Leafy,
Dunno how to say this any nicer: please never compare your car to anyone else's. It's such a tub of diarrhea you couldn't pay people to take it from you. Maybe build a car that doesn't look like a heaping pile of turds and it will be worth more than 3k total?

Insurance claims are different than a civil suit. The problem with builds like this (and mine, which was a full restoration) is they need to be insured properly - either as a Stated Value or Appraised value. Sadly, almost everyone insures them as "1991 MAZ Miata 2dr Conv" with 180K miles. That payout is equal to $1850.

Luckily, with help from an insurance adjuster friend, I nearly tripled their first offer to me. Hoping yours goes as well.

The only reason I can think of to involve your insurance company is because they have incentive to make sure they don't pay anything. If you have a lawyer it's the same deal. An insurance company is less likely to dick around another one because they both have deep pockets and it's a loss for both of them to fuck around. If it's just you trying to do things they may make it a pain in the ass to make you give up with lower offers.

I don't really have anything else of value to add so I'll just say good luck! Keep us posted. I really do hope that this has the best possible result for you in terms of compensation.

Second this. I think my insurance company charges me ~$12 a year to add coverage for ~$2000 in aftermarket parts. Just need receipts/proof of purchase in the case of a collision.

3rd this. I've got an additional 4k on mine for aftermarket parts/custom paint etc.

My insurance company maxes out at $4k for aftermarket parts. That's really not that much money when almost everything on the car has been replaced with an aftermarket part. The only parts original to the car are subframes, tub, body panels, dash, PPF, transmission, steering rack, and accessories like headlights.

My insurance company is now involved, and they've assigned an adjuster to the case who happens to be one of the nicest ladies I've ever talked to. Now just waiting to hear back from the other party's insurance company.

Farewell, green prince.

Hey guys! Just wanted to give everyone an update.

The insurance company has ignored the majority of the invoices I've submitted to them and I only received about 25% of the car's value in the payout. They were ready to litigate over this, but that is absolutely not worth my time so I ended up accepting their offer and moving on.

They have also towed my car from my friend's shop without my permission. I've called my friend to check in and he was confused because the insurance company came to his shop a week before I called, paid him for storage, and took the car. That was done without my permission and without notifying me. I still don't know where it is 2 months later, but my attorney is working on getting the location so I can get it towed to my other friend's shop for dismantling.

We are going to take the whole car apart and figure out what to do with the parts after that. We are likely going to use some of the parts in another project but I'm sure you'll see some of the parts in the for sale section soon. Hopefully, major components survived the accident.