on buying/repairing cars

[e(Lisa)beth]

Hi everyone! I'm hoping to get some opinions on a dilemma we're facing.

I was in a car wreck on Monday; someone rear-ended me. I'm fine, but my car isn't. The repair bill is estimated at $4000. Since my car is only worth about $3000, the insurance company will almost definitely want to total the car and just give me a check for the $3000. I hate this because my car, a 1996 Nissan Sentra with 125k miles, is paid off and has plenty of life left in it, in my opinion. If this hadn't happened I probably would have driven it for another few years of no-car-payment bliss.

I realize I could just take the check and buy a $3000 car with it, but buying a car that old makes me nervous. I've been driving my car eight years, so I know its quirks, but I don't want to buy a car with "quirks" because I have no way of knowing if those quirks will turn out to be serious or not. I did some internet shopping tonight, and the cars that I am comfortable with buying are $8k-$10k. Since we don't have that much in ready cash, that would mean getting a car loan, and I really hate debt.

So, options - bite the bullet and get a loan for another car, or try to talk State Farm into letting me have the $3000 and then coming up with the difference to pay for the repair myself.

Do any of you have experience with choosing to repair a car that the insurance company wants to total? Or do any of you have ideas of a third option I haven't thought of?

I'd love to hear any thoughts you have!

Thanks, Lisa

[lucyem]

One thing to keep in mind is that your car is never the same after an accident. We had an elderly man hit us and after 2 months in the shop my car was still not right. I understand your concern about a car loan. But personally if the insurance company wants to total it you might be better off letting them. We tried but the mans insurance company refused. As it was my husband had to fight to get me a loaner for those 2 months. At first they were only willing to pay for 3 days! The elderly man's car was going to be totaled. He did fight it and it went to the same shop as mine did so I heard that they did repair his car. Then they dropped his insurance. He was 87 and had been in 2 accidents in a year. We lived in a rural area so he was forced to move to assisted living. Anyway he did fight it and won but it was his insurance company. Meanwhile my car was never right, the frame had twisted. I traded it in and bought a new one.