Rebuilding a Salvage Tesla Tips and Advice

[JRobaina]

Hey everyone, I'm new to the forums but I've been a longtime Tesla fan. I've wanted a Model S for a long time but am not in the financial position to afford one currently. I've been reading some on here and elsewhere about some rebuilding of salvaged Tesla vehicles. I realize it's risky and very time intensive and I don't know much about the process. So I was hoping to ask for your help. Any thoughts on the auction process, tips on picking the right car, types of damage or cars to avoid, doing any necessary programming, the recertification process by Tesla, certified Tesla shops vs non certified, etc. This is just what came to mind, but any advice or thoughts would be helpful. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Saghost]

Here's a long thread full of trials and tribulations from one determined salvager:

Repairing a Flooded Tesla Model S : HOW-TO

You don't want to mess with a flooded car. Keep in mind, to make parts from multiple cars work together you need to be able to code the firmware to talk. Right now we have only a couple gurus on the forums outside of Tesla that can do that as far as I know.

 

[JRobaina]

You don't want to mess with a flooded car. Keep in mind, to make parts from multiple cars work together you need to be able to code the firmware to talk. Right now we have only a couple gurus on the forums outside of Tesla that can do that as far as I know.

Yeah, that's what I've also been thinking. I can probably do something about physical damage (replace doors, maybe even body panels etc.) but I don't know about my comfort with the risk of water damage. It's interesting though cause it seems like there are more threads on water damage?

Does the firmware coding include airbags, seatbelt components and doors sensors? Just thinking of some of the most common items I've seen on the auction sites

 

[Saghost]

Yeah, that's what I've also been thinking. I can probably do something about physical damage (replace doors, maybe even body panels etc.) but I don't know about my comfort with the risk of water damage. It's interesting though cause it seems like there are more threads on water damage?

Does the firmware coding include airbags, seatbelt components and doors sensors? Just thinking of some of the most common items I've seen on the auction sites

I'm not really the most experienced with this. I actually think all of those are simple electrical devices, without the detailed firmware to need coding, but I'm not sure.