Just adding another "YDI for bad economics" comment. $6k will get you a used car that will be better than putting a $1k car that you spent $6k on (and is still worth $1k). @28, yes all cars depreciate in value, but your argument only works for brand new cars. Brand new cars lose lots of value immediately, but the rate of depreciation slows down as it ages. Buy a $20k car today and it's worth $15k next year, buy a $6k car and it's worth $5k next year (assuming an uninsured drunk driver doesn' t hit your first). So if OP had just bought a $6k used car it would have been in much better shape than wasting $6k on his car that's only worth $1k.

Um, that was patently inane. You should have bought a new (or should I say used) car instead of replacing the engine. Buying a used car that merely needs some tuning or little additional work would have been more effective and less expensive. Laziness is a gamble with a price; unfortunately, you lost. The irony is that now you'll have to spend the time anyway, especially if you're intent on getting all your money back out of the bum. =/

You MUST have the recipt for the engine. Show that to the insurance Co. That'll prove to them your car is NOT the average old car - because it has a new engine, it's worth a LOT more than the average car like it. Almost hate to say it, but you're gonna need a lawyer to fight the ins.co. for ya. Worse case scenario, pull the new engine and find a high-mileage car in decent shape to put it in. I sorta feel sorry for all the posters that don't know what's it's like to have a vehicle you're proud of for the things you did to it. I'm glad life isn't just about the math. P.S. Drunks SELDOM have $$ left after drinking for insurance or paying damages.

fake

even if your insurance doesn't pay, you can still sue the drive of the vehicle for the damage to the engine. You can't sure for the labor but you can prove the value of the engine.

Being hit by a drunk driver definitely wasn't your fault, and I'm sorry for that, but you should've never put that much money into a 1,000 dollar car. You could've bought another nice one for 6,000. But now you know.

Last time I was in an accident the other guys ins. co. paid me for any and all upgrades on my car. I believe they will at least compensate you for half the cost at very least. You just have to negotiate with his ins. co.

I can't believe some people can't figure this out...he put a $6000 motor into the car and the car was worth more until the accident which is now worth $1000.

Oh man... that sucks. All it takes is one asshole to ruin everything.

This is a common trick done by the insurance companies. They must pay for the worth of the vehicle. Often that is done via the market price. But if you can show that it had a non-standard engine worth $6000, they must cover that, because the market price only covers the standard configuration of the vehicle.