Question 1

Is the Silver report really free? What's the catch?

Accepted Answer

Truly free. No credit card. No account. No email required to see the value range. You enter your vehicle's year, make, model, and ZIP code; we show you a market-range estimate using the same comparable-sales database that powers our paid reports.

The "catch," if you want to call it one, is that the Silver report uses Year/Make/Model rather than your specific VIN, so it can't account for trim level, mileage, or option packages. The number is a market-average range — useful for sanity-checking a Carvana / CarMax / Vroom instant offer or pricing a private listing, but not detailed enough to counter an insurer's lowball offer or back a diminished-value claim.

Silver is a loss leader. We give it away because once you've used it, you know our methodology is honest (every comp is shown, every adjustment is shown), and you're more likely to upgrade to Gold or DV when you actually need the paper trail.

Question 2

Why should I use VVA instead of just KBB, Edmunds, or NADA?

Accepted Answer

KBB, Edmunds, and NADA are retail pricing guides. They estimate what a dealer might list your vehicle for, or what a private buyer might pay in an average week. They are not built for the dispute you are in. When a carrier values your total loss, they do not use KBB. They use CCC, Mitchell, or Audatex — carrier-side valuation software that pulls from a comparable-sales database, applies condition and projected-sold adjustments, and produces a number the adjuster can defend in writing. Your counter has to be built from the same evidence base. VVA pulls from 10 million+ verified comparable sales (real, documented transactions, not listings) and produces a report in the same evidentiary format the carrier's software produces — comps shown, adjustments shown, every line auditable. The difference is that the inputs are set in your favor, not the carrier's, and every input is visible to both sides. Use a retail guide before you list your car for sale on Facebook Marketplace. Use VVA when there is an offer on the table you do not agree with.

Question 3

Can I upgrade Silver to Gold later? Or Gold to Platinum?

Accepted Answer

Yes to both. Silver → Gold and Gold → Platinum upgrades credit the lower-tier purchase against the higher-tier price — so a Silver-to-Gold upgrade costs $49.95 (Silver was free), and a Gold-to-Platinum upgrade costs $100 (the difference between $149.95 and $49.95). The upgrade flow keeps your existing report ID, so all the data you entered (VIN, mileage, ZIP, contact info) carries over. You won't re-enter anything. For DV, there is no direct upgrade path from Silver/Gold/Platinum because DV requires the repair invoice and (optionally) damage photos, which the other tiers don't collect. To order DV, start a new report at /diminished-value — your account, email, and any draft work carry over, but you'll add the DV-specific information.

Question 4

Do you have a sample report I can see before buying?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every paid tier has a sample report walkthrough that shows the full deliverable — including the comparable-sales table, mileage and trim adjustments, the pre-loss vs post-repair valuation pages (for DV), and the Carrier Demand Letter format. The sample uses anonymized real data (real comps, fake VIN and customer name) so you can see exactly what the carrier's adjuster will see when you forward the report. No methodology is hidden — every comp is shown with its ZIP, sale month, mileage, and effective price. A sample report walkthrough page is being added to the site; in the meantime, email support@vehiclevalueanalysis.com and we'll send you the most recent sample PDF for the tier you're considering.

Question 5

Does VVA work in all 50 states?

Accepted Answer

Yes. VVA's comparable-sales valuation methodology is national — the underlying sales database covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia. State-specific procedural questions (which DOI office, which statute of limitations, which salvage threshold) will be addressed on each state-specific page as we publish them.

Question 6

How quickly do I need to file a diminished value claim?

Accepted Answer

Statutes of limitations on diminished-value claims vary by state, but most states fall in the two-to-four-year range from the date of loss for property-damage claims. File well before the deadline. Some carriers also impose contractual deadlines (e.g., "claims must be brought within one year of loss") — read your specific policy. If you are unsure about your jurisdiction's deadline, consult an attorney now, before the deadline lapses.

Sold for	Mileage	Sale month	ZIP
$22,100	38,500 mi	Apr 2026	77019
$21,400	41,800 mi	Mar 2026	77024
$21,300	45,100 mi	Mar 2026	77043
$20,950	49,200 mi	Feb 2026	77056
$19,800	52,400 mi	Jan 2026	77098

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Vehicle Information

What You Get With This FREE Report

Sample Silver reportHere's what a free Silver check actually returns

Best Used For

Selling or Trading In

Instant-offer Comparison

Verifying Fair Price

Why It Works

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Real Results from Real People

$18,000+ Combined Savings

Endorsed by Experienced Attorneys and Public Insurance Adjusters

Jeff Weinstein

Robert McDorman

Auto Claim Specialists

Silver report — common questions