1998 Dodge Neon

HEAD GASTKET IS BLOWN, NEEDS TO BE REPLACED. MECHANIC SAID "THERE'S OIL AND COOLANT EVERYWHERE". THIS CAR HAS ONLY 39,000 MILES! I'VE CONTACTED 7 REPAIR SHOPS, AVERAGE COST TO FIX IS $700. THREE MECHANICS TOLD ME THAT THIS PROBLEM IS SO COMMON, THEY CAN'T BELIEVE THERE HASN'T BEEN A RECALL YET. ONE MECHANIC SAID THAT HE DOES THESE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK. AFTER MUCH RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET, I HAVE FOUND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM--I ALONE HAVE FOUND NEARLY 100 REPORTS OF THE SAME THING HAPPENING. AS FOR THE SUNROOF...IT BROKE AND WAS REPAIRED IN AUGUST 2000. NOW, JUST OVER A YEAR LATER (NO MORE WARRANTY) THE SAME PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED AGAIN. THERE HAVE BEEN TSB'S ISSUED ON BOTH OF THESE PROBLEMS. A RECALL IS NEEDED IMMEDIATELY.*AK

ON 6/14/1999 I TOOK MY CAR TO THE DEALER FOR WARRANTY WORK.(35,784 MILES) BUSTED FRONT MOTOR MOUNT,, RATTLING WHEN CHANGING GEARS, WATER IN TAIL PIPE WHEN IT RAINED AND HIGH RPM, EVEN WHEN IDLING. THEY TOLD ME THERE WAS NOTHING WRONG WITH THE MOTOR MOUNT, THE HIGH RPM WAS NORMAL, THEY COULD FIND NO RATTLE AND NO PROBLEM WITH EXHAUST PIPE. I DEMANDED A REFUSAL IN WRITING ON THE MOTOR MOUNT. THEY ASKED TO KEEP THE CAR ANOTHER DAY AND RECHECK THE MOTOR MOUNT AND IT WAS NOW RAINING, THEY'D RECHECK THE EXHAUST PIPE NOISE. THEY SAID THEY REPLACED THE MOTOR MOUNT, BUT I COULD FIND NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY HAD ACTUALLY REPLACED IT. BEING FEMALE, WE ARE REGARDED AS MECHANICALLY IGNORANT AND MECHANICS WILL NOT LISTEN TO US IN MS. HAVING OUR OWN REPAIR SHOP FOR MANY YEARS, I PROBABLY FIXED MORE ENGINES IN MY TEENAGE YEARS THAN THEY DO IN THEIR CAREER. I HAD NO EXPERIENCE WITH THESE NEW FUEL INJECTED VEHICLES. THEY REFUSED TO LISTEN AND I COULDN'T WIN AGAINST A SO-CALLED SPECIALIST. AFTER A FEW MONTHS, I FOUND THE RATTLE IN REVERSE. IT WAS A BOLT ABOVE THE DRIVE SHAFT THAT WAS UNSCREWING ITSELF AND BANGING AGAINST THE DRIVE SHAFT. I TIGHTENED SEVERAL TIMES OVER THE NEXT FEW MONTHS AND THEN MY FRIEND PUT SILICON ON IT AND IT HAS NEVER UNSCREWED ITSELF SINCE. THE WATER IN THE TAIL PIPE IS AN EXHAUST MANIFOLD LEAK AT THE MOTOR AND POSSIBLY A BUSTED HEAD GASKET. THE EXCESSIVE HEAT HAS CAUSED MY REAR MAIN SEAL TO START LEAKING AND I AM NOW GETTING OIL IN 2 OF MY SPARK PLUG AND IT HAS BURNT A VALVE IN MY ENGINE. IT NOW HAS 108000 MILES. PAID OFF IN 2 YEARS. THIS WAS MY FIRST CAR. DEALER SAID I COULDN'T GET EXTENDED WARRATY CAUSE MY CREDIT WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH. I PAID FULL PRICE, 13000 AND IT ALREADY HAD 127 MILES ON IT. THEY SAID THEY LIED TO CHRYSLER ABOUT MY INCOME TO GET ME FINANCED AND NO PROBLEM I'VE HAD WAS FIXED. I'M SINGLE MOM,LIVE IN COUNTRY. I'M DISABLED SINCE 2/2000. THE DEALER TOOK ADVANTAGE OF ME, NOW MY CAR NEEDS 1000'S IN REPAIRS CAUSED BY ORIGINAL COMPLAINT. I CAN'T FIX.