no insurance covers $1000 because that's how much his destroyed car is worth... you'd think they would insure it for what it was worth BEFORE destroyed huh? but you have to remember insurance companies are (bizarrely enough) for-profit companies

Man, that's a good point... why the hell didn't the OP get it insured before the accident? Well, maybe he was on his way to do that, since he didn't get to drive too far.

Maybe he did, but the payout still doesn't cover what he put into the car. PS, Other guy's not insured while drunk driving? Take his damn house.

I agree about the drunk driver! He needs to be punished harshly.

the bigger question is, why in the world would OP replace the engine in a $1,000 car with a $6,000 engine...

Bringing new life to an old car? Sometimes that's all an old car needs, I can tell you a few models that I would take over most of the newer cars if they were reliable enough

Actually. Because he didn't disclose the car's modifications when taking out the insurance, the whole contract is void. Legally he shouldn't get any money back at all, and could be arrested himself for driving an uninsured vehicle.

The OP never said they didn't have insurance just that the driver of the other vehicle didn't. Personally i would sue the drunk driver, its their fault they didn't have insurance that shouldn't get them out of having to repay the cost of the car they destroyed.

MagicMeds, do you manage to dress and feed yourself without help each day? Insurance doesn't just cover the scrap value of a totalled vehicle, and there's nothing bizarre about an insurance company profiting off the service it sells its customers. Why else would they exist? For a bit of clarification, his insurance has no liability unless he had UM coverage.

I know the feeling... We spent $15000 on a car earlier in the year (from a car dealer) and in September we had to put a $6000 motor in it... then in November we had to put a $2500 turbo into it (its a turbo deisel) So this $15000 car has cost us nearly $24000 in total (including the change) and if we sold it we would b lucky to get $10000 for it. Definatley a FYL I feel for you...

Where are these people engines that cost 6 grand , really ... That's nuts!!

Deek, you don't get out much, do you?

Ill forgive you because you dont understand the value and pricing of car parts. But do research before posting ignorant comments.

That's not what totaled means. Totaled means the insurance company pays the market value of the car rather than pay for the damage, because that's the less expensive option for them. So the car was worth $1000 before the accident.

The car was worth $1000 after the accident. And maybe the OP likes to rebuild/remodel cars or whatever so maybe thats why he didn't just go out and buy a new car off a lot. Just because you wouldn't spend your money that way doesn't mean that he spent his "incorrectly".

No, when your car is totaled, it means that the damage is so extensive that the insurance company pays you the market value of the car (before the accident) rather than covering the damage (i.e. it costs less to pay for a new car than to pay to fix the old one). So the OP really did spend $6000 on a $1000 car.

That's definitely not how karma works. Karma would be: "Today, (actually a few days ago, stupid format.) I got drunk and beat the shit out of my girlfriend. The next day, I finished installing a 6,000 dollar engine in my old car. 5 minutes into the test drive, a drunk driver hit me and totaled it. FML" (I'm sure that's more than 300 characters, but whatever, I'm not submitting a real FML, so it's okay. Maybe he couldn't find a decent used car for 6 grand, and there wasn't really anything else wrong with his old car, other than the fact that it's old. He may have decided to opt for the engine instead of paying 6 grand for a used car that needed more work added on to it. If I could avoid spending more money than I had to, especially in this economy, I would.