[Mr 5 0]

CupCake:

Good news about the value of your car being about equal to what you owe on it.

Getting credit is not too hard if you are steadily employed and have a fairly stable history of paying any bills you owe, like your credit card. The 'catch' is that you will probably have to pay a fairly high interest rate for your car loan, but even that is open to speculation at this point. Shop around for a loan, including at banks. Don't just take whatever some car dealer offers you, which probably won't be the very best financing deal you could get. Whatever you decide to do, be prepared to pay a higher-than-average interest rate for your loan.

As far as your Mustang being 'the same' after it is repaired: that is a gamble. It may have some squeaks and/or rattles it never had before, the doors/hood may not line up as perfectly as before it was hit and you could find a water leak when it rains. Of course, none of this may happen, it's really a guess. I've had major repair jobs done on cars that were hit and the repairs were almost undetectable. I've also had shoddy work done that was quite noticable as to paint-matching and body alignment. A lot depends on the quality of workmanship that goes into the repairs - and that is sometimes hard to find - but still possible.

Unfortunately, you won't really know how good - or bad - the work was until it's been completed. Then, if the bodywork doesn't look very good and/or the re-painting is flawed, etc, you are pretty well screwed. Yes, you can fight with the repair shop for a 'do-over' but, even if they agree to 'fix it', it will likely be the same clowns doing the work that messed it up originally. Good luck with that. Plus, once your car has been in a fairly big accident, as yours has, the re-sale value drops considerably, for good reason. Let's just say that CarFax is not your friend when you are selling a heavily damaged-and-repaired vehicle.

This is why I would rather see you let your damaged Mustang go for salvage, take the insurance money and 'run', as it were. Start fresh with a 'new' Mustang GT and go from there without having to worry about how your banged-up Mustang looks or acts, post repairs. That's just my suggestion, of course. Ultimately, you have to do what seems best for you - and I know you will.

Sincere best wishes with your upcoming decisions relating to your car status, CupCake. Keep us informed.