I've seen this market in action. My dad had his car written off years ago and he bought it back the day after he got his payout. We just went to the yard where

I've seen this market in action. My dad had his car written off years ago and he bought it back the day after he got his payout. We just went to the yard where it was to be 'scrapped' and paid about 1/4 of the payout total to take it home. The only damage was to the side panels and bumper, so we replaced those ourselves and he still had a fair chunk of money left over. The guy at the yard said any car without damage to the frame or drive train is likely to be picked up by a used car shop or private resellers who do the repairs themselves and flip them.