How to Review a Total-Loss Vehicle Valuation
VEHICLE DAMAGE & INSURANCE · SOURCES CHECKED OCTOBER 23, 2026
A useful valuation review starts with the vehicle’s details and the insurer’s explanation. Use this guide to organize evidence, spot factual errors, and prepare specific questions about a total-loss offer.
1. Ask for the valuation behind the offer
Request the valuation report and a written breakdown of the proposed payment. Separate the vehicle’s pre-loss value from the deductible, loan payoff, taxes or fees, and any salvage deduction. Which items apply depends on the policy, claim, and state rules.
Washington’s rules provide a state-specific example: the insurer’s total-loss valuation report must include vehicle condition, equipment and mileage information, the information used to determine actual cash value, and comparable vehicles. Requirements elsewhere may differ.
Washington valuation-report requirements ↗
2. Check that the report describes your vehicle
- Year, make, model, trim, engine, drivetrain, and body style.
- Mileage immediately before the loss.
- Factory options and packages actually installed.
- Pre-crash condition, prior damage, and documented recent work.
- The relevant location and valuation date.
For each error, record the report page, the correction, and the supporting document or photograph. A recent repair receipt supports what work was done; it does not automatically increase the vehicle’s value dollar for dollar.
3. Compare like vehicles
Save listings for vehicles similar in trim, age, mileage, equipment, and location. Record the listing date, seller, URL, asking price, and important differences. Asking prices are not completed sale prices. Flag differences instead of inventing a dollar adjustment for them.
| Record | What to save |
|---|---|
| Vehicle identity | Year, model, trim, drivetrain, mileage |
| Price and source | Asking price, listing URL, seller, date captured |
| Differences | Options, condition, location, mileage differences |
| Evidence | Screenshot or saved listing; notes on availability |
4. Use Kelley Blue Book as one reference
Kelley Blue Book provides different values for different selling situations, including trade-in and private-party values. Record which type you looked up, the location, mileage, condition, and lookup date. A value for a different transaction type is not interchangeable with an insurance settlement.
Look up a value on Kelley Blue Book ↗ · Read KBB’s value definitions ↗
Accident Advisory does not provide licensed KBB valuations or represent an affiliation with Kelley Blue Book. Our vehicle calculator uses the figures you enter; it does not appraise your car.
5. Request a focused review
Send the insurer a concise list of factual corrections with supporting evidence and ask for a written explanation of disputed adjustments. Texas Department of Insurance describes options such as researching comparable vehicles and checking whether your own policy offers an appraisal process. The available process depends on your policy and jurisdiction.
Texas Department of Insurance: disputed total-loss value ↗
Questions to keep together
- What value is being assigned to my vehicle before deductions?
- Which comparable vehicles and adjustments support that figure?
- How are taxes, title fees, the deductible, and salvage being treated?
- What happens to my loan or lease balance?
- When do rental coverage and storage payments end?
- What review or dispute process applies to this claim?
Use the vehicle payout calculator → · Track related expenses → · Find state resources →
This is an organizational guide, not an appraisal, coverage decision, or promise of a higher settlement. State rules and policy terms vary.