RJ on high $ collision repairs: "should never happen"

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/a-riv...t-42000-its-ceo-says-that-should-never-happen

TLDR:

• They initially did not provide/stock subsets of large 1-piece panels; they do now
• If damaged Aluminum panels can't be repaired and have to be replaced, they have to be cut and have new section welded on. This is extra labor. Not as straight-forward as working with steel.
• Collision repair shops gouging, or over-estimating due to lack of experience with Rivians

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[Oldsmobile_Mike]

Was just reading that earlier. Transcript at this link:

https://www.thedrive.com/news/r2-pr...variants-rivians-ceo-just-gave-us-the-roadmap

Some of the comments stand out to me, like:

"There’s two sort of two elements for repairability. One is something breaking, something wearing out, something being damaged through use, and then there’s also collision. And they’re a bit different. And on the breaking side, that’s a very pretty trackable problem. On the collision side, it can be challenging because a lot of the things you do in the vehicle, you design it for safety, so there’s a combination of manufacturing, safety, and then repairability. And often those things are pulling in different directions. So safety, you want things to crush and think of it as if you run into a brick wall, you actually don’t want the car to not crush. You actually want it to collapse and absorb energy. And so by virtue of that, you’re absorbing energy into a lot of content and you break a lot of content, but by virtue of that, it’s a safer vehicle. "

^ That actually makes a lot of sense to me, imo.

and

"But we did make some decisions differently on R1. We used a one-piece body side, and so that that means if you damage like the rear fender, the repair operation, depending on the level of the damage, you can either do body work or you have to cut out a portion of the panel, re-weld the new panel on. And we actually, as part of our service parts for collision centers, we have subsets of the full panel so we don’t have to replace the full body side. And one of the challenges on collision is you don’t go to Rivian collision centers. This is actually uses third parties. And so third parties, the reason you saw some of these really high numbers, is we’re like, “A Rivian? And what’s a Rivian?” So they don’t know the car, and they quote an enormously high number, the insurance company agrees to it, and then that happens. We have standard procedures, and there’s no collision repair that should cost tens of thousands of dollars. These are like very unique anomalies that are a specific, you know, probably a mom-and-pop collision center has not seen a Rivian before, didn’t phone us, you know, call us at Rivian to say, “Hey, what’s the process?” didn’t look at the parts, like, you know, sort of quoted a really high number because they probably didn’t want to do the work."

although as some of the comments point out, it's an interesting tactic to blame the repair shops... lol.

 

[Dark-Fx]

https://www.thedrive.com/news/a-riv...t-42000-its-ceo-says-that-should-never-happen

TLDR:

• They initially did not provide/stock subsets of large 1-piece panels; they do now
• If damaged Aluminum panels can't be repaired and have to be replaced, they have to be cut and have new section welded on. This is extra labor. Not as straight-forward as working with steel.
• Collision repair shops gouging, or over-estimating due to lack of experience with Rivians

I got quoted from their recommended repairer on my R1S damage, it was still over 10 grand for what seems like it should be a fairly straightforward repair. A big part of the labor is disabling the HV system so they are comfortable putting it in their paint booth.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I got quoted from their recommended repairer on my R1S damage, it was still over 10 grand for what seems like it should be a fairly straightforward repair. A big part of the labor is disabling the HV system so they are comfortable putting it in their paint booth.

Which is overly cautious and funny considering they routinely put in their booths cars with 20+ gallons of highly combustible fuel.

 

[NY_Rob]

although as some of the comments point out, it's an interesting tactic to blame the repair shops... lol.

It's not just because it's a Rivian, or they use aluminum or it's an EV... any bodywork on any vehicle is expensive nowadays, like everything else!

Has anyone noticed the price of plumbing fittings lately, specifically copper fittings? A common 1" copper Tee is $25, and a simple 1" copper elbow is $9

I purchased a 1 gallon container of Weed and Grass Killer concentrate July 2025 for $36, I was going to order more last week and it's now $60! It went from $36 to $60 in 11 months!

I think maybe RJ doesn't do the household shopping for his home and might be a little out of touch with the cost of everyday items and services.

 

[TexasBob]

And... the $5,000 for my wife breaking the side mirror against the garage door... feeling like RJ is not getting the full story from his staff!

