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.