Will someone near Martinez CA look at a S for me please?

[XR4Ti]

Hey Tesla Motors Club!

I'm Peter from Virginia, and I'm interested in a S that's located in Martinez CA. The auction for it is Wednesday afternoon, and I was wondering if, by chance, someone might be willing to look at it for me before tomorrow? Short notice, I know.

It is a salvage auction that was hit from behind. I've done my research and know what I'm getting in to, and I have repaired other salvage vehicles.

There is very little info about the car and the pictures don't say much. I'm mostly interested in the trim level. The badge is gone and the auction site won't go back out to turn on the screen (pictures show it works) to let me know. I can't tell much by the VIN either.

If you are able I can gladly compensate you for your effort. Please email me at peter (at) 85xr.com.

Thanks in advance for your consideration. It's a big ask from someone you don't know. But do know this - I'm an avid Tesla fan with great respect for the company. This is just the only way I can get one within reach at the moment.

Thank you!
Peter

 

[demundus]

Hey Tesla Motors Club!

I'm Peter from Virginia, and I'm interested in a S that's located in Martinez CA. The auction for it is Wednesday afternoon, and I was wondering if, by chance, someone might be willing to look at it for me before tomorrow? Short notice, I know.

It is a salvage auction that was hit from behind. I've done my research and know what I'm getting in to, and I have repaired other salvage vehicles.

There is very little info about the car and the pictures don't say much. I'm mostly interested in the trim level. The badge is gone and the auction site won't go back out to turn on the screen (pictures show it works) to let me know. I can't tell much by the VIN either.

If you are able I can gladly compensate you for your effort. Please email me at peter (at) 85xr.com.

Thanks in advance for your consideration. It's a big ask from someone you don't know. But do know this - I'm an avid Tesla fan with great respect for the company. This is just the only way I can get one within reach at the moment.

Thank you!
Peter

I hope someone can help you by taking a look, but I'm gonna try to drop some knowledge on you in hopes you dont completely waste all your money (if this is your first Tesla, as you indicate).

Tesla repairs are unlike any other car you've ever repaired before. You think you know what you need, but you have no idea. Just from that photo alone I can tell you the body shop estimate is well north of 30K in repairs. The rear QPs are welded on, and the weld spots are paper thin, the re-installation procedure is akin to riveting a new one on. Plus you wont be able to buy that specific part (amongst others) as a consumer or even a body shop thats not certified by Tesla, and although others will say it is possible to find an intact QP as a part out from another Tesla, I'm warning you from experience that finding a professional removed QP is going to be extremely difficult.

On top of ALL of that, that car is marked salvaged and is blacklisted from Tesla's network, so you most likely wont get super charger support, you'll never get Tesla support in general, which means you'll need to root it at some point to troubleshoot or handle firmware issues that may crop up.

There are dozens of people on this forum who have tried and failed, a handful who have succeeded with due to their immense technical skill and seemingly endless funds. Just a friendly warning.

 

[caltechkid]

Hey Tesla Motors Club!

I'm Peter from Virginia, and I'm interested in a S that's located in Martinez CA. The auction for it is Wednesday afternoon, and I was wondering if, by chance, someone might be willing to look at it for me before tomorrow? Short notice, I know.

It is a salvage auction that was hit from behind. I've done my research and know what I'm getting in to, and I have repaired other salvage vehicles.

There is very little info about the car and the pictures don't say much. I'm mostly interested in the trim level. The badge is gone and the auction site won't go back out to turn on the screen (pictures show it works) to let me know. I can't tell much by the VIN either.

If you are able I can gladly compensate you for your effort. Please email me at peter (at) 85xr.com.

Thanks in advance for your consideration. It's a big ask from someone you don't know. But do know this - I'm an avid Tesla fan with great respect for the company. This is just the only way I can get one within reach at the moment.

Thank you!
Peter

Peter, there are just so many things wrong with this purchase - would highly recommend you stay away. PM me and I can go into detail.

UPDATE: demundus above has done a good job of walking through the key issues

 

[XR4Ti]

Thank you both very much. I appreciate your candor and guidance! I'll heed your advice and back away slowly...

 

[dennisvab]

Peter, This looks like a 75D based on the vehicle weight.

Also, just in case you didnt know, there are companies that can do an inspection for you, i believe its called "inspection services" on copart.

In order to find out what options it has, call tesla and ask them if they can tell you what options it has. Just dont give them details that its salvage and from the auction. I had success doing this to one auction Tesla so far.

 

[XR4Ti]

Peter, This looks like a 75D based on the vehicle weight.

Also, just in case you didnt know, there are companies that can do an inspection for you, i believe its called "inspection services" on copart.

In order to find out what options it has, call tesla and ask them if they can tell you what options it has. Just dont give them details that its salvage and from the auction. I had success doing this to one auction Tesla so far.

