Rivian offering preorder price difference vouchers for remaining price protected pre-order holders

[Yossarian]

This is what I’m thinking too. It would be insane to get 20% off dual motor pricing and also a tax credit on top.

At the very least, any sub-$80k variant should qualify for 50% of the IRA EV tax credit.

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[Rividiculous]

As a pre-price hike pre-order holder, I’m puzzled. Are they saying I cannot get a refreshed vehicle or if they are just saying I can get a sweet deal on a pre-refresh vehicle?

I’m frustrated because I asked (many times) and they wouldn’t provide guidance other than to tell me Rivian wouldn’t make changes without advance notice. But maybe they have changed the game—since now, without warning, I can’t configure. The wording about pausing (versus not allowing) configurations is vague!

Should I assume they are trying to force me into a pre-refresh but just won’t say so?

Then again, if they want to force old pricing into pre-refresh vehicles, why have the September date? Why wouldn’t they have made the announcement in January and said by June 30?

Help! Who can read the tea leaves?

 

[beyondgravity]

I'm honestly surprised they didn't do this sooner.

I agree. There is no excuse for the pre-order holders to pick up a vehicle when one is available. Rivian has done an amazing job holding down the price for this long, even when it was detrimental to them. I applaud them for it.

 

[Rividiculous]

I agree. There is excuse for the pre-order holders to pick up a vehicle when one is available. Rivian has done an amazing job holding down the price for this long, even when it was detrimental to them. I applaud them for it.

On one hand, I agree. On the other hand, why wouldn’t they tell me when I asked and asked and asked? I’d have taken my R1S already.

Or can I still get a post refresh R1S?
?

 

[fbkr]

Looks like an amazing deal.

20% off an $80k R1S puts you at $64k. Most Rivian owners probably earn too much to qualify for the EV tax credit but that would get you to ~$60k.

 

[evguy]

On one hand, I agree. On the other hand, why wouldn’t they tell me when I asked and asked and asked? I’d have taken my R1S already.

Or can I still get a post refresh R1S?
?

I would pester them about whether the voucher can be used for post-shutdown custom builds. If the answer is no, then the voucher can't be applied to "refresh" builds unless they hit the Shop by Sept. 30.

 

[Dark-Fx]

Help! Who can read the tea leaves?

Buy an R1 as it exists today before September 30th, or forever hold your peace.

 

[VSG]

I don't think that Rivian ever had any obligation to offer pre-price-increase pricing. The agreement we signed when we gave them our $1000 was very clear about this - prices were always subject to change, and our $1000 did not guarantee pricing.

The only problem I had with the price increase was that Rivian had *started* to sell at the original price, and I was months away from getting mine when they suddenly upped the price. I think the way they did this could have been better - a gradually ramp in pricing, or original pricing for LE orders, or something like that. But a step function felt a little unfair because people who placed their order at the same time as me and got delivery before me potentially would have paid a lot less.

I think Rivian made a remarkable gesture of good-will towards reservation holders by selling to them a price that had been floated many years earlier, before the pandemic. Thank you Rivian.

If you have been sitting on your price guarantee for more than two years now, I have to question both your motives and your outrage.

Sure, some may not be ready to buy yet, and sure there are regional and max-pack issues that might have caused a delay in your purchase, and I understand that. But you currently have a screaming deal and if you're not going to take advantage of that then just say so - don't abuse Rivian's good will here.

As for outrage, you were never "owed" the pre-hike pricing. Rivian has given you more than two years already to cash in on their amazing offer. No one in their right mind should expect Rivian to continue to sell at 2018 prices in 2024 or beyond.

Rivian has a business to run - there are tens of thousands of employees whose livelihoods depend on Rivian reaching profitability. You have been given a chance to get a great discount - a chance Rivian didn't need to give you. Either take the offer or don't, but don't complain that Rivian owes you something beyond that.

 

[Dark-Fx]

As for outrage, you were never "owed" the pre-hike pricing. Rivian has given you more than two years already to cash in on their amazing offer. No one in their right mind should expect Rivian to continue to sell at 2018 prices in 2024 or beyond.

I should be outraged that people that dragged their feet for two years are getting a cheaper vehicle than my price protection got me, if anything.

