When my husband's older model Cadillac was run over by an 18-wheeler, we had only the bare requirements of insurance so there was no money coming from State Farm to replace the car or even to make a down payment on one. We weren't even thinking about buying a car at that time and had no extra savings to put toward one, we had just moved and were still recovering from moving expenses ... and we had a fairly new baby. We weren't destitute, but we just weren't prepared for the sudden expense of having to go out and purchase another vehicle!

We'd looked at almost every local lot in town ... new cars, used cars, decent cars, and junk cars ... there just didn't seem to be anything out there that was truly within our budget, but wasn't a total lemon that we knew we'd end up pouring $$$$ into in constant repair costs.

Then one day I happened to open the newspaper right to a CarMax ad ... and they had the CUTEST little inexpensive 4-door cars displayed. I half jokingly told my hubby ... "well if nothing else we can afford a NEON' ... and to my surprise, he wanted to know more. I come from a family where the men drive pick up trucks or 'muscle' cars ... or maybe an SUV at the very least ... WHAT GUY WANTS A NEON?!?!?! But he was serious!

So we went to the dealership and were AMAZED at the service we received the ease of buying this car, etc.

It's not a huge car, it's not a powerful car, and it certainly isn't a prestigious car. But for what we needed at the time, it was fantastic. And it has held up!!!! NO major repairs ... till I wrecked it! (more about that later) ... no constant maintenance, other than the routine things that should be done anyway such as oil changes. In fact I think some of the little things may be holding up better on it than on my Buick Skylark.

The only problem we've had has been with the sun roof ... which I've always been warned against anyway! We had the motor replaced while the car was still under warranty ... but then that motor went out too ... and we haven't had it replaced because the car is no longer under warranty and it isn't worth several hundreds of dollars to me to replace it. (Our car went out of warranty fairly early because of the HUGE number of miles my hubby puts on a car each week.)

There is plenty of leg room in front for both of us ... I'm 5'8" and my hubby is just over 6' ... and neither of us are 'small' people. In fact, my hubby is a fairly heavy set man ... and it honestly surprises me that he finds such a small car to be comfortable. The leg room in back is much more limited ... but it seems to be sufficient for the kids right now. My son always sits behind me, and I let my seat up fairly far to give him a little extra room ... and our daughter is still in a car seat and seems to have ample room. The car seat buckles into the center of the back seat and seems to sit very level and is able to be fastened very securely in place. However, this does make for cramped seating on either side for anyone other than a younger child.

Now back to the wreck ... I rear-ended a very large pick up truck in this car ... and other than a small bit of abrasion from the airbag and a bruise on my forearm, I had absolutely no injuries ... and my son who was in the back seat was absolutely fine as well. The car was $200 away from being totaled ...but our full coverage insurance had it fixed anyway (much to our relief, because we definitely didn't want to have to buy another car!) Since being repaired the car is as good as new!!!!

I'd recommend this car to ANYONE who doesn't mind a 4 cylinder economy style car. I've loved ours! We've been on several trips to Florida, Tennessee, and Alabama (4-8 hour drives each) and even on these long trips we've been reasonably comfortable for the long ride.

I'm used to a 6 cylinder slightly larger car, so when I drive this car, I have to keep in mind that I don't have quite the same amount of power for pulling out into traffic ... and you can almost forget passing ... but then again, on the highway, this car can definitely keep up with (or even lead) traffic ... the speed limit around here is 75 on most highways ... let's just say that it will do that easily ...

I don't know the exact gas milage that we get ... but I know that it seems to be MUCH better than my car.
Amount Paid (US$): 11000
Condition: New
Model Year: 2000