Dennis(?),

Thank you for that info! I was hoping it was at least an 85 to help justify the possible work and cost involved.

Funny story - I called two inspection groups and they said that they weren't comfortable looking at a Tesla. One "didn't even know how to turn it on" and the other just said it's outside their expertise. So... I thought I'd reach out here to the land of Tesla Experts. Ha.

If given the choice, would you do your auction experience over?

For those that are curious, here's the auction link
https://www.copart.com/lot/26084328/Photos

Peter

 

[demundus]

Dennis(?),

Thank you for that info! I was hoping it was at least an 85 to help justify the possible work and cost involved.

Funny story - I called two inspection groups and they said that they weren't comfortable looking at a Tesla. One "didn't even know how to turn it on" and the other just said it's outside their expertise. So... I thought I'd reach out here to the land of Tesla Experts. Ha.

If given the choice, would you do your auction experience over?

For those that are curious, here's the auction link
https://www.copart.com/lot/26084328/Photos

Peter

This is a facelift 75D with what appears to be no extra cameras... but thats speculation on the latter.

 

[boaterva]

One other comment is that unless you are in a 'right to repair' state (and Virginia is not one), you will have even more problems that 'ex-Car Guru' (now Rich Rebuilds) had in taking things apart and reassembling them. Massachusetts is of some help because of that law. Elsewhere, rebuilding a Tesla is a nightmare. Definitely not a good project car to start with!

 

[dennisvab]

One other comment is that unless you are in a 'right to repair' state (and Virginia is not one), you will have even more problems that 'ex-Car Guru' (now Rich Rebuilds) had in taking things apart and reassembling them. Massachusetts is of some help because of that law. Elsewhere, rebuilding a Tesla is a nightmare. Definitely not a good project car to start with!

In what specific way do you benefit from being in a "right to repair" state, opposed to not.

 

[XR4Ti]

In what specific way do you benefit from being in a "right to repair" state, opposed to not.

Likely access to literature and parts. From the basic research I've done, it appears the tesla service manual is out there, and parts can usually be sourced from other junkyards and part-outs. But they are not new parts, nor is the info straight from and authorized by Tesla.

 

[Yaro]

You can probably get the rear clip around 2,500 and just have the quarter panel skins replaced, maybe a bit further down on the right side. If you don't know any shop that can do the work for you, I wouldn't waste my time with it. If you still want it, don't listen to the guy that said the costs will run over 30,000.

So you'll need the rear clip(quarter panels at the least), probably a trunk lid because it was pushed into the other quarter panel so it's most likely damaged on the inside. A complete rear bumper. Both tail lights. Aero shields from underneath that cover the subframe. And it looks like you will need most of the plastic trim pieces from the trunk.

Henry from AutoBahn(He posts in the parts for sale section) will have pretty much everything you need.

 

[MP3Mike]

My biggest concern is that this is almost certainly a car that has been auctioned before. There is evidence of prior work. Missing taillights, torn quarter panel from trying to pull things out, etc. Who knows what damage they have done or what other parts they took out and sold to try and break even on their initial investment.

 

[demundus]

You can probably get the rear clip around 2,500 and just have the quarter panel skins replaced, maybe a bit further down on the right side. If you don't know any shop that can do the work for you, I wouldn't waste my time with it. If you still want it, don't listen to the guy that said the costs will run over 30,000.

So you'll need the rear clip(quarter panels at the least), probably a trunk lid because it was pushed into the other quarter panel so it's most likely damaged on the inside. A complete rear bumper. Both tail lights. Aero shields from underneath that cover the subframe. And it looks like you will need most of the plastic trim pieces from the trunk.

Henry from AutoBahn(He posts in the parts for sale section) will have pretty much everything you need.

I'm letting him know what a proper repair would be... and why it ended up at auction. If you're snipping the rear like that... good luck I guess?

I suspect something nefarious due to the missing interior panels in the below picture link.

https://cs.copart.com/v1/AUTH_svc.pdoc00001/PIX123/e3b424ac-bafa-45e1-aee9-212a78ff77ba.JPG

The car also appears to have been hit in the rear but from below, since the trunk lid shows no signs of impact but both QP's are ripped along the seam... how a Tesla gets rear-ended from the low side is puzzling but thats how this appears to me.

Other things you dont know about that are potential issues:
How long its been there
State of the battery
Subframe bent
Motor damage
Inverter damage
Linkage and half shaft damage
Un-resolvable software errors (without root)

Anyway, @AutobahnEV is an excellent (and local to me!) resource for salvage parts, and a really fair dude in terms of pricing and shipping. But just know what you're getting into.

