I saved money and got a used R1T

[Firewired]

I put my pre-order for the R1T, unfortunately, not long after the price hike, and with the change in the tax credit I started taking a hard look at the price difference between the R1T I planned to order and the price that those who were flipping theirs were asking. I had signed the binding agreement with Rivian in hopes of being able to count on the $7500 tax credit, but after speaking to my accountant, and hearing others' experiences, I was dubious about its success.

The long and the short is I found an R1T with about 1000 miles on it, in the $80's for significantly less than what I currently price a brand new one to be, if an when my order would come up. The truck arrived two days ago, was in like new condition, and from my perspective of 5 Teslas to include a P85D, a P100D and current Model 3 Performance, is absolutely amazing. I really an impressed with the overall quality feel of the vehicle and materials. I am grateful, and appreciative of the condition of the vehicle. Transfering ownership was completed within 24 hours of catacting the guide with the purchase paperwork.

Long and short of it is that it is a win-win for myself and the previous owner. The original owner was potentially able to take advantage of the tax benefit, and lower purchase price and make a profit off of it, and I was able to get the vehicle I would have ordered without the wait and for less than what I would have paid when my order ultimately did come up.

I just wanted to share for those that may be in the same situation. Thanks.

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[betasigma98]

I put my pre-order for the R1T, unfortunately, not long after the price hike, and with the change in the tax credit I started taking a hard look at the price difference between the R1T I planned to order and the price that those who were flipping theirs were asking. I had signed the binding agreement with Rivian in hopes of being able to count on the $7500 tax credit, but after speaking to my accountant, and hearing others' experiences, I was dubious about its success.

The long and the short is I found an R1T with about 1000 miles on it, in the $80's for significantly less than what I currently price a brand new one to be, if an when my order would come up. The truck arrived two days ago, was in like new condition, and from my perspective of 5 Teslas to include a P85D, a P100D and current Model 3 Performance, is absolutely amazing. I really an impressed with the overall quality feel of the vehicle and materials. I am grateful, and appreciative of the condition of the vehicle. Transfering ownership was completed within 24 hours of catacting the guide with the purchase paperwork.

Long and short of it is that it is a win-win for myself and the previous owner. The original owner was potentially able to take advantage of the tax benefit, and lower purchase price and make a profit off of it, and I was able to get the vehicle I would have ordered without the wait and for less than what I would have paid when my order ultimately did come up.

I just wanted to share for those that may be in the same situation. Thanks.

Did the same thing. Would do it again in a heartbeat

 

[kizamybute']

Just let someone test drive my truck yesterday and recommended they do the same thing if they didn't want to wait at least a year. Pointing out that they could likely get one for less than current pricing and have it immediately rather than waiting. Cars and bids, apparently from still being a relatively new auction site with fewer potential buyers, seems to result in the lowest pricing that I've seen. Possibly some standard classified ad trucks may go for less. But, at least compared to pricing on the more popular auction sites, Cars and Bids is a good place for buyers to find reasonable pricing.

 

[brancky3]

Just let someone test drive my truck yesterday and recommended they do the same thing if they didn't want to wait at least a year. Pointing out that they could likely get one for less than current pricing and have it immediately rather than waiting. Cars and bids, apparently from still being a relatively new auction site with fewer potential buyers, seems to result in the lowest pricing that I've seen. Possibly some standard classified ad trucks may go for less. But, at least compared to pricing on the more popular auction sites, Cars and Bids is a good place for buyers to find reasonable pricing.

Keep in mind on cars and bids the buyer pays an additional 4.5%, capped at $4500.

 

[Tucker74]

Totally makes sense if you are post Mar ‘22 pricing, been seeing nice trucks in the low to mid 80’s. Seems like a small window will exist for a win-win, enjoy your new Rivian’s!

 

[Firewired]

Totally makes sense if you are post Mar ‘22 pricing, been seeing nice trucks in the low to mid 80’s. Seems like a small window will exist for a win-win, enjoy your new Rivian’s!

I am with you, I wanted to jump on it prior to the potential flipper vehicles got more miles on them.

 

[kizamybute']

Keep in mind on cars and bids the buyer pays an additional 4.5%, capped at $4500.

Ahh, no wonder they get so few bids on the cars on that site. Wow. That's a chunk of money. I'll stick to Ebay. Easy to list, immediately and they don't charge based on a percentage. I inquired with one car about listing it on Cars and Bids and their process was very complicated and they wanted complete control over what I sold the car. Had to remind them, it was MY car to sell, not theirs. I used E-bay, had it listed in 15 minutes and sold it over $15,000 higher than the highest reserve price Cars & Bids would set for it. Other cars, the same as mine were selling at $10,000 to $15,000 less than what I got for mine on E-bay. Aside from the extra work for the seller, not very attractive to a buyer having to pay that much of a premium. They may not charge the seller, but the seller ultimately pays for it as the buyer adjusts what they're willing to pay accordingly.

It's a nice site, but they do need to simplify it and consider reducing the fees. That's pretty pricey. More than what many dealers make on a used car.

