Bought a model 3 at auction and repaired it [2019]

[Margaritaboy]

Long shot, but just looking to connect with the prior owner.

Bought this car at auction after it sustained front end damage and am fixing it up. Nice vehicle: white 2019 M3 long range. Looks like it has enhanced autopilot too.

Thought they would like to know their car has gone to a good home and will someday drive again!

PS - you left a cheeseburger (McDonalds) in the right front passenger floor board. : )

 

[SageBrush]

Very long shot

 

[jkoya]

PS - you left a cheeseburger (McDonalds) in the right front passenger floor board. : )

Was it all moldy ??

 

[Margaritaboy]

Was it all moldy ??

There was not a single speck of mold on that cheeseburger. That will really tell you something about what goes into those things…

#radioactivecheeseburger

 

[jkoya]

There was not a single speck of mold on that cheeseburger. That will really tell you something about what goes into those things…

Wow !! I guess there are really a lot of preservatives used then ....

 

[Margaritaboy]

Here is the car.

Primary damage was front end, with minor ding in the rear. Front driver, passenger, and right rear passenger seat belts locked, so suspect 3 people were in the vehicle at the time of the accident. Front driver and passenger air bags deployed. It looks like the passenger air bag actually broke the windshield.

Couple of petrified French fries on the floor board, along with some ketchup splatter and the cheeseburger.

 

[TomT]

Maybe they were eating at the time of the accident...

Couple of petrified French fries on the floor board, along with some ketchup splatter and the cheeseburger.

 

[jkoya]

Cool - Thanks for the pics !!! I'll be following your progress ......

Are you in the Bay Area ?

 

[Darmie]

Was you able to look at Nav history to determine home, ect? That's very thoughtful of you.

 

[derotam]

There was not a single speck of mold on that cheeseburger. That will really tell you something about what goes into those things…

#radioactivecheeseburger

So you ate it right? Because it must still be good!

 

[tashtibet]

that's the cause of the accident-worst food in the best Green car!

 

[bedoig]

Wow !! I guess there are really a lot of preservatives used then ....

There was a mythbusters or something about that. I think it was the small size of the burger allowed it to fully dehydrate before mold could grow. Same exact results with fresh ground beef and bun from the store that are the same dimensions.

 

[jkoya]

There was a mythbusters or something about that. I think it was the small size of the burger allowed it to fully dehydrate before mold could grow. Same exact results with fresh ground beef and bun from the store that are the same dimensions.

Interesting - makes sense though ....

 

[YodaMan79]

Good luck! It looks like a fun project. I watch some young guys on youtube, the Gonzquad. They've inspired me to hopefully take on a project like yours one day. Would you mind sharing your budget and projected all in costs to get it back to form?

 

[hmmwv]

What's the condition of the frys?

 

[HeatproofGenie]

Keep posting your progress. It's a cool project and I'm curious how easy it will be to source parts.

 

[seanr]

I'll definitely be tracking your progress. Good luck on the rebuild!

 

[Kuhz]

There is a NW section here on the forums as well as a local FB group. May have better luck there.

 

[Margaritaboy]

Offloading this thing from the shipping company was a bit of rush: The hood was damaged so no problem accessing the trunk. Popped up the plastic trim and accessed the 12v battery, which was dead. Applied jumper cables to a good battery and the car sparked to life.

Used the key to get in the car and placed in Tow Mode. Had some trouble with that for some reason. I must be green with Teslas, because I could not for the life of me get the car in Tow Mode. Finally did it and was able to push it into my garage.

If I had not been able to use Tow Mode, then I would have been screwed. I have tire skates, but the bed on the transport vehicle was a grate with large holes that the skate castors would not have done well with. Would have had to find a folk lift capable of lifting a model 3 at 10 PM on a Sunday.

Lesson learned: Better have multiple contingencies and resources to unload a salvage vehicle.

Here are the error codes I found when I powered up the 12v.

 

[Margaritaboy]

Maybe they were eating at the time of the accident...

Maybe they were eating at the time of the accident...

Yes, I think so. It is a bit like crime scene reconstruction. Ketchups splatter pattern, number of seat belts locked...