Need R1T Purchase Advice, Buy Now in November or Wait for Better deal in December?

[Volabisi]

Newbie here. I just got off the phone with a Rivian sales adviser who did everything in his power to convince me to buy tonight. I have a specific build I would love to buy, but unfortunately, it is not available in stock. It's a 2026 R1T Dual Standard with Black Mountain & Dark Ash, El Cap Granite paint with power tonneau, premium audio, and 22" sport wheels bright.

My concern now is.....FOMO. Should I compromise what I want and put the order in now so I don’t lose the November incentives? OR should I hold to my wits and see if I get lucky in December with probably better end-of-year incentives? Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

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[Dr Medjools]

Get the model you want. Don’t count on inventives as a deciding factor. If you need it sooner and get something close to what you want. My three cents after 3 years and 75K miles of happy motoring

 

[Mark_AZR1T]

Newbie here. I just got off the phone with a Rivian sales adviser who did everything in his power to convince me to buy tonight. I have a specific build I would love to buy, but unfortunately, it is not available in stock. It's a 2026 R1T Dual Standard with Black Mountain & Dark Ash, El Cap Granite paint with power tonneau, premium audio, and 22" sport wheels bright.

My concern now is.....FOMO. Should I compromise what I want and put the order in now so I don’t lose the November incentives? OR should I hold to my wits and see if I get lucky in December with probably better end-of-year incentives? Any and all comments are welcome and appreciated.

As Doc said, get the R1T you really want. Rivian is pushing hard to hit their 2025 sales targets, so you should be in great shape. And don’t forget to use a current owner’s referral code at purchase, you’ll snag some perks and three months of free Rivian DC fast charging.

 

[Eeyore]

Don't settle. You will eventually regret that action.

 

[Time2Roll]

Possibly better incentives in December.... although sales generally slow in the first quarter and could be even better yet.

 

[skyguyscott]

I agree. When you are driving the vehicle you really want, you will soon forget any possible savings you might have missed out on, but if you are driving the vehicle you settled for, every time you drive it, you will be annoyed, or regretful, or rue the compromises you made to save a few bucks.

Life is short, adulthood is crammed as it is with compromises. If you are lucky enough to be able to afford a new vehicle now, take advantage of your blessings. But if your financial situation depends on the incentive for you to afford it, then perhaps this is an expense too far for you for now.

 

[DD4ST]

Sales and profits are measured on a quarterly basis. I’m guessing December will be something better as Rivian is following short of their annual projection. My two cents….

 

[TTedP]

Only thought I’d add is consider a Large battery if all other preferences are there? Different chemistry and range could be a plus in New England winters.

 

[ndmiller]

While the incentives are something, are they really enough to settle? $25K off the current purchase price would move me, <$10K not so much.

BUT there are a few interesting offers to combine to get what you want later. Like the $1000 test drive and order on the same day. In this case I would see the December incentives and test drive and order on November 30th to combine them all if they let me.......On what I wanted.

 

[Conseil]

IMHO-Why wait? You won't regret it.
Use my referral code JOHN4106114 for additional discounts.
Happy owner of 2025 R1T GEN2 since 2024.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

No one knows what incentive will be. Not even Rivian, until the group responsible meets and decides. If you let FOMO rule you, might as well wait indefinitely. If a car with all the right specs turns up and your finances are in order, and you accept all potential nuances of ownership, then pull the trigger and never look back. So answer for yourself what you want. If you don’t know, then you are not ready.

 

[DD4ST]

If a car with all the right specs turns up and your finances are in order, and you accept all potential nuances of ownership, then pull the trigger and never look back.

The OP said they did not have exactly what he wanted in stock.

 

[Just Passing By]

Sales and profits are measured on a quarterly basis. I’m guessing December will be something better as Rivian is following short of their annual projection. My two cents….

I agree. At least the conventional wisdom for buying from dealers was wait for the end of month of a fiscal quarter; I believe end of first quarter was considered optimal especially if it was cold and raining Seems like the end of quarter part at least might also apply to direct sales by Rivian. I don't know how much flexibility they usually have on offers at the end of a quarter, but this quarter in particular is likely to be slow for BEV car sales in general given the strong third quarter due to expiring credits.

Given Rivian don't have the vehicle you really want now, then a month is a very short time to wait in case something closer to what you want becomes available in December. Personally I wouldn't let relatively small incentives sway me from what I want on a vehicle at this price point, so I'd even wait for options in the first quarter rather than compromise.

 

[Volabisi]

Thanks to everyone who has weighed in and continues to weigh in. I feel much less anxious after hearing from many of you; it feels like this is now a group effort lol. Just to respond to several comments without calling anyone out, I don’t have a financial limitation in buying the vehicle. Despite my being fortunate enough to afford it, I also don’t like spending more than I need to (no one has ever gotten rich by not being wise and conservative in their spending). Also, the compromises I was considering are things like the 22” wheels, the tonneau cover, and the premium audio. Two of those things I can always get after purchase, but the premium audio in the R1T is still a mystery on whether it’s worth it. Anyone have experience with the basic audio in the R1T?

 

[skyguyscott]

Anyone have experience with the basic audio in the R1T?

Hate to tell you this, but even with the premium audio, you are likely going to be disappointed. See the numerous threads here and on YouTube regarding the lackluster audio perfomance in the Trucks. There is a youtube video showing how you can spend 4hrs of your time replacing the so-called sub woofer for a boost in performance, but yeah, audio is not awful, but neither is it great by any measure. I would guess the audio is in the top three greatest disappointments of R1Ts.

Good news is that via software updates, the performance has improved over what it was at Gen2 launch, so perhaps with continuing tweaks, it will continue to improve, but given the price of the vehicle, the number of speakers, the baseline quietness of EVs, and the fact that acoustics is not a new science, the sub-par audio experience is astonishing.

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