Considering Model S Salvage Business

rtb · Apr 13, 2014

I get calls and emails nearly every day from people looking to buy ready-made conversion kits so they can turn one or another vehicle into an EV. By the time the discussion includes the cost and trouble of buying all the parts and batteries separately, the discussion always ends with "just go buy a Tesla and forget about it." My thought is to buy up the wrecked ones and sell the oft-damaged parts to the repair shops (someone on the forum said insurance companies pay up big time, and hammering an insurance company on price is only fair) and the batteries/running gear to the converters.

Anyone know if someone, or several others, are already doing this? I am interested in your thoughts and suggestion otherwise as well. Thanks.

jerry33 · Apr 13, 2014

Here is one.

rtb · Apr 14, 2014

Thanks. I'm more looking to dismantle and sell the parts, and let someone else repair them. Not ruling that out, though, given what the used ones sell for.

GDH · Apr 14, 2014

Can you imagine owning a Model S without any kind of warranty, uggg no thanks!

qwk · Apr 14, 2014

GDH said:
Can you imagine owning a Model S without any kind of warranty, uggg no thanks!

Unless the car was really cheap to begin with($20-30k),I can see this being a very expensive undertaking. Too much risk vs. reward at the current salvage prices.

rtb · Apr 15, 2014

GDH said:
Can you imagine owning a Model S without any kind of warranty, uggg no thanks!

So, the warranty does not extend to the second owner? I see cars on Copart with <10K miles, that look repairable. Certainly so if one had a parts car. If there is no 2nd owner warranty, you may be right.:scared:

GDH · Apr 15, 2014

rtb said:
So, the warranty does not extend to the second owner? I see cars on Copart with <10K miles, that look repairable. Certainly so if one had a parts car. If there is no 2nd owner warranty, you may be right.:scared:

You would have to talk to Tesla but i am pretty sure once any car has a salvaged title the warranty is gone.

Lloyd · Apr 15, 2014

rtb said:
So, the warranty does not extend to the second owner? I see cars on Copart with <10K miles, that look repairable. Certainly so if one had a parts car. If there is no 2nd owner warranty, you may be right.:scared:

The warrenty IS transferrable to a 2nd owner, just not with a SALVAGED TITLE.

rtb · Apr 15, 2014

Lloyd said:
The warrenty IS transferrable to a 2nd owner, just not with a SALVAGED TITLE.

Ok - fair enough. I'll check w/Copart as to whether all their Tesla cars are salvage titled, or it is case by case. But, eve n if it comes down to just cannibalizing the worse/cheaper cars down for repair parts so that others may live, so to speak, and not putting the Copart cars back on the road, as the population of the cars increases, and - according to at least one poster on the forum - a long time to get repair parts, and no "real" dealers or warehouses full of replacement parts (like a Ford or Toyota might have), maybe supply and demand could drive being able to soak the insurance companies for a profit, with the leftovers going to the converters and other countries. We'll see...

Thanks for your help and input on this. Much appreciated.

jerry33 · Apr 15, 2014

rtb said:
So, the warranty does not extend to the second owner? I see cars on Copart with <10K miles, that look repairable. Certainly so if one had a parts car. If there is no 2nd owner warranty, you may be right.:scared:

No manufacturer warranties a salvage title car--that's why they're real cheap. A used Tesla with a good title will still have whatever's left of the original warranty.

Scotty · Dec 9, 2014

One thought is that everyone might want a center display, fender, hood, moto, controller or battery pack, but there are only so many of these parts that will be available from the salvage vehicle inventory. If you had a motor problem on a non-salvage titled MS, it's under the 8 yr, unlimited mileage warranty. I would expect that for the next few years, only a salvage titled MS would be seeking some of these parts, because of the invalid warranty status.

The other concern is that Tesla is really the only one in town, so to speak, for parts and repairs. There amy be some very real concerns about used parts. You might get an owner willing to pay for a replacement fender, but anything tied into the intelligence of the vehicle might be something else entirely. I'm sure this vehicle has many data buses that communicate to all the electronics, and a new 'player' on the block may stop the whole game.

skilly · Dec 9, 2014

Scotty said:
One thought is that everyone might want a center display, fender, hood, moto, controller or battery pack, but there are only so many of these parts that will be available from the salvage vehicle inventory. If you had a motor problem on a non-salvage titled MS, it's under the 8 yr, unlimited mileage warranty. I would expect that for the next few years, only a salvage titled MS would be seeking some of these parts, because of the invalid warranty status.

The other concern is that Tesla is really the only one in town, so to speak, for parts and repairs. There amy be some very real concerns about used parts. You might get an owner willing to pay for a replacement fender, but anything tied into the intelligence of the vehicle might be something else entirely. I'm sure this vehicle has many data buses that communicate to all the electronics, and a new 'player' on the block may stop the whole game.

consider perhaps the MS60 customers that consider a battery u/g. Right now there would be no means except a salvage battery option no?

