I have a 2002 Neon ES 4cyl. 4door.

It has overheating problems.
It appears that there is oil on the engine possibly due to a slow oil leak from maybe the cylinder head cover gasket.
It needs all motor mounts replaced due to extremely loud vibration.
It needs the timing belt and water pump replaced since it has over 107k miles.
The car jerks sometimes when the automatic transmission is changing gears...its a greater jerk than bad motor mounts...its the whole car trying to go into gear.
When cleaned up I would say it is in fair to good shape when it comes to cosmetics.
Needs one new rear tire.

Is it worth it to fix the overheating problems, get motor mounts changed, and get the timing belt and water pump replaced or should I sell the car for what ever I can get out it and find another used car that needs less work and is more reliable?

 

By coming to a Neon (sub)forum, we generally try to stay neon. so your answer may be a little biast, but go to a used car lot, and they will say you have to buy something else, and recommend another neon before fixing your old one

They are all replaceable parts.

Who says the "new/used" car will not be "more reliable" or "less work"

any car will need the same general repairs and replacements at X miles.

 

Well assuming the oil leak and your transmission just needs some service the timing belt will be what will set you back the most. The motor mounts are a pretty minor expense. I would probably fix it because mine has been very reliable and most the repair bills have been pretty reasonable. Did I mention it gets anywhere between about 8-40mpg? I usually average around 30mpg fairly consistently.

 

Well, I suppose the question is: Is the price of the parts and labor to get that stuff fixed less than the price of either a new car or another fixer upper that you will have to put more money into?

I mean, overheating problems are generally fairly easy to track down and fix.
Changing the valve cover gasket on these cars is easy.
Changing the two torque strut mounts is easy, and the actual motor mount can be replaced when the timing belt and water pump is since you have to remove it to get to those.
Changing the transmission fluid and filter, along with checking it on a regular basis, is easy.
Tires, well...they have to replaced at some point in time on every car.

 

X2 ^^