other driver at fault.. insurance wants to total car

[towknie]

My wife drives a 1995 Mazda, and was hit by another driver who immediately admitted complete fault in the accident. Our insurance on this vehicle is liability only. The driver's insurance had my wife's car taken to a repair shop where they estimated repairs to be $3000. The insurance wants to total the car and give us blue book value instead (approximately $1800). There is no way I can get a comparable car for that money (not to mention the costs of registering, inspecting, et al). I do NOT need a new car payment. This to me is not the definition of indemnity. Do I have any recourse?

[Mr. Knowitall]

Ordinarily, insurance coverage is limited to the lesser of replacement value or the cost of repair. If the amounts are close, sometimes an insurance company will total a car even though the cost of repair is lower, because it will cost them less money to total the car and sell it for scrap than it would to simply repair the car.

You could see if the insurance company would contribute the $1,800 to a repair and pay the difference yourself.