l have a 96 neon with an engine swap,it can be seen here http://imagineyw4183.wordpress.com/l know for a long time they had a bad reputation and l wanted to see if that still held true.

l do not think so but a lot of people do.

The big problem with Neons for the first 3 years or so was that they did have a big problem with head gaskets. Most of them were replaced under warranty & Chrysler finally started putting a MLS ( multi layered steel ) gasket in at the factory to correct the problem starting around the 1998 model year Neons. There were other issues as well such as the factory using a water-based primer for some colours which caused the paint not to adhere properly to the body so they would start peeling after about 3 or 4 years ( just as the warranty ran out )

However, l think the reason that the Neon has a bad reputation today is that the Neon is considered by many to be a disposable car. Many people just skimp on or completely ignore the basic maintenance requirements & then r surprised when the car starts to fall apart. If the car is looked after & maintained properly ( & the nice thing about the Neon is that parts r reasonably priced & it is also a very easy vehicle to work on ), it can be a frugal running, decent handling little automobile. I've had mine 1997 since new & while it did have some issues when new, it runs great today.

no their not junk,if they was there would not be so many of them still running,if you,ll look around ,there is literally hundreds of those still going,their by far junk ,they hold up pretty well,considering the most ones l see already have well over 200 k on them and are still running good,the only problems they give at high mileage is transmission problems,other than that and a head gasket those cars will run on forever if taken care of,good luck .

l say that ther base models are junk..they have a crappy engine design that doesnt last very long..but if its the srt4.than its good because the engine is a japanese design

People think so, but that is just opinion. Most of the time if taken care of they are a reliable vehicle. And to John M, the SRT-4 engine is not a Japanese design. The motor is Chrysler is 2.4L turbocharged and built with beefed up internals. The only jap item on it is the Mitsubishi turbo.