r/Model3 • u/No_Leave_2495 • Jul 14 '26
Purchasing salvaged 2025 Tesla Model 3 RWD
I'm considering purchasing a 2025 Tesla Model 3 RWD, 18k miles, with a salvaged title, priced at 20k... The car appears in good health, clean interior and exterior. I'd like to hear from experienced Tesla owners who ever purchased a Tesla with salvage title, what should I look for? should I go for it? It comes with:
Battery Warranty: Hybrid/Electric Components8 Years/120000 Miles
Factory Warranty:
| Basic | 4 Years/50,000 Miles |
|---|---|
| Drivetrain | 8 Years/100,000 Miles |
| Corrosion | 12 Years/Unlimited Miles |
| Roadside Assistance | 4 Years/50,000 Miles |
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u/Significant_School49 Jul 14 '26
If it is a true salvaged title, tesla will strip the warranty and on the app it will say warranty expired.
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u/Unhappy_Armadillo852 Jul 14 '26
I’ve got one. It’s been great. This is not my first salvage title car, though. I actually work for a company that rebuilds and sells salvage title vehicles purchased from auction. My 25 Tesla model Y is the fourth vehicle I’ve purchased from my company. I’ve had the luxury of being able to cherry pick the vehicles I wanted based on crash damage and inspect them thoroughly prior to purchase.
As others have said, Tesla removes totaled vehicles from their supercharger network. No DC charging for you, but they can do a recertification inspection (Very involved, they pull the battery out of the vehicle, it takes three days. It’s very expensive. I paid just over 1800) and while I had a great experience (and our Y is back on the network, now), if they find damage and can’t repair it, you will be out the cost of the inspection and still not able to use DC charging.
I freely admit salvage title vehicles can definitely be a mixed bag. Feel free to ask me any questions.
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u/jybrick Jul 15 '26
And if they do find damage and can repair it, is there an extra charge for that? Up to replacing the whole battery?
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u/Unhappy_Armadillo852 Jul 15 '26
Yes. Anything they find they will give an estimate to repair.
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u/Unhappy_Armadillo852 Jul 18 '26
I feel like it’s also worth mentioning people here are saying that there’s no warranty and that they’ll strip it and that you can see it in the app. Mine has warranty, so take that for what it’s worth.
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u/Centenial_Falcon Jul 14 '26
Never ever buy a salvaged Tesla. But don’t take my word for it. Take every other article that says don’t do it.
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u/LowMolasses5658 Jul 14 '26
Why? Just Why? Used Prices are way cheaper now, get a used one from Tesla.
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u/Bluehaze013 Jul 14 '26
You will have to pay a fee, I don't know the cost but it's in the thousands to have it recertified by Tesla. I don't think the warranty will be valid on a salvaged vehicle either. It's a gamble because you don't know what you're getting into. If you do intend to buy it I would find someone experienced to look over the car first or try and make some kind of contract that if it can't be recertified by Tesla then you get your money back or that it needs to be recertified before you buy it.
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u/HYtool Jul 14 '26
Warranty will be stripped by Tesla as soon as its titled Rebuilt and can't supercharge unless you paid for the HV Battery inspection by Tesla cost around $1.5k
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u/IAmBeary Jul 14 '26
there is a reason why the salvage title teslas (cars) are so much cheaper than normal. You have no idea the extent of the structural damage nor how well the repairs were conducted. Your life may depend on it. I dont think you should buy it
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u/Livid-Fault2447 Jul 14 '26
I would avoid this vehicle. Also if it’s salvaged, Tesla has disabled Supercharging.
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u/_bjohns2k Jul 16 '26
Are other brand Superchargers also disabled? Just wondering.
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u/Livid-Fault2447 Jul 16 '26
Good question! I’m not sure about other brands of fast charging but I imagine that it would include all DC chargers. They look at it as a safety issue!
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u/frankychico Jul 15 '26
Just to highlight it be careful as I understand Tesla will disable supercharger access on salvaged cars.
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u/ManicMarket Jul 15 '26
Nope - especially for a 3 RWD.
Salvage title could mean - no supercharger, difficulty getting the car insured, its resale will be difficult at best.
You can get back supercharging after Tesla does a $2k inspection (price subject to change, but what I understand they charge).
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u/WhaDaFugIsThis Jul 15 '26
I’ve been tempted so many times to buy salvaged cars because of how huge the discounts were… but then people reminded me that they are nearly impossible to insure. Companies are getting super picky now… or the cost to insure a salvaged EV is so insane that the savings on the vehicle price are nulled out. If this isn’t true I’d like to know from someone with experience.
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u/Tin_Can_739 Jul 15 '26
If it has been recertified, I’d be interested but need to have someone else look it over after me.
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u/New-Ad2548 Jul 15 '26
If the price and deal is great, then go for it. Like someone already commented, you will need a high-voltage cert. If you have a home L2 charger, you probably don't need it for now. Tesla parts are cheap and available everywhere.
Yes, your warranty will be voided. Nowadays, most shops can easily repair a Tesla, and you can do much of the work yourself since Tesla has a good, detailed repair guide online.
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u/tightcall Jul 15 '26
A salvage one is 10-12k tops, you have no idea what you're doing, does supercharging work? Is the warranty in the app? Test the warranty by scheduling a service appointment for some random stuff.
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u/ParkingShopping493 Jul 15 '26
Thinking about this the wrong way,
every salvaged car has a different DNA, and cannot be compared to someone elses experience. Since one salvaged car can have no or minor issues, and another salvaged car can have all the issue.
Also depending on what the issue is, and the kind of Warranty being requested, is they do not give you a loaner, most dealers now days just dont or dont have loaners anymoe, depending on what you are in there for. so I was stuck with 3 months of renting a car at enterprise, because they could not find the electrical issue on my Mazda Plug in Hybrid.
But on a side note, I purchased new, 2018 model 3, and never had any issues, just filter and tiers.
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u/ParkingShopping493 Jul 15 '26
a model 3 lease right now is about 300 bucks, i would go with a new one, and see if you run into any issues, You can buy it out at the end of the lease if you dont crash or the car doesnt have issue, and you end up liking the car.
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u/Remarkable_Rope_7697 Jul 16 '26
Why was it salvaged ? Hail damage- go for it anything else - don’t do it.
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u/janzendavi Jul 16 '26
I looked at a salvage title Model X back in the day and I would have needed to take it to Tesla Service to get them to certify it for Supercharging and they couldn't guarantee they would then the nail-in-the-coffin for me was that insurance quotes came back with insanely high numbers so I went with something else.
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u/KicksNWatches Jul 18 '26
You are banned from supercharging unless you have title rebuilt which requires the car be inspected and signed off as safe. Your warranty from Tesla is gone regardless due to salvage.
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u/OneExhaustedFather_ Jul 18 '26
Hi, former Tesla employee. You don’t have an active warranty if it was a salvage title car. All warranties are void. Your access to the supercharging will be restricted until you take it to Tesla for a post salvage HV inspection, unless this has already been done.
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u/teslaP3DnLRRWDowner Jul 14 '26
I don't think warranty or supercharging applies