It does not sound like a scam to me, and actually quite normal.

Assuming you did not overpay for the car, receiving 50% of the purchase price for a 5 year old car is pretty generous. If you actually paid 25K, that would include sales tax and licensing fees which are not covered in the event of a totaled car. So really that is a good settlement in most cases.

Settlements can often be increased by working with the adjuster with certain circumstances. For example if the tires were pretty new you can often increase the settlement amount by some pro-rated value based on the purchase price.

While you cite the windshield being damaged, the frame of the windshield may have been bent which would have cost the insurance company a lot to fix. They may have totaled the car to avoid liability, which sounds reasonable.

Once a car is totaled the insurance company will sell the car for salvage. This is typically in the $500 range. What happens then is beyond the insurance company's control.

You can verify this is your car by checking the vin numbers.

A junk yard may have bought the car from the insurance company, repaired it, and then sold it to a car dealership. That car dealership has to sell the car with a salvage title. Someone may be willing to pay 18K for it.

I do not know why you say "hindsight is 20/20". I am not sure what you would have done differently. In fact, if I was in your shoes, I would be happy with the settlement.

It does not sound like a scam to me, and actually quite normal.

Assuming you did not overpay for the car, receiving 50% of the purchase price for a 5 year old car is pretty generous. If you actually paid 25K, that would include sales tax and licensing fees which are not covered in the event of a totaled car. So really that is a good settlement in most cases.

Settlements can often be increased by working with the adjuster with certain circumstances. For example if the tires were pretty new you can often increase the settlement amount by some pro-rated value based on the purchase price.

While you cite the windshield being damaged, the frame of the windshield may have been bent which would have cost the insurance company a lot to fix. They may have totaled the car to avoid liability, which sounds reasonable.

Once a car is totaled the insurance company will sell the car for salvage. This is typically in the $500 range. What happens then is beyond the insurance company's control.

You can verify this is your car by checking the vin numbers.

A junk yard may have bought the car from the insurance company, repaired it, and then sold it to a car dealership. That car dealership has to sell the car with a salvage title. Someone may be willing to pay 18K for it.

I do not know why you say "hindsight is 20/20". I am not sure what you would have done differently. In fact, if I was in your shoes, I would be happy with the settlement.

In the end, it is important to understand that cars cost a lot to own. It is very easy to lose significant wealth on the ownership of a car. Here you hit on several factors that causes one to lose money. First and foremost is depreciation. Second is replacement and the costs associated with that (finding a car, paying taxes and licensing all over again, dealing with car salesmen). If you had a relatively full tank of gas, that cost you about $40 alone!