This Tesla Mannequin 3 proprietor did not get his automotive in a conventional method. That is to say he did not purchase it new from Tesla, and it wasn’t in Tesla’s new or pre-owned on-line stock or on the market by a person proprietor on the used market. As an alternative, Geico was promoting it after declaring it a complete loss. 

Tesla proprietor Winston discovered the Mannequin 3 at a wrecking yard and purchased it from Geico at public sale for the highest bid of simply $15,000. His plan was to rebuild the automotive himself at house in his storage. Even when it value him as a lot because the totaled automotive itself, he’d nonetheless be saving cash. Winston, who’s simply 18 years outdated, needed to construct his household the most affordable Mannequin 3 within the US.

Whereas Tesla continues to decrease its costs, a brand new Mannequin 3 remains to be at the very least $40,000, and that will get you the single-motor rear-wheel-drive “base” mannequin with 272 miles of EPA-estimated vary.

Winston’s 2018 Tesla Mannequin 3 Lengthy Vary had been in a crash and was thought-about a complete loss, however he had no concept what truly occurred. After he took the time to fully rebuild the EV, he plugged in a USB drive to get the information saved on the Mannequin 3’s built-in pc. 

Since Tesla’s autos have normal sprint cams and the camera-based Sentry Mode safety system, they report footage from a number of cameras, which will be considered later. Because of the expertise, Winston found some surprises to share.

As you may see within the saved footage, the Mannequin 3’s former proprietor was driving it when a automotive appeared on the proper, which resulted in a t-bone collision. Regardless that there was loads of seen injury and Geico known as it a complete, Winston says it wasn’t that unhealthy. He needed to repair the plain physique injury and exchange the airbags.

Winston spent about $9,000 on components and $1,000 on taxes, so the whole value for the Mannequin 3 was simply $25,000, plus about three months of his time and onerous work. There have been main points he did not count on, similar to having to exchange your complete dashboard for the brand new airbag. Winston realized a ton and has been a fan of YouTube channels like Wealthy Rebuilds for years now. He hopes to work for Tesla Service, and he is already utilized.

Very like most Wham Baam Teslacam movies, the video on the high of the web page contains 19 different TeslaCam tales. The footage ranges from crashes and close to misses to hit-and-run collisions and Tesla Sentry Mode occasions. Test it out after which head all the way down to the remark part and depart us your takeaways.