Worst fears came true. My R1T died at a light. Update today(8/18)

[Dirty_B]

I didnt confirm a launch edition, I assumed it would be one. But yes my price would not change from the price I paid. My guide said 6wks time frame to get a new car. My next question was what car would I drive in the mean time, he said he would have to find that out.

Couple of points:
-Once repaired - it'll still never be like new again
-I'm pretty sure that Rivian management at some level reads this forum - so yes getting Admins to -Sticky a thread about "bricked vehicles" is definitely one way to get it noticed and hopefully acted upon sooner
-That would be pretty sh!tty of them to not offer a loaner
-If you're able, like I said before, inside the 7 day window, hand the truck back to them and order a new one. Higher VINs hopefully will have a more consistent quality, fit, finish as the processes have had time to work themselves out(I ack that there is risk in this due to shortages and such).

I'm in line to get mine this week, the point at which I'm going to contact them, complain and or reject acceptance been lowered because I do not want to find myself in the same situation (the fact that my VIN is in the lower 4,000 range tells me it was likely a kicked back vehicle already that had to have some issues worked out).

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[Acoustic71]

Note to self: drive as much as possible for the first 48 hours to stress test before the 7 day window expires...

You read my mind

 

[Akay07]

Couple of points:
-Once repaired - it'll still never be like new again
-I'm pretty sure that Rivian management at some level reads this forum - so yes getting Admins to -Sticky a thread about "bricked vehicles" is definitely one way to get it noticed and hopefully acted upon sooner
-That would be pretty sh!tty of them to not offer a loaner
-If you're able, like I said before, inside the 7 day window, hand the truck back to them and order a new one. Higher VINs hopefully will have a more consistent quality, fit, finish as the processes have had time to work themselves out(I ack that there is risk in this due to shortages and such).

I'm in line to get mine this week, the point at which I'm going to contact them, complain and or reject acceptance been lowered because I do not want to find myself in the same situation (the fact that my VIN is in the lower 4,000 range tells me it was likely a kicked back vehicle already that had to have some issues worked out).

That is something that has crossed my mind about it driving different after the repairs and I will ask what this does to my 7 day policy if I ever get it back.

I can go the route of starting the process over again...my main two points are that have not been answered....1. Will a car or loaner be provided in the meantime while i wait. 2. My cost will go up if I start over because I lose my tax benefit for trading my car in and my bank raised their loan rates. Would I be compensated in any way for this trouble?

My first car payment is due on 6/10 and I knoe I will have to make that payments because I do not trust rivian to handle getting the check back to back fast enough and I bet I owe a small amount for the APR for the days "supposedly had the truck".

 

[RivianBowerbird]

This is at least the third reported on this forum alone...

That's still a low number out of 6,000, but an interesting statistic nontheless. Another thing to note in this is that it seems these failures more typically occur early in in EVs (this is based on years of Tesla forum scrounging).

 

[Mysta]

Yeah - not downplaying how bad it must be to have this happen and I absolutely dread the thought of it happening to me but if you go read the Taycan forum you'd think every one bought has left someone stranded but mine has been flawless.

@Akay07 keep us updated. Curious what it turns out to be and how long resolution takes.

 

[Scoiatael]

That is something that has crossed my mind about it driving different after the repairs and I will ask what this does to my 7 day policy if I ever get it back.

I can go the route of starting the process over again...my main two points are that have not been answered....1. Will a car or loaner be provided in the meantime while i wait. 2. My cost will go up if I start over because I lose my tax benefit for trading my car in and my bank raised their loan rates. Would I be compensated in any way for this trouble?

My first car payment is due on 6/10 and I knoe I will have to make that payments because I do not trust rivian to handle getting the check back to back fast enough and I bet I owe a small amount for the APR for the days "supposedly had the truck".

Its likely too late at this point to return the truck. You would have had to initiate that as soon as it broke down. You should be constantly pinging your guide about getting a loaner and what the status of the repair is though. If your guide isn't responding, I would contact customer service and see what steps you need to take to get a new guide.

 

[Akay07]

Its likely too late at this point to return the truck. You would have had to initiate that as soon as it broke down. You should be constantly pinging your guide about getting a loaner and what the status of the repair is though. If your guide isn't responding, I would contact customer service and see what steps you need to take to get a new guide.

My guide said that the buyback doesn't have to be in the 7 day window per his leadership. I am assuming because I have not had the truck in my possession for 7 days. He said we can wait to see what the SC finds wrong.

My guide has been responsive but not really responsive if that makes sense. He will respond but doesn't always answer what I have asked. I asked to escalate this to someone else and he said he would speak to his lead about this. That was Friday afternoon.

As of 1238pm est, my truck just moved garage and was Parked outside the gate. I have not messaged my guide today, would you check in daily about the loaner and status? I'm not sure what my expectations should be here.

