The act of purchasing an unrepairable vehicle for its identification number and certificate is known as the salvage switch.
When a car is damaged and no longer works, they are deemed as a salvage vehicle. When the person steals the VIP number and other information off of a salvaged car, they use it to act as if the stolen car is registered until those numbers not to (hopefully) get caught with a stolen vehicle. They are using the salvaged vehicle and switching it - salvage switch.