There was a recent poll with the results being upwards of 60% of the people in this country could not pay for a $500 car repair without using credit cards or borrowing money. 

The replacement is going to greatly increase the size of the basement.In an ideal world, I'd put a third unit down there, but it doesn't seem to be in the cards given the municipal code.

Some dnt have it or cnt get it, no credit card etc. then there is cheaper way way way way cheaper.

@Jay Hinrichs you play the cards you are dealt.

Should I take the 50k and pay of credit cards and start from scratch?

Use your car for collateral to obtain down payment to the seller or if you have credit cards with cash advance feature, call the credit card company and ask for a credit limit increase with the increase for advance cash.

I understand its unsecured debt, and half of it was essentially credit card debt but my question is does anyone else experience this?

As for your credit being poor, you might think about other ways to build your credit like a pre-paid credit card that will report to the credit bureaus.  

looked at URL its a credit card based deal... use caution with those..

It will be on direct mailers, business cards, website and social media.