What should you do if your uninsured car was totaled by a drunk driver whose insurance has a 5K limit but you owe 1800 dollars on the car?

I will have to make one or two assumptions here. I am assuming: 1. The 5K limit you refer to is for property damage. (Though I don't believe their is any state with liability limits quite this low.) 2. The drunk driver was indeed liable for your damages resulting from this accident. However, I have to wonder: How is it you owe money on the vehicle and were not required by your creditor to carry some insurance to cover the vehicle? Generally, the lender will force-place coverage on the vehicle, when there is money still owed. Check to see if there is some. They don't shop around for bargains, trust me, so the premiums (which would also be billed to you) will have been pretty phenomenal. Howevever, we can still go back to the first assumption and the 5K limit of the other driver's policy. This is sufficient to pay for your damages, so none of the other issues should come up. California has a PD minimum of $5,000 which is completely ridic in my opinion. Check if you have underinsured motorists property damage, otherwise it can be covered under collision minus your deductable. If your damages exceed the responsible party's insurance coverage, file a lawsuit. There are lots of lawyers advertising free consultations and no fee if they don't collect.