repairs generally do not increase the value of a car, it just makes it par.
I disagree when you are talking vehicles with 125K+ like this. On vehicles like that book value assumes the vehicles are running with 125K+ drivetrains. IF repairs have been done, like rebuilding the motor or trans, that most definitely ads value.
The insurance companies and registries would disagree with you and others that use book value as a guide. If someone bought your car and totaled it the next day, they would only get retail book value. If the work was done less than a year ago, you might get them to pay a little more, otherwise if it's over a year, then it's just part of maintenance and the value of a running car. Ask me how I know, had a car totaled and couldn't get anything extra from the insurance company even though the engine had been replaced a couple years ago. So I'd never pay more than retail. Actually most of the time I pay around trade in or a just a little above, typically between clean trade in and retail. With retail, you typically get a warranty and some reconditioning that you won't get with a private party.