<prompt> Human: Hey rpersonalfinance - Ive got a big problem.Ive spent about the past year repairing my credit. I went in the hole after years of being young, poor, and then getting married and becoming a father of three. As it is, I work constant overtime and have managed to finally pay off all of my credit cards and start putting money away - not much, just a couple hundred dollars so far, split between a high yield savings and some very small investments. My credit scores are finally starting to come up, and I monitor them from all 3 bureaus very carefully. Queue this last check, and I was going to be able to put away close to 1500, and I was going to be on my way to financial security with a multi-year plan for an emergency fund, retirement fund... things were looking up.Then, last Sunday 1019, my car was totalled. Im just finishing fighting with my insurance, their insurance, and now getting GAP insurance involved, but Im trying to get out of this without damaging my finances and my credit. Heres the rundown: The driver who hit me is at fault, and the police report shows it I could tell the other driver was intoxicated when the accident occurred, so I called 911. The EMS worker told me off the record that there was going to be something on the EMS report that would be crucial for my case if it goes a legal route, but couldnt give me specifics since it was personal medical information. His drug test came back negative, which leads me to believe he may have been high on something like Spice or K2, both illegal in TX, and both of which dont show on toxicology. The driver of the vehicle wasnt insured under the vehicles policy. The other driver has contested that this was his fault with his insurance, stating off the record that he was intoxicated, but then denying it as soon as they start recording his statement this information was given to me by someone at their insurance company. My insurance company has deemed my vehicle a total loss. They are paying out the worth of the car, however the car was brand new 6 months ago when I purchased it, and I am upside down on it. I have GAP insurance, and am currently gathering the required paperwork to send to them.Long story short, the 2 insurances GAP and my provider working in sync will completely pay off the car. However, that leaves me in the disgusting position of having to run more credit checks and open another loan in order to get another vehicle. I want to be able to put money down on a new car, but I dont want it to completely kill off what Ive worked so hard to accomplish.Ive already called the sales guy I worked with before at the dealership, and I wanted to offer to come back and purchase another vehicle through them if they would be willing to transfer the down payment from my old car to my new one in exchange for my business, but havent heard back. I also plan on going directly through the same credit union that the dealership set up my lien with, and doing it directly so that I dont have 10 more credit inquiries because I went into a dealership blindly with no loan.Im looking to see if either Im missing anything, or if anyone has any advice on how to come out of this with minimum impact to my credit and my savings. Ive worked my ass off to get out of the red for the first time in my life, and I dont want some asshole kid to be the thing that puts me behind by 6 months or a year on my financial plans.Thank you. Ill also be cross posting to rlegaladvice to see about possible legal repercussions.  <response>: I think youre overstated the downsides of having a credit inquiry run.Can you look for a cheaper car than the one you had? One option is to buy one of those 5k cars with cash.You should also look into taking the guy to small claims court, or a mediation, which you would presumably win and which would help you defray your costs. 