Delivery and Purchase; Required to Pay Before Delivery?

[SPITmadFIRE]

Howdy! I'm in the final stages of my 2021 preorder purchase process, and delivery scheduling "opens soon". I've recently been assigned a new Guide as my previous one seems to be taking on a new role within Rivian.

My new guide is telling me that my financing payment and down payment need to be sent to them by noon the day prior to delivery. This doesn't sit right with me -- I've seen new vehicles dropped by carriers, backed into in the dealership's parking lot, irreparable damage discovered during the final checks, as so on. I've made it clear that I'd much prefer seeing the vehicle at the service center and ensuring there's no obvious damage before officially purchasing the vehicle and signing the purchase agreement.

What process has everyone else been through here? Is the "noon day before delivery" a real deadline or is that to avoid any delays for pickup? I'm okay waiting an extra day or two until Rivian confirms payment to go pickup the vehicle, I just don't want to be out $100,000 on a vehicle that could be totaled before I ever get a chance to see it.

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[Ironcitijc]

I had the same concern and payment is due before you can take delivery, so I just coordinated with my local service center to see the vehicle a few days before my scheduled delivery so I could make sure everything looked good and there were no obvious defects. If anything surfaced on delivery day (and nothing did) I always had the option to reject delivery.

 

[NY_Rob]

I think there have been instances of people going to see their vehicles before purchase. Tesla let us do this with our Model Y and Model 3 as well.

If they don't allow it, do what they want.. look at the vehicle and don't accept it of there are too many flaws or something else unacceptable. It's better and easier to reject it before signing for it vs. using the 7-day return policy.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

I think there have been instances of people going to see their vehicles before purchase. Tesla let us do this with our Model Y and Model 3 as well.

If they don't allow it, do what they want.. look at the vehicle and don't accept it of there are too many flaws or something else unacceptable. It's better and easier to reject it before signing for it vs. using the 7-day return policy.

When you say "before signing for it" do you mean the purchase agreement? Or is there a delivery confirmation form that's signed upon receiving the vehicle? I've only ever signed purchase agreements for vehicles in the last moments before driving it off the lot.

 

[NY_Rob]

When you say "before signing for it" do you mean the purchase agreement? Or is there a delivery confirmation form that's signed upon receiving the vehicle? I've only ever signed purchase agreements for vehicles in the last moments before driving it off the lot.

No, not the MVPA.. I mean the actual e-doc you sign to accept the vehicle at the delivery location.

 

[Count Orlok]

you have 7 days to return it. relax. enjoy the ride.

 

[Florida Panhandler]

My Jan 20 R1S delivery date was upended early today when Rivian informed me my VIN was damaged in transit somehow. I was afraid my date would be cancelled but they were able to match me with a brand new VIN RN 33xxx which is about 1000 units newer than my first VIN. Everything is paid for so waiting in the thing with Rivian.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

My Jan 20 R1S delivery date was upended early today when Rivian informed me my VIN was damaged in transit somehow. I was afraid my date would be cancelled but they were able to match me with a brand new VIN RN 33xxx which is about 1000 units newer than my first VIN. Everything is paid for so waiting in the thing with Rivian.

Did you finance your purchase? If so, is your bank not concerned about the VIN used to confirm the loan agreement no longer being accurate? They're the ones who would be concerned about recovering the vehicle as collateral should anything happen to the loan down the line, not to mention the fact you're making payments on a vehicle you don't possess at that point.

 

[PhatDaddy]

This can be a problem… so you are right to be concerned.
Case in point:
As was expected of you, my guide said I was required to pay in full (I did not finance) 24 hours before my delivery appointment… or my delivery would be delayed/canceled. Specifically I was required to submit to Rivian a digital image of my cashiers cheque, then overnight mail the cashiers cheque, and provide Rivian the tracking number of the shipment so they could confirm it had been sent… 24 hours before my delivery appt.
As a pre-price hike order, I had heard the stories along the lines of: “Yeah, if you find something wrong at delivery you can reject or return the vehicle, HOWEVER, you will lose your locked in price If you reject/return”. So I was concerned. But after waiting 2.5 years for my dream truck… I decided to I comply with the pre-delivery payment request. What could go wrong in 24 hours?
Then, 14 hours prior to my delivery appt., with my VERY large cheque winging its way from Florida to California, I got an email from someone at my delivery service center. Seems that they were going to need to delay my delivery by “several weeks” because my vehicle did not meet their delivery quality standards. WHAT!? With several back and forth emails and a lot of angst from me, it was revealed to me that my vehicle had sustained paint/body damage during transport. I was currently scheduled for a 12/30/23 delivery. I had a previously scheduled appt. On 01/02/24 to have PPF applied to my new vehicle. And with a 12/30 delivery, I was just under the wire for the year end push promotion: “take delivery before year end… and get a complementary wall charger and up to $2000 of electrical install work”. Arggg!! And what had happened to my truck?!? After some frantic 11th hour back and forth emails, phone conversations, and photos provided showing the damage, we settled on this: Since they already had my money and there were other timing issues in play… and (critically) since the damage was pretty minor (thumbnail-size chip in paint on top edge of gear tunnel door… PROBABLY without any sheet metal dent)… I would accept the delivery and take the truck home, and they would “fast-track” my repair for the first couple weeks in January. NOT ideal… but not the end of the world. And now (January 3), I am trying to regain their attention… a process for which my Guide (at an undisclosed remote location) seems to have zero interest. Except for the disappointment and the VERY apparent (probably mostly to me) blemish, I love the truck, and hopefully Rivian will “make it right” ASAP.
But yes… stuff most definitely CAN go wrong.