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It's not just because it's a Rivian, or they use aluminum or it's an EV... any bodywork on any vehicle is expensive nowadays, like everything else!

Has anyone noticed the price of plumbing fittings lately, specifically copper fittings? A common 1" copper Tee is $25, and a simple 1" copper elbow is $9

I purchased a 1 gallon container of Weed and Grass Killer concentrate July 2025 for $36, I was going to order more last week and it's now $60! It went from $36 to $60 in 11 months!

I think maybe RJ doesn't do the household shopping for his home and might be a little out of touch with the cost of everyday items and services.

Yup and especially in the last few years, right alongside inflation of insurance premiums. The car my R1T replaced was gifted a bumper rash from unknown persons while parked. Repair bill was over $6k.

And... the $5,000 for my wife breaking the side mirror against the garage door... feeling like RJ is not getting the full story from his staff!

That's probably true too. Since he probably pays nothing on have anything on his car(s) to be fixed.

 

[NY_Rob]

I forgot to mention the absolute best example of crazy high pricing I happened to see at HD last weekend...

$70 for one section of their lowest of the low, garbage quality stockade fencing! Four years ago it was a bit under $25/panel when I had to buy a few sections. $70 for this junk that will fall apart in 2yrs (if you're lucky) is criminal.

The pricing on things is insane right now, how are our kids supposed to afford houses?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I forgot to mention the absolute best example of crazy high pricing I happened to see at HD last weekend...

$70 for one section of their lowest of the low, garbage quality stockade fencing! Four years ago it was a bit under $25/panel when I had to buy a few sections. $70 for this junk that will fall apart in 2yrs (if you're lucky) is criminal.

The pricing on things is insane right now, how are our kids supposed to afford houses?

Never mind kids... Adults with children have already been priced out.

 

[CrazyOne]

I disagree.

So, if I have to replace all glass, all dampers and two mirrors on R1T, it adds up to
$10000 - two mirrors
$18800 - 4 dampers
$4000 - roof glass
$2000 - windshield
$4000 - 4 windows
$1200 - rear glass

Total: $40000

Afaik, these are Rivian prices, not third party body shop prices

You can't tell me that it's indicative of component costs or the work involved. You can buy entire vehicles for the price and none of these parts are special on Rivian, except dampers to a limited extent. Also, must say that Rivian certified these collision centers and did not supply parts to others.

I will have the opportunity to pay close to $1000 for two tiny 12v batteries next week. Something I have done easily on out cars and motorcycle, but can't on Rivian.

 

[skyguyscott]

And... the $5,000 for my wife breaking the side mirror against the garage door... feeling like RJ is not getting the full story from his staff!

Well, to be fair, we aren't talking about one of these anymore:

But, on a Rivian, a part with two tone plastic painted aero, step motors, cameras, lighted blind spot indicators, entry spot light, Heaters(?) and other sensors(?) plus associated wiring, harness and connectors -- so there's all that, plus probably tech's time to research and learn how to replace/install on a new EV.

 

[TexasBob]

I forgot to mention the absolute best example of crazy high pricing I happened to see at HD last weekend...

$70 for one section of their lowest of the low, garbage quality stockade fencing! Four years ago it was a bit under $25/panel when I had to buy a few sections. $70 for this junk that will fall apart in 2yrs (if you're lucky) is criminal.

The pricing on things is insane right now, how are our kids supposed to afford houses?

Lumber tarrifs.

 

[kurtlikevonnegut]

At least repair costs have insurance.

It's the out of warranty service costs that are prohibitive to ownership. An R1 over 50k miles is basically a ticking time bomb, especially if it's an early VIN.

 

[Time2Roll]

I will have the opportunity to pay close to $1000 for two tiny 12v batteries next week. Something I have done easily on out cars and motorcycle, but can't on Rivian.

https://ohmmu.com/blogs/video-install-guides/rivian-r1s-r1t-gen-1-dual-battery-system

 

[CrazyOne]

https://ohmmu.com/blogs/video-install-guides/rivian-r1s-r1t-gen-1-dual-battery-system

It's tempting, but I just had weird transient issues and it will be an uphill battle to convince Rivian about the source of issues with aftermarket batteries. If I was out of warranty, I would go for these. And I believe we need Rivian to reset the 12v warning, not sure if that has changes recently.

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