I had been about 21 years old once i was out and about with a friend of mine in his take down old 1980s model Aerostar minivan. It turned out a hot day along with the minivan didn't have air conditioning, we used to call it the "Ghetto Tan Minivan" as it was beat up in and out. We were going to the mall eventually on a very busy and traffic filled Dallas highway in the event the brakes just died. As he had to make the repairs he just felt like he was throwing money into a pit. It wasn't long before the van just died period and was no longer drivable without spending a couple of thousand dollars to repair it.
What do you do in a situation like that? You have a low paying job and you're driving around a 20 year-old (at the time) clunker. What are you likely to do in order to get that next car purchased? At least to get the initial advance payment you might need to sell it.
Many people won't take your car if it is broken down for anything further than scrap, but there are particular people out there who get your car for cash understanding that was who he called. He called some of those companies and you know what? Just a couple of days later after they gave him somewhat money for his minivan and towed them back for him instead of him paying for it, he had another car!
The moral from the story is that the car buyers saved my friend and I think that people who use these services get a greater deal on their car compared to the people who simply sell the cars to your junk yard. Sure a junk yard might tow off your car or truck for scrap but you will get about 1/4 or less for your car.
Let's face it, itrrrs likely that most of these car buyers have got all they need to fix the cars and resell them or maybe have a specific higher paying scrap yard owner who's worked out a better take care of them. In that case they're able to justify a higher price on your car!