 

[Enjen]

Hmmm... I seem to be odd man out here, but for my particular case I find this very frustrating. First, I completely agree that Rivian needs a sunset date for pre-hike pricing and Sept seems totally reasonable. No issues there. But this new voucher discount actually results in my preferred configuration being MORE expensive than it was this morning (by +/- $2k). For example, this morning there was no price difference between black mountain interior and ocean cost for pre-hike pricing, but now I'm paying more to get the ocean cost. I mean, the same exact car I was looking at this morning in the shop was $100,900 CAD and it is now $102,560 CAD. I understand some configurations may be a bit cheaper, but some are also more expensive.

If I had been sitting on the fence and just not buying because I was waiting for one thing or another, OK, I'd also be fine with the ramifications of my own decision. But I haven't been on the fence. There was no way for me to buy a Rivian prior to them opening a Service Centre within my area in January of this year, at which point I locked in my build as soon as I was able to, and I've been impatiently waiting for them to actually build it. So I've done everything I can to buy the truck from my end. I've even asked them to do a wheel swap for me. No go. Frustrating. Now I'll need to pay more for my config.

 

[André]

I should be outraged that people that dragged their feet for two years are getting a cheaper vehicle than my price protection got me, if anything.

Many (like myself) didn't drag their feet and are just awaiting Rivian to finally open the service center that was supposed to be operational months ago (before the end of 2023 as they claimed until recently and still not delivering cars in Quebec). How could we have dragged our feet when they wouldn't deliver you the car you are hoping for years ? Rivian did a good gesture by keeping the pre-hike pricing but anyone who would have taken their cars years ago and couldn't should not be penalized for the delays to open a SC. We should get the same opportunity to get our exact configuration while I agree that asking for the refreshed version of the R1 may be a stretch...

 

[Riptide]

I'm surprised it's taken Rivian this long to change-up and get the early people to buy or not. Rivian at the end of the day is in the business to make money and allowing a smaller and smaller subset of their reservation book hold out perpetually is a liability.

This is also a way for them to limit early-bird pre-pricing on the refreshed product.

It’s the other way around for many reservation holders. Rivian has been holding out and delaying delivery for service center proximity. I’ve been ready to purchase for years now.

 

[SANZC02]

Hmmm... I seem to be odd man out here, but for my particular case I find this very frustrating. First, I completely agree that Rivian needs a sunset date for pre-hike pricing and Sept seems totally reasonable. No issues there. But this new voucher discount actually results in my preferred configuration being MORE expensive than it was this morning (by +/- $2k). For example, this morning there was no price difference between black mountain interior and ocean cost for pre-hike pricing, but now I'm paying more to get the ocean cost. I mean, the same exact car I was looking at this morning in the shop was $100,900 CAD and it is now $102,560 CAD. I understand some configurations may be a bit cheaper, but some are also more expensive.

If I had been sitting on the fence and just not buying because I was waiting for one thing or another, OK, I'd also be fine with the ramifications of my own decision. But I haven't been on the fence. There was no way for me to buy a Rivian prior to them opening a Service Centre within my area in January of this year, at which point I locked in my build as soon as I was able to, and I've been impatiently waiting for them to actually build it. So I've done everything I can to buy the truck from my end. I've even asked them to do a wheel swap for me. No go. Frustrating. Now I'll need to pay more for my config.

You are still ahead of the game 80k in 2022 is 84k in 2024. ??‍

 

[Enjen]

You are still ahead of the game 80k in 2022 is 84k in 2024. ??‍

And $102k this evening is still $2k more than $100K this morning. It seems like some existing owners have forgotten what it's like for those of us who are still waiting for the opportunity to actually buy one. Everyone screamed and yelled in March '22 because it affected them (as they should of), but now they have no sympathy for the people that are desperately trying to buy a Rivian but still can't.

 

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

If anything this makes me think that the April shutdown is going to be less drastic when it comes to customer-facing improvements and instead they plan a more significant refresh for later in the year, with changes launching after that September cut-off.

There may be some small updates made in April but assuming pricing isn't changed, there will be no way to know for sure when you pick a vehicle from the R1 Shop if it has these updates or is a older build.

I suspect the April refresh will make it easy for them to hot-swap parts that won’t be available until October 1.

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