2003 Elantra with overheating issues - need advice

I'm looking for advice on whether to repair or not. My elderly mother has a 2003 Hyndai Elantra with 100k miles on it. We bought it from a shady car dealership (mistake we've had to learn a hard lesson from) last year. Since then, the radiator has burst (fixed radiator cap as well), then a few months later the upper radiator hose burst. Both times the mechanic checked for head gasket leaks and said he found nothing.
Today, the bypass hose burst open. It's $160 to fix, including coolant flush. At this point, she simply needs a car to get her to and from doctors and senior activities -- she is extremely low income and can't afford a new car. I'm struggling with what to do. Why would all of these things go wrong if not for a faulty engine? The mechanic says it could just be bad hoses because it's a 12 year old car ... is this possible? The car does not overheat until these things end up going bad. It does tend up heat up quickly, but it doesn't go above where it should be ever.
Any advice is much appreciated -- I know the smart answer is to junk the car and replace, but since she cannot do that, I'm at a loss as to if fixing this is a bad idea.
Today, the bypass hose burst open. It's $160 to fix, including coolant flush. At this point, she simply needs a car to get her to and from doctors and senior activities -- she is extremely low income and can't afford a new car. I'm struggling with what to do. Why would all of these things go wrong if not for a faulty engine? The mechanic says it could just be bad hoses because it's a 12 year old car ... is this possible? The car does not overheat until these things end up going bad. It does tend up heat up quickly, but it doesn't go above where it should be ever.
Any advice is much appreciated -- I know the smart answer is to junk the car and replace, but since she cannot do that, I'm at a loss as to if fixing this is a bad idea.
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