Anyone have a theory on what's going on with this salvage M3?

[piccolittle]

I am obviously a know-nothing when it comes to car repair, but the body of the car looks pretty perfect to me, and I can't see any obvious flood damage or other obvious reason for a salvage title - and am I wrong in thinking it might be a P3? It's basically new so this thing is a real mystery to me. I'm not going to bid on it or anything, just can't figure out what the deal is here.

https://www.copart.com/lot/31103519

 

[groovidad]

Huh....that is interesting, to say the least. No clue how this became a "salvage"???...and, yes, it is a "P3" (Red calipers) Appears it has been sold, as well.

 

[SMAlset]

a 2018 with 49 miles and with minor dents and scratches....must have been something else not mentioned. If you click on the Document type it says "branded salvaged if repaired". So there was more going on than the minor dents and scratches seen.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Huh....that is interesting, to say the least. No clue how this became a "salvage"???...and, yes, it is a "P3" (Red calipers) Appears it has been sold, as well.

There is a picture of damage to the rocker panel and door. It's probably just worth more to sell it "as is" than to fix it and sell it as a used car. Where do you see that it sold?

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

I am obviously a know-nothing when it comes to car repair, but the body of the car looks pretty perfect to me, and I can't see any obvious flood damage or other obvious reason for a salvage title - and am I wrong in thinking it might be a P3? It's basically new so this thing is a real mystery to me. I'm not going to bid on it or anything, just can't figure out what the deal is here.

https://www.copart.com/lot/31103519

It certainly appears to be a (2018) P3D+. I wonder if it has FSD?

Obviously since it's at auction it will now have a branded title. So some loss of value due to that.

No idea on the damage. It's possible with that damage that there is also some damage to the battery.

There is a dent in the steel rocker panel. Obviously the aluminum driver door is also damaged. That's probably $10k damage or so. If the battery were dented and Tesla would not recertify it, then you're looking at $25k or so (I think it was $15k or so for battery replacement - can't remember whether that includes labor).

If there is any damage to the battery Tesla would not recertify it. And I'm not sure what are the implications of that.

Obviously the auction price for this vehicle is going to end up being pretty high - once people know the damage, they'll probably bid it pretty high.

So overall, it may well have been cheaper for the insurance company to total it than repair it. So it's totaled.

Why a 2018 with 49 miles...now...I don't know. Maybe it was Tesla's? I can't find any info on the sales history without the VIN.

I'm not sure where that estimated retail value of $63k is coming from. (It's obviously a silly number.)

 

[focher]

Red calipers, no spoiler, no badge, 20 inch rims, manufacture date of 10/18. That's a Performance, for sure.

It's in pristine physical condition and it's noted that it can drive, so whoever buys it can probably make their money back easily by parting it out.

It is curious because, at only 49 miles, I can't imagine it was lemon lawed.

 

[AlanSubie4Life]

pristine physical condition

Except for the obvious damage which may involve battery damage as well.


Certainly there is money to be made on it if they don’t overpay at auction. Might even be good without parting it out. It depends!

 

[groovidad]

There is a picture of damage to the rocker panel and door. It's probably just worth more to sell it "as is" than to fix it and sell it as a used car. Where do you see that it sold?

There was a link to click on after going to the site, on right side regarding “VIN history”. I saw the dirt and scuff pic...negligible.

 

[Daniel in SD]

There was a link to click on after going to the site, on right side regarding “VIN history”. I saw the dirt and scuff pic...negligible.

There could be a dent in the battery case which is an automatic $15k of damage. You should see some pictures of other "totaled" Model 3.
It is odd that it's been sitting around for 10 months.

 

[SoCalDriver]

It could be a theft recovery

 

[Dr. J]

Maybe it was Tesla's? I can't find any info on the sales history without the VIN.

Did you see this?

 

[Ludalicious]

I would assume It was impacted under the vehicle causing battery damage. If not probably water damage

 

[vickh]

Order Vehicle Condition Report?

 

[jjrandorin]

the picture on the rocker panel looks like mud to me. I am no expert at all, but I suspect it might have been flooded / and or damage to the battery.

 

[groovidad]

the picture on the rocker panel looks like mud to me. I am no expert at all, but I suspect it might have been flooded / and or damage to the battery.

I’m not seeing “mud”. It appears like he slid into a curb, jumped it and, as has been speculated, damaged the battery floor. That would pretty much, toast the vehicle. My main concern is battery damage, which contradicts “drivable “.

 

[kaffine]

My guess is that it was damaged in transport (aka fell off the truck) and the transport company or their insurance decided it was better to just pay for the car and scrap it than fix it. I would also guess there is more damage than is readily visible in the pictures.

 

[MXWing]

Unless you happened to to have immediate access to the resources to get this car operating no matter what is wrong with it and also not care about OTA, I can’t see the venture ever being worth it.

Time, effort, stress - they all carry opportunity costs.

Do what you are good at, to trade for things you are not as good at.

With that said, I'd love to see who is good enough at rehabilitating Tesla's to make this this a profitable project.

 

[rickdogg82]

Flooded.

 

[groovidad]

Flooded.

Really?

 

[DJVoorhees]

Copart is a scam, people are now buying totaled cars, fluffing them up to make them look better and then relisting them on copart. I would never consider buying anything from them without seeing it in person.