I've been there. a newborn only 7 weeks old? Take the 9K and run. Every part minute and braincells you have will be dedicated to your new family. They grow up in a blink and you don't get any of that time back. As soon as the have a DL they are gone. LOL I cherish every minute with my child. I'd take that 9K and buy the best newer prius I could afford. Maybe as much at $15K in your next one. When your child is 3 years old you will start getting sleep again. When they go to school you will have time to work on cars again...LOL. If your not working your job or being a husband, repair man, brother, etc......life is super full when your a father. Good choice. Best of luck to you.
She is 6 weeks. I wanted to keep it but they salvaged it and I don't want a salvage vehicle. I see what the guys are saying doesn't look that difficult but I have to fix it for 1000 to break even on the deal and I don't think that is quite enough once I get someone to help me. We don't want a 15k vehicle too much car. My wife is still a student driver. I think I am going looking for that 05 spend 5k. Then I have 4k for parts, labor and do it yourself. I see some clean ones. Also we carry liability only and save on the comp and collision. Maybe put C and C on when the wife is ready to drive again. If that car gets a reasonably clean 75k miles I would be happy. Another thing we should prepare for is our insurance rates going through the roof. I only paid 400 for liability on the car last 6 months. I didn't even know it was worth 9k. I expect that might double. The waste and garbage coming out of insurance companies plus extreme inflation.
what I don't understand is "why the insurance company will mark the title as "salvage" when it's starting and running". I bought cars that were totaled (even with no cats) and they all have clean title. The Mazda Tribute that I bought for $1000 (clogged cats) fixed and sold to my friend for $2500 even made a profit (ended making the car free). His son hit a deer and destroyed the fender, radiator, condenser and bumper. Insurance totaled the car and I told him to buy it back. We fixed it for less than $300 and still has a clean title. It's still running as if nothing happened. Same thing with my $1000 volvo xc90, it was a total loss due to stolen cats and collision.. clean title. insurance will not let you buy back the car if it's deemed un-repairable, it will be junked but in this case it's not. maybe you should clarify with your insurance company.. IMO a salvage car is not worth fixing or your time.
My brother in law is an insurance adjuster. He tells me that the SOP for a car that is paid off....75 percent of the time it is totalled regardless of what is wrong. The liability is too great for them to risk a repair. Easier to just cut a check...and that is what most people want anyway. at least in the USA.
Update: This is FYI for anyone dealing with something like this. The info you need is at the DMV and it is state specific. Before you sell to another private party the title needs to move from SALVAGE to REBUILT and dmv specification must be met.