'Money Back Guarantee'; S03E12; how is the scheme profitable for carowners?

1sttime poster here.
I got a question about 'Kojak', (S03E12) Money Back Guarantee.

This is the 1 where a gang steals cars from buyers who took out a loan from a bank to finance it. Here's the plan:
some1 either is in debt or simply don't want their car anymore. So, the gang contacts them and tells them to leave the car parked on the street with the keys in the ashtray, to be easily stolen. The owner then contacts the insurance company, and gets some $$$ for the stolen car.

Here's what I don't get - what's the profit motive for the car owners? For the gang, they get a car which they can upgrade & sell, or strip for parts. Their profit motive is clear. But let's say I'm a car owner with a loan. I go along and get $$$ from the insurance company. BUT, that would be depreciated value, not replacement value. So if some1 had an outstanding loan balance of $7,000 and they got back $10,000 Kelly Bluebook value on a $20,000 car, they'd get $3,000 profit. BUT, they'd still be down 1 car. The show takes place in 1975, were there insurance policies that paid out full replacement value as opposed to depreciated? And then, after participating in a felony, yeah they'd have some $profit, but they'd still have to buy another car, so they'd actually lose $$$ on the deal. It don't say in the show, maybe this was targetted at people who were giving up their cars entirely? I understand why the gang would want to keep this gig going, but not why some1 who is a carowner and wants to continue to be a carowner, would participate. What am I missing?