1morepart

ouch, glad your safe.....

cummins cowboy

my advice may be too late, if the car is close to being totaled let me know if you want it to go that route,I have some advice for that. I used to rebuild totals back in the mid 90's, all dealerships have different margins on their parts, some are way out of line, so it pays to shop different dealerships for prices, also for any dealer related part, I always tell them my last name followed by auto, that way I get the 30% discount the shops are getting on the parts, I have never been asked to show any proof in any event I do own a business its just not auto repair.

forget about diminished value, insurance does not cover it/ it looks like your radiator and core support are going to be the main parts, make sure there is no issues with alignment, unibody cars which the mustang is are much more fixable than full frame vehicles. in your case it looks like all damaged parts should be replaced, make sure they put genuine ford parts back in, not cheap knock off parts, there are aftermarket parts out there however they don't tend to fit as well as the real stuff, when you pick up the car pay careful attention to how well the parts are lined up, make sure the gaps are the same etc.

remember you are in control, the insurance companies these days try to twist your arm into using their people or "preferred vendor" they do this so they can reap substantial discounts, however you are entitled to use whoever you want for the work, you are also entitled to cash out for the damage then use who ever you want, normally I get a few estimates from shops tell them insurance is involved, then I go back and tell them I am paying out of pocket, the out of pocket people get the best price