Lots of opinions here from folks that must not be familiar with the industry and how things work.

The VW SUV in the pics should not be repaired in my humble opinion. It should get a 'junking' certificate. As usual, the regulations are way behind where the industry is. Not everything should be repaired. There should be limits. But who sets them and how they are applied and then the tremendous variations make that nearly impossible. Then those units would only be exported. That big NAFTA sucking sound that Ross Perot warned us about.

This is a very complicated subject and one with no simple answers. But things could be better with more guidance from our regulators. I could get behind guidance that would cause structurally damaged vehicles to only go to a certified shop or be junked. But then, what may be considered structural on one vehicle may not be on another. In the end, every single vehicle would need to have their structural components identified. Quite a job.

And then, more vehicles would simply not be classed as 'salvage' in order to avoid all those issues. We are already starting to see insurance companies selling damaged vehicles with 'clean' or non-branded titles. Lots and lots of money in play.