Is there a totaled car value calculator?

Yes: this report estimates actual cash value from comparables that left the market in the 90 days before the run, at their last list price, so an older loss reads at today's market level; for a line-by-line file, use the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet.

What is actual cash value (ACV)?

Actual cash value is what the vehicle was worth immediately before the loss: what it would cost to buy a comparable vehicle of the same year, make, model, trim, mileage and condition in your market. Most auto policies settle a total loss at ACV. This report estimates it from comparables that recently left the market near you, at their last list price, with active asking prices as a second read.

How is the actual cash value derived?

From recently off-market comparables within 100 miles over the last 90 days, shown at their last list price, with active asking prices within 75 miles as a second read. Off-market exits take primacy and the ACV carries a confidence band. Condition, options and your itemized adjustments sit on top as explicit lines.

How do insurance companies calculate a total loss payout?

Most policies settle a total loss at actual cash value, usually from comparable vehicles in your market adjusted for mileage, options and condition, less your deductible. Ask for the carrier's valuation and compare its comparables with this report's: mileage, trim and distance are the usual differences.

What happens when your car is totaled but still drivable?

A car can be declared a total loss and still run. The insurer totals it when the repair estimate, sometimes plus the salvage value, reaches a set share of the car's actual cash value, and that threshold varies by state. You can usually take the settlement and hand the car over, or keep it for the settlement minus its salvage value under a salvage title. Either way the payout starts from ACV, which this report estimates from comparables near you.

Who gets the insurance check when a car is totaled?

The owner, unless the car is financed or leased. A lender or leasing company named on the policy is paid first, up to the balance owed, and the owner gets the rest; gap coverage, if you have it, pays a balance larger than the payout. The payout is actual cash value less any deductible on your own policy, so check the offer against this report's ACV and its comparables.

Can you negotiate the insurance payout for a totaled car?

Yes. The first offer is the carrier's estimate of actual cash value, and you can dispute it with evidence: comparable vehicles for sale near you with similar mileage and options, plus receipts for recent work. If you cannot agree, many policies include an appraisal clause that brings in independent appraisers. This report gives you an ACV and comparables to set against the carrier's; for a line-by-line file with the gap to the offer, use the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet.

Are these settlement or sale prices?

Every figure is a listed price. Active comparables are current asking prices and recently off-market comparables are shown at their last list price, the closest observable proxy to a transaction. Negotiated sale prices are private and not in the data.

The VIN, the mileage at the time of loss and the loss date. Add the ZIP where the loss occurred, or the comparables default to a generic market and will be wrong for your region. Condition, options value, CPO status and adjustments are optional.

How is it different from the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet?

The report is an automated ACV with a confidence band. The worksheet is the appraiser’s file: comparables you pick and verify on the dealer page, an editable mileage adjustment, title-brand markdown, the carrier offer gap, a certification block and a branded Excel.

$4.99 per report. Connect the MarketCheck AI Desk to Claude or ChatGPT once and ask in plain English, or run it from this website. You pay per report from a credit balance, with no subscription. A single report can also be bought as a guest.

All reports

For Insurance Adjuster For Public Adjuster For Claims Attorney

Actual cash value of a totaled car, with the comparable evidence

Actual cash value is what your car was worth just before the loss: what a comparable car of the same year, trim, mileage and condition costs in your market. This report estimates it from comparables that left the market within 100 miles in the last 90 days, at last list price, plus active asking prices and a confidence band. $4.99.

What you get

Vehicle specs
Actual Cash Value (ACV)
Regional comparable listings
Regional adjustment
Condition adjustment
Evidence summary

See a sample report

You provide

Required

VIN
17-character vehicle identification number.
Mileage
Vehicle mileage at the time of the loss event.
Loss date
Date of the loss event.

Recommended (improves accuracy)

Loss ZIP
ZIP code where the loss occurred (or vehicle owner's home ZIP).

Optional (9)

Condition
Options value (USD)
Is certified
Adjustments
Appraiser name
Appraiser license
Client name
File number
Exclude VINs

What your assistant shows back

The interactive report Claude and ChatGPT show in the chat, built on live MarketCheck data. Every run also returns a shareable link to the same report.

You

Process a total-loss claim. VIN 4T3R6RFV7MU015349, 42,800 miles, loss date May 20, 2026, loss ZIP 60601, average condition.

Claude

via MarketCheck data

Total Loss Report or Total Loss Valuation Worksheet?

	Total Loss Report ($4.99 per run)	Total Loss Valuation Worksheet ($4.99 per run)
Who it is for	Adjusters and claimants who want a fast, documented ACV	Appraisers, public adjusters and attorneys building the file
Comparables	Chosen by the report: off-market within 100 miles in the last 90 days, active within 75 miles	Like-for-like active listings, about three selected and yours to re-pick; none under a 70% match picked automatically
Evidence	Comparable tables at their last list price	Each price read off the dealer page, fees stripped, the page saved
Title brands	Not applied	Salvage, rebuilt, flood or lemon markdown, 25% by default
Carrier offer	Not compared	The gap to the offer, line by line
Output	A hosted report you can share	A hosted worksheet, a branded Excel and a read-only copy

Try a prompt in Claude or ChatGPT

Each one opens a new chat with the prompt filled in. Swap in your own details.