/end rant

 

[Yaro]

My biggest concern is that this is almost certainly a car that has been auctioned before. There is evidence of prior work. Missing taillights, torn quarter panel from trying to pull things out, etc. Who knows what damage they have done or what other parts they took out and sold to try and break even on their initial investment.

Taillights are missing from the body shop doing the estimate. Quarter panel is ripped from the accident, don't forget it's aluminum and it's very thin. It hasn't been on the auction before. First thing that gives it away is that it's a Pure Sale vehicle, which means whatever the winning bid is, it is sold. I also ran the CarFax, it was involved it got a total loss on January 27th 2018 and the title was just transferred to the insurance company on the 1st of this month. That's a 100% guarantee that this car is being sold by an insurance company.

 

[MP3Mike]

I suspect something nefarious due to the missing interior panels in the below picture link.

https://cs.copart.com/v1/AUTH_svc.pdoc00001/PIX123/e3b424ac-bafa-45e1-aee9-212a78ff77ba.JPG

The car also appears to have been hit in the rear but from below, since the trunk lid shows no signs of impact but both QP's are ripped along the seam... how a Tesla gets rear-ended from the low side is puzzling but thats how this appears to me.

I don't know that it is anything nefarious, someone probably tried to repair it and gave up, so back to Copart it goes. The trunk lid was probably already replaced as part of the attempted repair, that is why it doesn't appear damaged and doesn't have the model badge.

 

[Yaro]

I'm letting him know what a proper repair would be... and why it ended up at auction. If you're snipping the rear like that... good luck I guess?

I suspect something nefarious due to the missing interior panels in the below picture link.

https://cs.copart.com/v1/AUTH_svc.pdoc00001/PIX123/e3b424ac-bafa-45e1-aee9-212a78ff77ba.JPG

The car also appears to have been hit in the rear but from below, since the trunk lid shows no signs of impact but both QP's are ripped along the seam... how a Tesla gets rear-ended from the low side is puzzling but thats how this appears to me.

Other things you dont know about that are potential issues:
How long its been there
State of the battery
Subframe bent
Motor damage
Inverter damage
Linkage and half shaft damage
Un-resolvable software errors (without root)

Anyway, @AutobahnEV is an excellent (and local to me!) resource for salvage parts, and a really fair dude in terms of pricing and shipping. But just know what you're getting into.

/end rant

Body shops will write off everything to make it a total loss. Every little trim that is out of place will be written off. If you're rebuilding it yourself, most of those pieces are fine and don't really need to be replaced.

 

[MP3Mike]

Body shops will write off everything to make it a total loss. Every little trim that is out of place will be written off. If you're rebuilding it yourself, most of those pieces are fine and don't really need to be replaced.

Why would a body shop want to total a car? That greatly reduces the amount of money they will make... I understanding writing up everything they can to make the repair bill higher, but the last thing they want is the car to be totaled.

 

[demundus]

Taillights are missing from the body shop doing the estimate. Quarter panel is ripped from the accident, don't forget it's aluminum and it's very thin. It hasn't been on the auction before. First thing that gives it away is that it's a Pure Sale vehicle, which means whatever the winning bid is, it is sold. I also ran the CarFax, it was involved it got a total loss on January 27th 2018 and the title was just transferred to the insurance company on the 1st of this month. That's a 100% guarantee that this car is being sold by an insurance company.

Well... salvage cars damage at auction are typically sold by an insurance company for total loss purposes

It's a nearly base model S, for the company total it, the adjuster for the body shop (assuming it went to one, as we are implying it did) AND the adjuster for the insurance company had to agree the repairs were > 60ish% of the value of the car. That is the common threshold without knowing the exact insurer. That's alot of damage that we dont see if we go with my rough guestimate of 30k for the rear damage shown.

 

[Yaro]

Why would a body shop want to total a car? That greatly reduces the amount of money they will make... I understanding writing up everything they can to make the repair bill higher, but the last thing they want is the car to be totaled.

My brother's in-laws just crashed their Model S a few weeks ago and the rep at the body shop said they will try their best to make it a total loss and it's not even badly damaged. Another thing is the body shop still makes a bunch of money off of storage charges once a car is totaled.

 

[demundus]

Why would a body shop want to total a car? That greatly reduces the amount of money they will make... I understanding writing up everything they can to make the repair bill higher, but the last thing they want is the car to be totaled.

The insurance company is on the hook to put a car that should have been totaled back on the road. SOME insurance companies use an automated system to determine total loss before it even sees an appraiser, in an effort to save time based on machine learning and history. This is not uncommon and saves them more that it loses them in the long run.

Additionally, body shops will simply estimate based on the software they use, and submit that estimate to be approved. If the estimate reaches a loss threshold (described in an above post) the insurance company pays copart, et al to come tow it away. The longer the car sits in limbo the more it costs the insurance company. Speedy decisions are their only real way of "saving" money.