- - - Updated - - -

Scotty said:
One thought is that everyone might want a center display, fender, hood, moto, controller or battery pack, but there are only so many of these parts that will be available from the salvage vehicle inventory. If you had a motor problem on a non-salvage titled MS, it's under the 8 yr, unlimited mileage warranty. I would expect that for the next few years, only a salvage titled MS would be seeking some of these parts, because of the invalid warranty status.

The other concern is that Tesla is really the only one in town, so to speak, for parts and repairs. There amy be some very real concerns about used parts. You might get an owner willing to pay for a replacement fender, but anything tied into the intelligence of the vehicle might be something else entirely. I'm sure this vehicle has many data buses that communicate to all the electronics, and a new 'player' on the block may stop the whole game.

consider perhaps the MS60 customers that consider a battery u/g. Right now there would be no means except a salvage battery option no?

TEG · Dec 9, 2014

So far, Tesla seems to do what they can to discourage any aftermarket activity with wrecks. If a car is deemed an insurance total they want it gone and not back on the road. I guess for those brave enough to try to fix up their own wrecks and make them run again you might find a small market to sell "parted-out" parts to those people since they are having a hard time getting replacement parts directly from Tesla. Also, as far as aftermarket conversion goes... Many of the parts would end up being orphaned as they have Tesla proprietary interface that is undocumented for others to figure out how to "Frankenstein" them into a non Tesla conversion. You could resell things like brake parts, pumps, lights, etc., but I think you would find that the motor, inverter, battery, dashboard, and various control computers could be hard for someone to try to integrate into a different vehicle.

glhs272 · Dec 9, 2014

skilly said:
consider perhaps the MS60 customers that consider a battery u/g. Right now there would be no means except a salvage battery option no?

AFAIK, the battery, DC to DC converter, Inverter, charge port, high voltage junction box and other high voltage parts are all serialized. Therefore it is impossible to get them to work in another tesla unless you have the ability to reset or change the software. Right now only Tesla has that ability and they don't want you to do that. I asked them just to be sure.

qwk · Dec 9, 2014

glhs272 said:
AFAIK, the battery, DC to DC converter, Inverter, charge port, high voltage junction box and other high voltage parts are all serialized. Therefore it is impossible to get them to work in another tesla unless you have the ability to reset or 7A4F42A1change the software. Right now only Tesla has that ability and they don't want you to do that. I asked them just to be sure.

While every part you listed has a serial number, they can be reused in other cars as long as they are the same. It is true that Tesla reloads firmware to the car after every parts swap, but in most cases it's to avoid bugs. Now, if you want to buy a P-drivetrain from a salvage car to use in a regular 85 car, you will need new firmware, and it's going to be hard to convince HQ to ping you the upgraded firmware.

glhs272 · Dec 9, 2014

qwk said:
While every part you listed has a serial number, they can be reused in other cars as long as they are the same. It is true that Tesla reloads firmware to the car after every parts swap, but in most cases it's to avoid bugs. Now, if you want to buy a P-drivetrain from a salvage car to use in a regular 85 car, you will need new firmware, and it's going to be hard to convince HQ to ping you the upgraded firmware.

I don't have conclusive evidence. But there were a few threads where a ranger had replaced a charge port at a customers house and required a firmware flash/change to make it work. Also, another thread where someone claiming to be a Tesla service technician(Drtadakichi) said that these high voltage parts are not plug and play. Tesla intentionally made it this way to protect the charging infrastructure (according to Drtadakichi). I can't say for certain that this information is correct, but from everything I have seen so far about this car, I sincerely believe it.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...me-help-figuring-out-my-salvage-model-S/page3

edit: I hope 7A4F42A1 is not your password. If it is change it.

qwk · Dec 9, 2014

glhs272 said:
I don't have conclusive evidence. But there were a few threads where a ranger had replaced a charge port at a customers house and required a firmware flash/change to make it work. Also, another thread where someone claiming to be a Tesla service technician(Drtadakichi) said that these high voltage parts are not plug and play. Tesla intentionally made it this way to protect the charging infrastructure (according to Drtadakichi). I can't say for certain that this information is correct, but from everything I have seen so far about this car, I sincerely believe it.
http://www.teslamotorsclub.com/show...me-help-figuring-out-my-salvage-model-S/page3

edit: I hope 7A4F42A1 is not your password. If it is change it.

If the part is a new revision, it will not work with old FW, otherwise there is no difference. In either case, as long as the car is not salvage, Tesla will ping you new FW.

TEG · Dec 9, 2014

glhs272 said:
edit: I hope 7A4F42A1 is not your password. If it is change it.

BBM share code?

jeff_adams · Dec 9, 2014

Will the battery packs become sought after for off the grid homeowners?

zwede · Dec 10, 2014

jeff_adams said:
Will the battery packs become sought after for off the grid homeowners?

Certainly. Even damaged battery packs are valuable as they are modular. Undamaged modules can be re-used in residential packs.

Considering Model S Salvage Business

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