 

[brancky3]

Ahh, no wonder they get so few bids on the cars on that site. Wow. That's a chunk of money. I'll stick to Ebay. Easy to list, immediately and they don't charge based on a percentage. I inquired with one car about listing it on Cars and Bids and their process was very complicated and they wanted complete control over what I sold the car. Had to remind them, it was MY car to sell, not theirs.

I agree with you, but the sites focus on two different markets. Cars and bids isn't supposed to be a site you list any car on, it's supposed to be rare / odd / special cars which is why they require so much control over the process. That makes it a lot more trustworthy than ebay and keeps the content a much higher quality.

 

[kayabusa]

I did the same thing 3 months ago. Happy about taking that route.... After received my used (80miles) R1T, I converted my reservation from R1T to a R1S... (just in case) I would not cancel it until the day came.

 

[astonius]

This is the way.

I actually did buy an R1T at the new pricing, paying $15k over the original prices for the same build. Owned it for seven months, two of which were spent in service. When I got it back it had more problems than when they took it. Rivian offered to buy the truck back for every penny I had in it. They gave me the option to reorder, but I wanted the powered tonneau, so I decided to see what else was out there.

Turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I found a barely used and better-equipped R1T in the exact spec I wanted (other than wheels) with the powered tonneau and paid only $5k more than the original pricing and about $15k less than the updated pricing. It has way less miles and six months more warranty than my older and more expensive original truck.

Only real downside is now the truck is marked as having two owners, which could turn off potential buyers in the future. You also can’t lemon law if something truly goes to shit. I’m also having to fight Rivian a bit on some minor quality issues with this one as well. They’re arguing since I’m not the original owner these issues won’t be covered under warranty, yet there’s no mention of exclusions based on ownership lineage in the warranty agreement.

 

[Riviot]

Long and short of it is that it is a win-win for myself and the previous owner.

Capitalism and economics at work! Love it.

 

[3l3c7r1c]

This is the way.

I actually did buy an R1T at the new pricing, paying $15k over the original prices for the same build. Owned it for seven months, two of which were spent in service. When I got it back it had more problems than when they took it. Rivian offered to buy the truck back for every penny I had in it. They gave me the option to reorder, but I wanted the powered tonneau, so I decided to see what else was out there.

Turned out to be a blessing in disguise as I found a barely used and better-equipped R1T in the exact spec I wanted (other than wheels) with the powered tonneau and paid only $5k more than the original pricing and about $15k less than the updated pricing. It has way less miles and six months more warranty than my older and more expensive original truck.

Only real downside is now the truck is marked as having two owners, which could turn off potential buyers in the future. You also can’t lemon law if something truly goes to shit. I’m also having to fight Rivian a bit on some minor quality issues with this one as well. They’re arguing since I’m not the original owner these issues won’t be covered under warranty, yet there’s no mention of exclusions based on ownership lineage in the warranty agreement.

Curious what minor issues are you seeing? I put 2800 miles already on my R1S and filed a ticket for some misalignment (it's the plastic clad on the door not aligned with the corresponding body part) on the day after I received the car. So far I am not noticing any issue other than wind and motor noise at 70+ mph.

 

[astonius]

Curious what minor issues are you seeing? I put 2800 miles already on my R1S and filed a ticket for some misalignment (it's the plastic clad on the door not aligned with the corresponding body part) on the day after I received the car. So far I am not noticing any issue other than wind and motor noise at 70+ mph.

The plastic cladding is pulling away from the front fenders to the point you can actually see the clips. The panel just below the hood/headlights doesn't line up properly with the passenger fender. The hood is crooked (shy on passenger side, proud on driver side). My driver-side gear tunnel door is almost touching the rear passenger door. That same passenger door does not sit flush when closed. That's just a handful of the minor issues that are factory workmanship concerns that should be covered under warranty as they were not caused by misuse or damage, but because I'm the second owner they're trying to deny them.

 

[goldburger]

The plastic cladding is pulling away from the front fenders to the point you can actually see the clips. The panel just below the hood/headlights doesn't line up properly with the passenger fender. The hood is crooked (shy on passenger side, proud on driver side). My driver-side gear tunnel door is almost touching the rear passenger door. That same passenger door does not sit flush when closed. That's just a handful of the minor issues that are factory workmanship concerns that should be covered under warranty as they were not caused by misuse or damage, but because I'm the second owner they're trying to deny them.

Wow. Basically all of that was wrong with my truck as well. The plastic pulling away— the service center says it was a result of a “collision” so I had to have a pretty obnoxious experience of explaining that collisions of plastic usually result on scratches, of which there none. I got my truck back with the pieces basically in the same condition. My gear tunnel doors were so poorly aligned and now they’re just a little poorly aligned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[astonius]

Wow. Basically all of that was wrong with my truck as well. The plastic pulling away— the service center says it was a result of a “collision” so I had to have a pretty obnoxious experience of explaining that collisions of plastic usually result on scratches, of which there none. I got my truck back with the pieces basically in the same condition. My gear tunnel doors were so poorly aligned and now they’re just a little poorly aligned. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I’m going to hold them to it. There’s zero mention of exclusions related to these items in the warranty guide and no clauses related to being a secondhand owner. Similar to denying warranty for mods, they should need to prove misuse or damage caused these issues. If they deny them I’ll take it up with BBB Auto Line.

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