I have been stalking the insurance salvage websites and watching some of the model 3 auctions to get an idea of prices. At one point I was seriously considering buying one of these cars with minimal damage, making the repairs and saving a chunk even though it is risky. No warranty whatsoever and no supercharging is scary but I buy and drive cars that are out of warranty all of the time without too much stress.
The thing is that these cars are going for insane prices with salvage titles. I was following an auction for a 2019 M3 LR AWD with around 9,000 miles. I wasn't even planning on bidding, since it was in CA and I would want to see it in person -- I was just lurking. It didn't have any apparent, visible damage other than covered in soot. The description said "exterior burn" but the tires were not damaged and the plastics didn't look damaged so I'm guessing it was likely exterior smoke damage. The white interior looked perfect, not even dirty. I do believe this car likely didn't need much more than a good cleaning -- but no way to know for sure. Of course it would never have a warranty or supercharging and that seems to me like it would be worth something.
These auctions are a real pain to follow. You have to log in during the live auction and wait and wait and wait for the car to come on the block. If you aren't paying attention when it's up then you just miss out and never even know what it sells for. There is no way (that I know of) to see the results of these auctions after they're over. I did miss the end of this auction because I was working. It didn't really matter because the pre-bids had already run the price up over $32k. That's crazy! When I first started looking at these auctions I really thought I could buy one for $15k or so. I thought that might be worth the risk but not these prices. No way. There are several a day, every day and they all sell way too high in my opinion.
Makes me wonder who is buying all of these salvage Tesla cars. Who's buying them at the auctions and who's buying them after they are repaired. And how are the flippers making any money?
The thing is that these cars are going for insane prices with salvage titles. I was following an auction for a 2019 M3 LR AWD with around 9,000 miles. I wasn't even planning on bidding, since it was in CA and I would want to see it in person -- I was just lurking. It didn't have any apparent, visible damage other than covered in soot. The description said "exterior burn" but the tires were not damaged and the plastics didn't look damaged so I'm guessing it was likely exterior smoke damage. The white interior looked perfect, not even dirty. I do believe this car likely didn't need much more than a good cleaning -- but no way to know for sure. Of course it would never have a warranty or supercharging and that seems to me like it would be worth something.
These auctions are a real pain to follow. You have to log in during the live auction and wait and wait and wait for the car to come on the block. If you aren't paying attention when it's up then you just miss out and never even know what it sells for. There is no way (that I know of) to see the results of these auctions after they're over. I did miss the end of this auction because I was working. It didn't really matter because the pre-bids had already run the price up over $32k. That's crazy! When I first started looking at these auctions I really thought I could buy one for $15k or so. I thought that might be worth the risk but not these prices. No way. There are several a day, every day and they all sell way too high in my opinion.
Makes me wonder who is buying all of these salvage Tesla cars. Who's buying them at the auctions and who's buying them after they are repaired. And how are the flippers making any money?
