Fender-crusher

I was in a fender-bender. Or perhaps fender-crusher would be a better term? It was just a few blocks from our house; I was taking Jordan to choir, and someone made a left turn without looking and ran into me. No one was hurt, the air bags did not deploy, we were close to home, the car was minimally driveable, and it was entirely the other person's fault; we were shaken up for sure, but overall this is a good kind of accident. The only bad part is that the front passenger corner of the car is smashed inward.

The other wrinkle is that the other driver has no insurance. Ouch. But she is completely cooperative and pleasant so far (not that she has had to actually do anything), so hopefully it will all be fine. We have uninsured motorist coverage, and since no one is hurt, that $10K is more than enough to cover the damage. Does my insurance company pursue her for the cost of the repair? Does this influence her future insurance rates? I assume so. Bummer. But she shouldn't have been driving uninsured, so, oh well.

The process is irritatingly slow... this happened on July 2, and the car wasn't even inspected until July 13. They estimated about $2000 worth of damage, which is pretty much what I expected. I pried the fender away from the wheel enough to drive it to the shop the next day. More time went by, during which we have had a lame rental car (a Dodge Dart, with windows like little portholes). Then yesterday (July 20), I got the bad call: When they took the car apart, they found further structural damage that would be more expensive to repair... more expensive than the car is worth, to them. In other words, the car is totaled. 

What a drag. The car is worth quite a lot to ME, because we need two cars -- not always, but regularly -- and we are certainly not in a financial position right now to get another car. For a minute there I was afraid they would take the car away in exchange for $3000, which would be terrible for us. It turns out that we have the option to keep the car, thank goodness; so hopefully we can get a lesser repair done for the amount that they will give us. Or pursue the person that hit me for the difference. But I am just really bummed to have to deal with this. Can I just have my car back the way it was?