 

[zefram47]

-Once repaired - it'll still never be like new again

Now that's a load of BS. If it's a mechanical / electrical issue there's zero reason why a repair wouldn't be as-new. The only repairs that people have been getting that wouldn't result in an as-new vehicle are paint and body work.

 

[Scoiatael]

My guide said that the buyback doesn't have to be in the 7 day window per his leadership. I am assuming because I have not had the truck in my possession for 7 days. He said we can wait to see what the SC finds wrong.

My guide has been responsive but not really responsive if that makes sense. He will respond but doesn't always answer what I have asked. I asked to escalate this to someone else and he said he would speak to his lead about this. That was Friday afternoon.

As of 1238pm est, my truck just moved garage and was Parked outside the gate. I have not messaged my guide today, would you check in daily about the loaner and status? I'm not sure what my expectations should be here.

Yes, I would check daily. I believe you can also contact Customer Service via chat, explain the situation and have someone from the service center call you to give you a status update.

 

[Dirty_B]

Now that's a load of BS. If it's a mechanical / electrical issue there's zero reason why a repair wouldn't be as-new. The only repairs that people have been getting that wouldn't result in an as-new vehicle are paint and body work.

BS...the Psyche of how pissed off the owner appears to be and the way he is being handled by Rivian cannot be repaired to new....It'll always be the truck that died on the road to him/her/them IMO. That may wear off given years, but his new car experience is damaged forever...so yeah shut it.

 

[SeaGeo]

would you check in daily about the loaner and status? I'm not sure what my expectations should be here.

I'd be annoying the hell out-of my guide and/or the service agent. I actually think vehicle services is who should be handling most of this anyway and they're available like all the time.

Id also cc my guide so that they know what's going on and can help advocate for you if needed.

 

[NY_Rob]

If the OP goes the "7-day return policy" route and is guaranteed pre-March pricing on the replacement vehicle... how long, how many months till he gets a replacement vehicle? It's not like Rivian has a surplus at this point. What about loan payments that will still have to be made, what about a "daily driver" for him to use till the replacement arrives? It's easy to say "return it" but the way things are right now, even a broken Rivian may be better than no Rivian...

A replacement drive unit isn't cosmetic like crash repair, it's more like a muffler, alternator or even transmission repair that shouldn't affect the cosmetics or drivability of the vehicle.

 

[DJG]

BS...the Psyche of how pissed off the owner appears to be and the way he is being handled by Rivian cannot be repaired to new....It'll always be the truck that died on the road to him/her/them IMO. That may wear off given years, but his new car experience is damaged forever...so yeah shut it.

Well you're talking about psychology now, not the actual state of the vehicle. And if so, one could also argue that the repaired vehicle is actually even better than new, because that's one less thing that could possibly go wrong......As opposed to me, I'll be constantly in fear of it happening to me because it hasn't yet. Everyone taking delivery of an early model vehicle is a possible ticking time bomb that you hope never goes off at a bad time.

The best possible outcome would be to have the SC tell you that your delivery was delayed by two months because they had to rebuild all of the major components of the truck, but now it is certifiably new and in tip top shape.

 

[DJG]

If the OP goes the "7-day return policy" route and is guaranteed pre-March pricing on the replacement vehicle... how long, how many months till he gets a replacement vehicle? It's not like Rivian has a surplus at this point. What about loan payments that will still have to be made, what about a "daily driver" for him to use till the replacement arrives? It's easy to say "return it" but the way things are right now, even a broken Rivian may be better than no Rivian...

A replacement drive unit isn't cosmetic like crash repair, it's more like a muffler, alternator or even transmission repair that shouldn't affect the cosmetics or drivability of the vehicle.

There wouldn't be any loan payments because the loan would no longer exist. By taking back ownership, Rivian would have to pay off the lender to clear title (this is a contractual obligation of any loan agreement, you can't just transfer ownership with the loan staying in place), in addition to refunding any of the down payment. That would also involve unwinding all of the transaction expenses like fees and taxes. Basically, it's as if nothing ever happened.

If you traded in a vehicle, nothing will have happened to it in 7 days, so they can give it back to you. If you sold it yourself, well that's your choice and you're SOL. That's why I'm personally not doing so until day 8.

 

[Akay07]

There wouldn't be any loan payments because the loan would no longer exist. By taking back ownership, Rivian would have to pay off the lender to clear title (this is a contractual obligation of any loan agreement, you can't just transfer ownership with the loan staying in place), in addition to refunding any of the down payment. That would also involve unwinding all of the transaction expenses like fees and taxes. Basically, it's as if nothing ever happened.

If you traded in a vehicle, nothing will have happened to it in 7 days, so they can give it back to you. If you sold it yourself, well that's your choice and you're SOL. That's why I'm personally not doing so until day 8.

If they can really give back my car I traded in or a loaner, I would be more inclined to get a new truck and wait. I asked this question and he said he would have to work that out with leadership. So either my guide doesn't know this or my car is already gone.

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