<prompt> Human: I am planning to sell my house and purchase another house in the next 3-6 months. The other day I was rear-ended no fault, and my car which had a private seller value of about 6k is totaled. There is damage to the frame. The inspector said its safe to drive but I have a hard time believing that. Now I have a dilemma. Given that I want to be approved for a new mortgage soon, do I: 1 Repair my car - I dont think this is an option given it is totaled. 2 Use the 6k cash to purchase a used car of similar featuresmileage so I have no payments or credit pull. 3 Use the 6k cash and trade in value if any towards the purchase of another car lease? I had been debating purchasing another car in a few years anyway so I feel like maybe I should just push up this timeline and put the cash towards a used car or a lease, but that might affect my ability to be approved for a mortgage.  <response>: Dont finance a car before you being approved for a home loan or during the process. I went to a home buying seminar last month at my local bank and that was the first thing they said not to do. Try to get something for the 6k you got and wait until you close on a house to finance one. 