Process a total-loss claim. VIN 4T3R6RFV7MU015349, 42,800 miles, loss date May 20, 2026, loss ZIP 60601, average condition.
Open in Claude Open in ChatGPT
What's the ACV on this totaled 2021 RAV4? VIN 4T3R6RFV7MU015349, 40,000 miles, totaled May 10, 2026 in 60601.
Open in Claude Open in ChatGPT

Who runs the Total Loss Report

Insurance adjusters who need an ACV with the comparable evidence laid out.
Claimants, public adjusters and attorneys checking a carrier’s total loss offer.
Appraisers who want an automated baseline before building a certified worksheet.

Before you run it

Is there a totaled car value calculator?: Yes: this report estimates actual cash value from comparables that left the market in the 90 days before the run, at their last list price, so an older loss reads at today's market level; for a line-by-line file, use the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet.
What is actual cash value (ACV)?: Actual cash value is what the vehicle was worth immediately before the loss: what it would cost to buy a comparable vehicle of the same year, make, model, trim, mileage and condition in your market. Most auto policies settle a total loss at ACV. This report estimates it from comparables that recently left the market near you, at their last list price, with active asking prices as a second read.
How is the actual cash value derived?: From recently off-market comparables within 100 miles over the last 90 days, shown at their last list price, with active asking prices within 75 miles as a second read. Off-market exits take primacy and the ACV carries a confidence band. Condition, options and your itemized adjustments sit on top as explicit lines.
How do insurance companies calculate a total loss payout?: Most policies settle a total loss at actual cash value, usually from comparable vehicles in your market adjusted for mileage, options and condition, less your deductible. Ask for the carrier's valuation and compare its comparables with this report's: mileage, trim and distance are the usual differences.
What happens when your car is totaled but still drivable?: A car can be declared a total loss and still run. The insurer totals it when the repair estimate, sometimes plus the salvage value, reaches a set share of the car's actual cash value, and that threshold varies by state. You can usually take the settlement and hand the car over, or keep it for the settlement minus its salvage value under a salvage title. Either way the payout starts from ACV, which this report estimates from comparables near you.
Who gets the insurance check when a car is totaled?: The owner, unless the car is financed or leased. A lender or leasing company named on the policy is paid first, up to the balance owed, and the owner gets the rest; gap coverage, if you have it, pays a balance larger than the payout. The payout is actual cash value less any deductible on your own policy, so check the offer against this report's ACV and its comparables.
Can you negotiate the insurance payout for a totaled car?: Yes. The first offer is the carrier's estimate of actual cash value, and you can dispute it with evidence: comparable vehicles for sale near you with similar mileage and options, plus receipts for recent work. If you cannot agree, many policies include an appraisal clause that brings in independent appraisers. This report gives you an ACV and comparables to set against the carrier's; for a line-by-line file with the gap to the offer, use the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet.
Are these settlement or sale prices?: Every figure is a listed price. Active comparables are current asking prices and recently off-market comparables are shown at their last list price, the closest observable proxy to a transaction. Negotiated sale prices are private and not in the data.
What do I need?: The VIN, the mileage at the time of loss and the loss date. Add the ZIP where the loss occurred, or the comparables default to a generic market and will be wrong for your region. Condition, options value, CPO status and adjustments are optional.
How is it different from the Total Loss Valuation Worksheet?: The report is an automated ACV with a confidence band. The worksheet is the appraiser’s file: comparables you pick and verify on the dealer page, an editable mileage adjustment, title-brand markdown, the carrier offer gap, a certification block and a branded Excel.
What does it cost?: $4.99 per report. Connect the MarketCheck AI Desk to Claude or ChatGPT once and ask in plain English, or run it from this website. You pay per report from a credit balance, with no subscription. A single report can also be bought as a guest.

Want programmatic access to the reports? Technical reference (inputs, outputs, the MCP tool name): Total Loss Report documentation.

Reports that pair with this one

Total Loss Valuation Worksheet

The total-loss file: clean-title comparables, the branded-title markdown, and the gap to the carrier offer.

$4.99 per run

Diminished Value Report

How much value the accident took, even after a quality repair.

$5.99 per run

Vehicle Valuation Report

One VIN in full depth: valuation with the comparable evidence behind it.

$1.99 per run

The data underneath

Case studies

Total Loss ACV Worksheet: What Appraisers Asked For
A 70% match floor, dealer fees stripped, comps from 50 miles to national, saved dealer pages. Real appraiser files and a live 2019 Equinox worksheet.

Run the Total Loss Report

$4.99 per run. Run it here, or connect Claude or ChatGPT and ask in plain English.

Run this report Add to Claude Add to ChatGPT