maybe BK soon, maybe voluntary car repo sooner- long post!

I'm mulling over starting BK proceeding soon, and already contacted CCCS for the mandatory credit counseling session. I would do the online/phone option. Here's my situation. I'm a divorced single mom, and all my debt is my own. I pretty much live paycheck to paycheck, but know that I can weedle my discressionary spending down by $100-$200 per month (just have never been able to stick with a budget in the past, and I'm 38 years old). This is why I'm considering BK instead of debt management through CCCS.

My Equifax score is currently 549. Three yrs ago I decided to buy a used car @24.999% APR to re-establish my horrible credit. I think my score was 560 or 565 back then, but even though I've never been late on even one car pmt, I've had new collection accounts pop up on my credit report (i.e. ancient debts bought & sold between CA's & reported). I don't have any credit cards. I have my car loan & a consolidated Fed. student loan as the only good marks on my credit report.

My car is an '01 Hyundai Elantra (93,000 miles) with a current private-resell value of about $2,200. I still owe $4,100 on the loan (supposed to be 11-12 more months on loan), and the car needs both major & minor mechanical work done on it right away to keep me with a job (20-mile commute each way), totalling close to $2,000. The darned car is losing value quicker than my loan balance is lowering!

So here's the scoop. My now-disabled mom isn't working anymore, and she is severely behind on her car pmts. Her '02 Hyundai Santa Fe (70,000 miles & perfect mech. condition) will be repoed this week, says her loan company. I'm thinking about doing a voluntary repo on my car, and saving her's from repo to take as my own. She's got 2 yrs left on her loan, which is $50 less per month than mine, and owes a bit less than the SUV's value.

To stop repo on her SUV, I will need to give her loan company $560 to get the loan current. I would then take over pmts, sending them at least $300 every month to pay it off quicker. Today she's faxing them a letter stating that I have her permission to speak with them regarding the auto loan. The loan will stay in her name, as will the title until it's paid off and she signs it over to me. Since I've never been late on my own car loan, I won't have a problem paying her's on time if I give my car back to the loan company.

I know that my credit score will lower even more when the repo is reported, but at this point I'm WAY MORE conserned about having a reliable vehicle to get to/from work. I guess you can say that I'm thinking in Survival Mode right now.

I have a good job that I've been at since Nov. '05, and I've been in my cheap apartment (20% of my gross monthly income) since Oct. '06. I shouldn't need to worry terribly about my credit score & credit report for a good long while, unless I lose my job and a perspective employer pulls it.

Do I sound stupid and naive with all that I've said? I worry that my car idea is beyond crazy!