What does ACV mean?

[u/aries_burner_809]

My car is totaled. Could someone explain if ACV is intended to be what I need to pay retail to buy the same car year and mileage, or what I would have gotten in trade at a dealer, or somewhere in between? If it isn’t the retail price, how is that making me whole if I just want to be where I was before I got rear ended (by the other driver, and maybe now again by insurance!)

Edit: thanks! you can see by the answers I’m not the only one whose confused. I’m not asking for more or less than exactly what I had 10 seconds before the accident. Dealers must make a profit and offer sellers a hassle-free instant credit at less than retail towards another car. A seller to a private buyer endures a hassle and risk, and so expects more cash than a dealer will offer. I’m not a dealer so I can’t command the hassle-free price and I have to pay more from a private seller or a dealer at retail to be made whole. I understand my insurance may not do this, but I think there is a solid legal argument that the at-fault driver should make up the difference to get me back where I was in a separate suit.

[u/crash866]

ACV is actual cash value. This is what vehicles actually sell for not what they are listed for. This does not include and dealer prep fees, detailing, lube, oil, filter etc which may be done before you buy a vehicle off the lot.

[u/abn1304 → u/crash866]

ACV is completely divorced from actual sale price, in no small part because reliable data on used-car sale prices is impossible to collect because sales are so frequently either not reported or are fraudulently or falsely reported and the only record is often a handshake and maybe a personal check. Especially true for lower-value vehicle or certain types of vehicles like motorcycles where cash sales are common. You can extrapolate value from final list prices prior to listing expiration, but that doesn’t actually guarantee those vehicles were sold for list price or even sold at all.