CrashTime exists because after 18 years of valuing vehicles - including on the insurance side of the table - I couldn't keep watching honest people accept offers I knew were short.
I started under the hood - a working technician who learned what vehicles are worth by rebuilding them. That led to collision estimating, then to years as a staff appraiser handling total-loss and damage valuations on behalf of insurers. I was good at it, and I learned exactly how those valuations get built: which comparables get picked, which adjustments get applied, and where the numbers quietly bend toward "settle fast, settle low."
The turning point was personal. A family member's car was totaled, and the offer that arrived was almost $6,000 under real replacement cost. I rebuilt the valuation myself, sent it in, and watched the number correct within days - not because anyone did us a favor, but because the evidence left no room to argue. Most people never get that. They don't have an appraiser in the family.
So I became the appraiser in your family. CrashTime works exclusively for consumers. We take no insurance company work - ever - so there is never a question about whose side our numbers are on.
- Mark West, Founder & Principal Appraiser
We only work for consumers, and our guarantee puts our fee on the line with every report. When your settlement goes up, we've done our job - there's no other version of success here.
We do one thing: independent vehicle valuation for insurance claims. No detailing, no dealership work, no sidelines. Depth in one niche is what makes a report an adjuster can't wave away.
Eighteen years across the repair shop, the estimating desk, and the insurer's appraisal department. We know how the other side builds its numbers because we used to build them.
Not every claim is underpaid. When the free review shows your insurer's number is reasonable, we say so and send you on your way - no upsell, no pressure. A second opinion only means something if you can trust the person giving it.
Every month, CrashTime provides pro bono valuation reports to families recovering from serious crashes who can't afford our fees - referred through local hospital social workers and community assistance programs.
We also donate a portion of every report fee to organizations supporting crash victims and safer roads, and we teach a free quarterly workshop - "Know Your Claim" - at community centers and libraries, walking families through their rights after an accident.
Every guide and city page on this site is written and reviewed by Mark West, a certified appraiser - never published as anonymous or unreviewed content. Legal statements are sourced to the Texas statutes and Texas Department of Insurance bulletins they come from, and each guide carries a visible "last reviewed" date.
When Texas law changes - as it did with the appraisal clause under SB 458 - we update the affected pages and refresh the review date. If you spot something outdated or wrong, tell us and we'll fix it and note the correction.
Start with a free, honest review - from someone who's been on both sides of the table.
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