No more return policy on newly purchased Rivians. Only mandated warranty exceptions.

[Yota2R1T]

Here's my question. Will they let you drive YOUR vehicle before taking delivery?

I'm fine with this policy so long as they let you take it for a drive first. There are some quality issues that you can't catch just by inspecting it in a parking lot.

No. I was totally unable to drive my vehicle before purchase.
There was no dual motor to test, period, so I had to trust this community 100% that the dual was a winner.
(Thanks again Rivian Forums regulars!)
That being said, it was a leap of faith, so removing the return policy will have made that leap even tougher... Queue the Indiana Jones GIF.

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[André]

I’m whatever about the return policy going away, but they need to drop the non-refundable deposit shtick. They don’t have enough demand to warrant that requirement, and they don’t have enough options to have any risk in an “unique” order spec being unwanted if the initial buyer doesn’t take delivery.

Non-refundable deposit is illegal here… at least we have that. Tesla is still doing it but a simple formal notice and they comply to the State Law.

 

[iansriv]

That’s interesting. I’m test driving an R1S in a few days. If I liked it, I was going to reserve one. The return policy was a pretty big reason I was going to be comfortable with buying one because of all the issues I’ve read about. this may change the calculus. But I’m probably an outlier.

I'm not worried about this. I have purchased several cars sight unseen and am comfortable with taking a level of risk. I used this board to research as much as I could. Then did two test drives for an hour each. Put in my order and made myself busy with other things. For me, I don't feel a week is enough time to get to know the car. It took me months to try out the camp speaker. My R1 has been great. I've had some minor things along the way and Rivian service has been great.

 

[Hereforthesnacks]

I'm not worried about this. I have purchased several cars sight unseen and am comfortable with taking a level of risk. I used this board to research as much as I could. Then did two test drives for an hour each. Put in my order and made myself busy with other things. For me, I don't feel a week is enough time to get to know the car. It took me months to try out the camp speaker. My R1 has been great. I've had some minor things along the way and Rivian service has been great.

I’ve definitely bought cars sight unseen, but they were with established car makers.

Will see how the test drive goes!

 

[emoore]

I did all that except test drive my actual VIN before being the legal owner. Is it really the norm in the US or just you ?

It’s the norm in the US. Really the only benefit of a dealership. You can look over and test drive the VIN car you are buying.

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

It’s the norm in the US. Really the only benefit of a dealership. You can look over and test drive the VIN car you are buying.

You test drive and buy sure. But you cannot test drive, pay for it register and title it in your name then return it, no questions asked, for a 100% refund? Because, that is what the Rivian return policy entailed.

As a very early adopter, we didn't have a chance to test drive, it just showed up and 30 minutes later it was mine . 48,000 miles later, I'm still stoked!

 

[emoore]

You test drive and buy sure. But you cannot test drive, pay for it register and title it in your name then return it, no questions asked, for a 100% refund? Because, that is what the Rivian return policy entailed.

As a very early adopter, we didn't have a chance to test drive, it just showed up and 30 minutes later it was mine . 48,000 miles later, I'm still stoked!

Not universally but there have been promotions that you could drive it for a week and return it if you wanted. But that was rare for new cars. Used cars is a different story.

 

[CANCERDOC]

THE actual vehicle. Toyota, Jeep, Mercedes, Ford, Chevrolet...

Sure, some dealerships have dedicated "test drive" vehicles. But when it comes to actually choosing THE car, they'll let you look inside and drive it. The difference being, unlike Tesla and Rivian you can go and buy a car without first having gone through an online ordering process. They have a lot full of vehicles with no owners already attached to them. So within reason they'll let you do a thorough inspection before you go inside to do the negotiations, financing, etc

This is the way for traditional dealerships that keep an inventory. Rivian doesn’t. It’s an online purchase model and you pay before picking up the vehicle. In other words, before you arrive at the service center and are handed the key (fob), you have already wired the payment and signed the registration forms online. You do get to drive the vehicle during the setup process where your phone is paired etc, but it’s your vehicle already and the sale is done. That’s their sales model, like it or not.

