This totaled car was on the auction block in Phoenix yesterday, and unlike most cars sold for salvage, this one has an interesting story reading almost like a novel with triumph and tragedy.
We often buy Tesla cars for parts, and noticed the long model number. The insurance lots processing these vehicles have the worst camera equipment often leaving much to the imagination. We speculated this might be a P100D, the fastest Tesla to date, but were skeptical since they just came out a few months ago.
We went down to the insurance processing lot, and were astonished it was indeed a P100D, with an underscore meaning
it has ludicrous mode - the 0-60 MPH within 2.5 second car, and fastest production car made.
We were salivating since it looked like an easy restoration right in our backyard, and checked with the local Tesla estimating service to get a back story. They had no record of the car.
We then were able to trace the original owner after a unusually lengthy process, and here is the back story he gave us:
He is an avid golfer, and belongs to an exclusive Scottsdale country club. He normally does not valet his treasured cars, but was feeling a bit lazy that day.
When he came back to the clubhouse after a round of golf, some suits were waiting for him at the valet pickup, and said, "Sir, we have a problem".
Two 19 year old valets decided the temptation of a 2.5 second car was too great, and took it for a joy ride which ended up in some small trees and a concrete wall. The boys suffered some non-life threatening injuries, lost their jobs, and the Country Club decided to do an outright replacement for the Tesla customer.
We were fully prepared to purchase this car, and at the 11th hour with bidding process in full swing, our computer froze and we missed what would have been a successful buy by 30 seconds.
We often buy Tesla cars for parts, and noticed the long model number. The insurance lots processing these vehicles have the worst camera equipment often leaving much to the imagination. We speculated this might be a P100D, the fastest Tesla to date, but were skeptical since they just came out a few months ago.
We went down to the insurance processing lot, and were astonished it was indeed a P100D, with an underscore meaning
it has ludicrous mode - the 0-60 MPH within 2.5 second car, and fastest production car made.
We were salivating since it looked like an easy restoration right in our backyard, and checked with the local Tesla estimating service to get a back story. They had no record of the car.
We then were able to trace the original owner after a unusually lengthy process, and here is the back story he gave us:
He is an avid golfer, and belongs to an exclusive Scottsdale country club. He normally does not valet his treasured cars, but was feeling a bit lazy that day.
When he came back to the clubhouse after a round of golf, some suits were waiting for him at the valet pickup, and said, "Sir, we have a problem".
Two 19 year old valets decided the temptation of a 2.5 second car was too great, and took it for a joy ride which ended up in some small trees and a concrete wall. The boys suffered some non-life threatening injuries, lost their jobs, and the Country Club decided to do an outright replacement for the Tesla customer.
We were fully prepared to purchase this car, and at the 11th hour with bidding process in full swing, our computer froze and we missed what would have been a successful buy by 30 seconds.