 

[SPITmadFIRE]

...

But yes… stuff most definitely CAN go wrong.

Yeah that's awful, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. There's no reasonable need for them to demand payment before delivery like this. I understand wanting to sort out people who aren't serious and avoid shipping vehicles to multiple locations, but I live in the Bay Area. If I refuse this delivery, they'll sell the car for more money to the next person in an instant. That's not an issue at all.

So far I think my best course of option is to work with the service center folks to come see the vehicle as soon as it arrives, a few days before the pickup appointment. If all is right then, I'll tell my bank to send the money and cut them a cashier's check as well.

It's frustrating that there's more friction in this purchase process than I went through buying a 2021 Bronco with all the bells and whistles for MSRP when they wanted to mark it up $35k. I thought I was done with annoying car buying processes but no, seems like the stress of car buying is here to stay ?

 

[ReyvaRivian]

To share my experience: If not financing (we didn’t due to stupid high interest rates), look into simply uploading the cashiers check image. I recall option that I could hand the check over at delivery. At delivery I gave the check to my delivery person who verified check and payment amount before proceeding with vehicle details, walk around, visual inspection etc and then connecting App and signed paperwork.

I don’t believe you HAVE to mail the check. There’s option to take with you if picking up or give to whoever is delivering your vehicle.

This was in September 2023, not sure if anything has changed. Also, no clue how this would work if financing.

 

[NorthVan57]

I picked a R1S off shop in October, did all the steps including paying and was notified that I would get the car 2 weeks later, didn’t bother me to pay ahead of time, if there was an issue, I’m pretty sure they would get a replacement pretty quick, got the vehicle early November and it was perfect, not one issue that I could find, 2 days later cracked windshield on road trip, reported to insurance next day, called rivian, they got it in for replacement week later and also installed compact spare tire in rear cargo area as they had gotten some in stock, repair was perfect and have been loving vehicle ever since, just going to replace subwoofer as it’s a little underwhelming. Otherwise this car is so fun to drive, looking for any excuse to get out and drive it!! point is after waiting 2 years, paying a week or two in advance and then getting is shouldn’t be that much of a hassle imho

 

[VSG]

I don’t believe you HAVE to mail the check. There’s option to take with you if picking up or give to whoever is delivering your vehicle.

Depends on where you are located. The rules vary by state, since they all have their own laws about direct sales from manufacturers. In my state (WA) I had to technically make the purchase in Illinois, and get a temp tag for IL, then register my vehicle in WA. In my case, they definitely needed the payment to clear ahead of time. I sent a wire transfer timed to arrive the day before pickup.

Yes, there CAN be problems at the last minute, but I really don't understand what you're concerned about. Don't you believe that Rivian will refund your money if you reject the vehicle? They have done nothing to make you think that.

In the vast majority of cases, you will get the vehicle you were expecting. If you decide to reject it, they will refund your money. If something goes wrong between when your payment arrives and when you pick it up the next day, Rivian will work with you to address the situation.

There is no reason to send the payment three weeks ahead of time like some have done, but there is also no reason to want to withhold the payment one day in advance of delivery.

They're not going to take your money and run away to Zihuatenajo and leave you high and dry. They're not going to refuse to address any problems you find at delivery (or even AFTER delivery).

And face it - there's no way that your "day of pickup" inspection will be thorough enough - there are all sorts of potential problems that you will never detect just from a walk-around.

The best strategy IMO is to pick it up, spend some quality time with it, then IF you find problems open up a service ticket and get them resolved. Spending hours at the service center looking over the vehicle (either before or after paying) is just a waste of time IMNSHO. Rivian WILL honor their warranty and fix things that need to be fixed.

 

[Craigins]

Mine was pretty straightforward. Picture of the cashier's check before pickup. Then factory pickup and handed them the check at pickup. I did finance part of the truck through Rivian.

 

[J-Flo]

More annoying to me was the fact that they made me buy an insurance policy for a vehicle I did not yet own. With prior purchases I always had (and used) a month to add a new vehicle to my policy.

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