 

[Ralph]

This is the way for traditional dealerships that keep an inventory. Rivian doesn’t. It’s an online purchase model and you pay before picking up the vehicle. In other words, before you arrive at the service center and are handed the key (fob), you have already wired the payment and signed the registration forms online. You do get to drive the vehicle during the setup process where your phone is paired etc, but it’s your vehicle already and the sale is done. That’s their sales model, like it or not.

It is my understanding that guides have now been (completely ?) eliminated and that Service Centers are now handling purchases as well as customer deliveries.

Perhaps at some point in the future Rivian will allow physical inspection of specific vehicles that are available in the on-line shop? Providing test drives of a demo vehicles and physical inspection of a specific vin seems pretty normal to me.

I don't expect them to allow you to drive any and all of the new vehicles on the premises. And I wouldn't expect them to let you drive a vehicle at delivery/pick up that you had ordered.

I've never known any other dealer to do that either unless they were having trouble moving a specific model. Most people don't want to buy a new vehicle with 200 miles on it without a discount. Witness early threads on this forum when cars were being delivered early on with just a few miles.

 

[HaveBlue]

I don't know how it works now but I paid for mine a week before I saw it. Without the ability to return it, I think even if one does a thorough inspection at delivery, I don't think you can undo the purchase anyway. Just time to take it and hope to work things out with the service side of the business.

Yes in future cases I wouldn't hand over any money except maybe a small deposit until I've fully inspected the vehicle just like a normal vehicle purchase. Even in my case, I brought a cashier's check the day of pickup. I have test drove every new car I've bought prior to closing the sale.

 

[R1Tom]

Yes in future cases I wouldn't hand over any money except maybe a small deposit until I've fully inspected the vehicle just like a normal vehicle purchase. Even in my case, I brought a cashier's check the day of pickup. I have test drove every new car I've bought prior to closing the sale.

I would definitely do that now too. I have seen some pretty grievous stuff posted online with new vehicle delivery. I won't wire them entire amount like I did last time...that is certain.

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

Really only an issue for people who make bad decisions, whether it's failing to inspect your new vehicle adequately or ignoring obvious issues out of excitement. Lemon law should protect anyone else.

And really, Rivian has been pretty good about fixing obvious flaws that exist at delivery.

The issue is that at a normal dealership you can test drive your exact car before you buy it, which preempts a lot of issues. With Rivian, you can’t.

Case in point, my R1T was delivered about six weeks ago, and I found a ton of issues after driving it that I didn’t spot at delivery time, despite having taken delivery of two previous R1Ses. In all three cases, Rivian service did jack to fix these things before delivery. Service appointments are still months out where I live, so you’re stuck with the flaws for a while.

The return policy was supposed to set people’s minds at ease about this stuff, but I think quality out of the factory is still too low, so many people returned, despite it being a royal pain in the ass to undo financing, registration, etc.

 

[kanundrum]

Im dumb enough to buy the past 7 cars (over 15+ years) sight unseen but because I do it doesn't mean its a good practice, hoping you can "TEST" drive the car you order before handing over a check at least.

 

[emoore]

The issue is that at a normal dealership you can test drive your exact car before you buy it, which preempts a lot of issues. With Rivian, you can’t.

Case in point, my R1T was delivered about six weeks ago, and I found a ton of issues after driving it that I didn’t spot at delivery time, despite having taken delivery of two previous R1Ses. In all three cases, Rivian service did jack to fix these things before delivery. Service appointments are still months out where I live, so you’re stuck with the flaws for a while.

The return policy was supposed to set people’s minds at ease about this stuff, but I think quality out of the factory is still too low, so many people returned, despite it being a royal pain in the ass to undo financing, registration, etc.

I have yet to see any evidence that many people returned their Rivian.

 

[Dave Cundiff]

By one week of ownership, I was already thinking, "If they want this R1S back, they'd better bring Law Enforcement with them!"

Very pleased with our R1S and R1T. Grateful for the Service team at 855-RIVIAN-5, and for the mutual support and information sharing of the Rivian community.

Very best wishes!

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