by **srtgtr34** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:18 pm

I am debating whether I should continue modding the current neon or if I should buy anouther one. If I start saving up right now, I would have roughly 3200 dollars by july for a 10,000 dollar loan

These are the options I am debating:

1. Find a fully optioned 01 or 02 r/t for about 5k and put 5k into it as in all the bolt ons, rebuild and 170whp goal, suspension and exterior work, audio and interior.

2. Spend the 10k and get a srt4 which would most likely be beat up for that price and would leave me with very little money every week because of insurance. I wouldn't be able to mod the srt very much due to the low income I have as of right now.

3. keep going with the progress of the current neon, which isn't something that I am really inspired to do since this car needs alot of work to be considered any where near nice.

If I was to get the rt I would keep the 00 as a DD and a winter car while I work on the rt. I really like the idea of buying an rt for 5k and putting 5k into it because that would be the most fun and not that big of an expense in my pocket since it should be the same for insurance as the 00. I would love to get an srt4 but I really don't feal that I can afford it while I'm going to school and can have some actual fun with it. If I buy an srt4, I don't want it to be stock, it would have to be modified moderately. Then their is the option of continuing putting money into the 00. To me this option just doesn't make sence, the car needs about 1.5k in body work to become presentable, I really don't like the fact that it has no eletrical power options and that someone has tampered with alot of the things in the car. For example one of the previous owners glued the passenger side window crank on, now its going to take a while to change that speaker out since I now have to snap it off and clean the plastic off of the actual metal crank.

So I want to see what some of you think I should do, my mind is slightly made up but I still can't entirely decide.

mopar4life · Post by **mopar4life** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:20 pm

Im a bit biased but a SRT-4 would be your best bet. Much easier to build on an already improved platform than a regular 2 liter Neon. Although a R/T with bolt ons and cammed would be pretty tough too.

cbjones26 · Post by **cbjones26** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:22 pm

i say to a srt swap with the $$ if i had the money thats what id do! but thats just me.

srtgtr34 · Post by **srtgtr34** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 7:33 pm

cbjones26 wrote:i say to a srt swap with the $$ if i had the money thats what id do! but thats just me.

That would be am option if I had a better neon to swap that motor into. I wouldn't buy a neon just to swap the motor out to me that makes no sense.

Karizmatik · Post by **Karizmatik** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:44 pm

srtgtr34 wrote:Then their is the option of continuing putting money into the 00. To me this option just doesn't make sence, the car needs about 1.5k in body work to become presentable, I really don't like the fact that it has no eletrical power options

So I want to see what some of you think I should do, my mind is slightly made up but I still can't entirely decide.

Wow, i'm kinda in the same boat as u, i feel your pain. When i first got my 03 SE (stripped editon) i didn't think not having that stuff would bother me or the fact that it was my 1st automatic since i was 21.. Now it's totally not what I want at all! I almost hate driving it these days I'm so bored w/ it. I try doing little mods here and there but it only makes me feel good about it for a few days. It sucks knowing that unless i dump an ungodly amount of money into the car it'll never be what i want it to be..No power options, windows, locks, sunroof etc.. Anyway, sorry if I'm shitting in your thread, your post just hit home with me. I wish you the best in whatever u decide to do my friend.

Edit.. Dumping 5 grand into a car sounds really fun by the way

I kinda like the R/T idea but you can't really go wrong w/ a SRT-4 either

Fuzzyneon · Post by **Fuzzyneon** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:49 pm

Buy a 03 and up with blown motor or tons of miles for under 4k then srt swap with the other 6k insurense wont go up ! and oyu still get to have the fun of working on the car=D

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 8:54 pm

Get an SRT-4...even at stock it is beyond night and day from the 2.0

Once you start modding it though...your credit, life and girlfriend are gone

srtgtr34 · Post by **srtgtr34** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 9:19 pm

Fuzzyneon wrote:Buy a 03 and up with blown motor or tons of miles for under 4k then srt swap with the other 6k insurense wont go up ! and oyu still get to have the fun of working on the car=D

I like the idea and I did think about that but I don't want a srt swapped neon. I can't believe how my feelings have changed about srt4, when I first saw the concept in 2002 I was like I'm going to get that car but over the years it has started to interest me less and less. And their isn't much done to an srt4 that has not been done yet. I had a friend with a swapped honda that got into an accident and when the insurance company came to look at the car they noticed that the motor was changed and they back charged him 2k. Statistics time, their is 26,000 srt4 ever made, probly down to 24,000 active right now. How many fully optioned, leather interior neons do you think are out their? I would say about 3k or less. I just want to be a little different, the swao just isn't me...

Adionik wrote: Get an SRT-4...even at stock it is beyond night and day from the 2.0

Once you start modding it though...your credit, life and girlfriend are gone

That made me laugh.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Mon Jan 05, 2009 11:06 pm

There are far less than 24,00 SRT-4's on the road today. I'm willing to bet almost half of them are already wrecked

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:36 am

alsey_seven · Post by **alsey_seven** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:07 am

Audi R8 but i can't own one its going to be 00 Neon

Passt · Post by **Passt** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 8:36 am

It's hard to answer mang. I want you to get the SRT, but with you saying you don't have an income big enough to support that car + insurance and mods, makes me want to suggest you just wait. Unless the car you have just simply won't run, I'd say say up everything you can, and wait it out until you can afford a nice SRT. Like you said you don't want to end up with a beat up one.

When you go to get it finally, bring someone who has one so you two can look it over in detail and try to estimate if it's been abused or not.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 9:17 am

The only problem I see with buying an R/T and investing another $5000 in it, is if it is stolen, or totaled. Unless you have a bunch of extra insurance on it, you will never get the extra $ out of it.
So your insurance rates will be increased, or you roll the dice like most of us.
If an SRT doesn't thrill you, then don't buy one. You will be back at square one with less $. My neon is a stripped out base model also, but I don't mind too much. Less stuff to go wrong! Plus it gives me a little more flexability, as in I don't have to worry about a mod affecting a nice factroy option. I guess it comes down to your perspective/priorities.

Arro · Post by **Arro** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:27 pm

Everything occasional demons said there seems to me to be the best balance of opinion... Get into debt with a loan on an SRT, and higher insurance, but replacement potential if it's stolen... or dave a shitload of money on a regular 2GN, MUCH lower insurance, but if you sink a bunch of money into it and something happens to it, you lost out.

The one advantage of the latter option is you don't get into debt, and the modifications can be purchased outright as you can afford them. I'm not a fan of buying modifications on credit, because then you might as well have gone the SRT-4 route.

Oh the other thing, if you *want* to go sleeper, you won't be buying an SRT-4, unless you plan to do some bumper swaps

I will add this... goig with an R/T is a waste, when you have a 2GN already. There isn't a huge difference in my opinion to justify the magnum engine... you can turbocharge that 2000 Highline and get plenty of power.

Stick with the car you have.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Tue Jan 06, 2009 7:10 pm

There are some really, REALLY cheap SRT's for sale right now. Just hit up the SRT-4 FS section..you will see. Very low mileage cars going for a steal.

Get insurance under your parents name or something and leave it stock. It will still be fun

2GN.ORG

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