Total Loss Appraisal: Get What Your Car Was Actually Worth
Certified appraisers
Prepared by a licensed claims adjuster
Same-day often available
Who this is for
How Insurers Calculate a Totaled Car's Value, and Where They Go Wrong
A car is declared a total loss when repair costs (plus salvage value) pass your state's total loss threshold. In Texas, that's 100% of the car's value; in many states it's 70-80%. The insurer then owes you the actual cash value (ACV): what your exact car (year, trim, mileage, options, condition) was worth the moment before the crash.
The problem: most carriers price ACV with automated valuation software. Those systems routinely pull "comparable" cars from cheaper markets hundreds of miles away, list your dealer-clean car as "average," and skip the options and recent work that made your car worth more. That's why the first offer is so often the lowest one.
Red flags to check in your valuation report
- Comps with higher mileage than yours
- Missing options or trim
- Condition rated "average" by default
- Comps from out-of-market ZIP codes
(Skip the online "totaled car value calculator"; a generic formula can't audit any of that.)
The Appraisal Clause: Your Right to an Independent Number
Most auto policies contain an appraisal clause, the right to hire your own independent appraiser when you and the insurer can't agree on value. You appoint your appraiser, the carrier appoints theirs, and if the two can't agree, a neutral umpire decides. It's a recognised route for resolving a valuation dispute, and it starts with a certified appraisal like this one. What it produces in your case depends on your policy, your vehicle, and the evidence on both sides.
What You Get for $300
- A certified total loss appraisal prepared by a licensed claims adjuster
- Verified local comparable sales, with junk listings and bait prices filtered out
- Full credit for options, trim, and documented maintenance and upgrades
- A defensible ACV figure formatted for insurers, umpires, and courts
- Delivery typically in 24-48 hours, straight to your inbox
Order this appraisal
Total Loss Appraisal
Certified PDF report by email- most delivered within 24–48 hours. Flat rate, card payment via Stripe.
How It Works
Order online and upload your valuation report, photos, CC1, insurance offer letter and receipts
A certified appraiser audits the insurer's comps and builds an independent valuation
You receive your certified report within 24-48 hours
Use it to negotiate, or to formally invoke your appraisal clause
FAQs
Do bankruptcy courts require a professional appraisal?
[faq-start]
- What happens when your car is totaled but still drivable?
- What's the total loss threshold in Texas?
- Can I dispute a total loss value with State Farm, Progressive, or any major carrier?
- Will insurance companies take this report seriously?
- You can usually accept the settlement and surrender the car, or keep it with a salvage/rebuilt title at a reduced payout. Either way, the payout starts from ACV, which is exactly the number worth challenging if it's low.
- Texas uses a 100% threshold: the car is totaled when repair costs meet or exceed its ACV. Other states in our footprint range from about 70% (Colorado) to total-loss formulas like Ohio's. Confirm the current rule for your state before you rely on it.
- Yes. Every major carrier's policy includes a dispute path, and most include an appraisal clause. An independent certified appraisal is the evidence that makes the dispute real.
- Our reports are prepared by a licensed claims adjuster and are used in appraisal-clause proceedings and settlement negotiations in all 50 states and DC. Whether a carrier agrees with the figure is a matter of negotiation; what the report does is put a documented, defensible number on the table.
[faq-end]
Not sure this is the right appraisal?
Car repaired instead of totaled? You likely have a diminished value claim. Need the car valued for a court matter instead? See divorce and estate appraisals.
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One certified number, accepted the first time.
Submit your vehicle details online and your certified report arrives within 24-48 hours. Or call and we'll walk you through it.
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