Buying a salvage Tesla from Copart: what to look for
Contents
Description
Buying a salvage Tesla at auction (Copart) is a popular path in Belarus due to price. But the risks are huge: flood cars with concealed damage, killed batteries, hidden frame-rail problems.
What to look for
- Check the VIN through auction databases and the damage history.
- What to look at: nature of the damage, state of charge at the auction, deployed airbags (paradoxically, deployed is better: it means the impact was real and the lot is honest, but budget an extra $2,000-5,000 for replacement of airbags, pretensioners, the SRS module, sometimes the dashboard), Tesla certificates.
- A flood car only if you're ready to replace EVERYTHING, work with your hands, or have your own shop.
- Set aside at least $10 000 for the repair.
- A frontal impact without frame-rail damage is the safest option for restoration.
Community experience TESLA Belarus
From the TESLA owner's group BELARUS chat: analysis of 400 000 messages.
Who reported the issue: Vitaliy Moskalevich, AleXXXiz, Igor Efremov
Who found the fix: Винсенте Дель Пухини, Zverski, Denis, Никита, firago, Dzianis Balyka
Discussion in Telegram: #335244, #265124, #143617
Links
- What to know when buying a salvage Tesla? (Tesla Motors Club): https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/what-to-know-when-buying-a-salvage-tesla.146705/
- Buying a Salvage Tesla (Tesla Motors Club): https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/buying-a-salvage-tesla.266187/
Sources
- https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/what-to-know-when-buying-a-salvage-tesla.146705/
- https://teslamotorsclub.com/tmc/threads/buying-a-salvage-tesla.266187/
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