If your car needed a transmission I'm guessing it's an old, high mileage, low value car for which you had no fire insurance.
You'll pay more for a lawyer than the car is worth and you won't get that money back.
You can go to small claims court without a lawyer and take a shot at it but you'll need an expert to examine the car and determine the source and cause of the fire. Last time I hired one it was over $1000 and that was 10 years ago. And you don't get that money back either.
Even with a judgment there's no guarantee that you'll ever see a nickel.
Life lesson from the school of hard knocks.

