DEMO R1’s VS. USED

[Ngkgb]

Looking to buy an R1S Quad. Found a 2023 demo on Rivians website that has only 129 miles. The price is about 78k. Similar low milage ones are going for around 72-75k on the used market. The great thing about the demo is the warranty begins at the time
of delivery so it’ll be five years or 5k miles from that point. Sounds like it was used internally by Rivian only. Have a few questions:

1. Can anyone who’s bought a demo comment on any hidden fees or issues you had to deal w

2. Does this sound like good value?

3. Welcome any other thoughts.


Thanks

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[Laserboy1054]

1. Can anyone who’s bought a demo comment on any hidden fees or issues you had to deal w
2. Does this sound like good value?
3. Welcome any other thoughts.

I'm about two weeks from the one-year anniversary of taking delivery of my demo R1T. No problems with it and there were no unusual hidden fees. (All vehicles sold in the US have a raft of extra charges--"destination" and "prep," things like that.) The truck was indistinguishable from brand new. I think I saved about $25k from the new price. Looks like the one you're thinking about is an excellent value. Getting in complete with a warranty and a completely known history makes a big difference compared to buying from the used market.

Be sure you live in a state in which the vehicle can be registered--the demo site has a list of the ones that make it difficult or impossible! You can buy the vehicle in one of those states and drive it home to a state that allows it to be registered. (I flew to Virginia to take possession of my truck and then drove it home to Illinois. No problem, and Rivian handled all the paperwork.)

Other than that, if it's a vehicle that pushes your buttons, give them a call and ask any questions you might have about the specific vehicle. But my own experience was about as flawless as I can imagine and I don't regret it one bit.

 

[Ngkgb]

I'm about two weeks from the one-year anniversary of taking delivery of my demo R1T. No problems with it and there were no unusual hidden fees. (All vehicles sold in the US have a raft of extra charges--"destination" and "prep," things like that.) The truck was indistinguishable from brand new. I think I saved about $25k from the new price. Looks like the one you're thinking about is an excellent value. Getting in complete with a warranty and a completely known history makes a big difference compared to buying from the used market.

Be sure you live in a state in which the vehicle can be registered--the demo site has a list of the ones that make it difficult or impossible! You can buy the vehicle in one of those states and drive it home to a state that allows it to be registered. (I flew to Virginia to take possession of my truck and then drove it home to Illinois. No problem, and Rivian handled all the paperwork.)

Other than that, if it's a vehicle that pushes your buttons, give them a call and ask any questions you might have about the specific vehicle. But my own experience was about as flawless as I can imagine and I don't regret it one bit.

thanks for the answer! Do you know how much extra those other charges added up to? I live in SoCal and the truck is local.

 

[Laserboy1054]

thanks for the answer! Do you know how much extra those other charges added up to? I live in SoCal and the truck is local.

The "destination" was $1800, the "documentation" was $347, and the title & reg was $435. Plus my state sales tax, $4543. I don't know how much location affects these, although I presume the SoCal sales tax is going to be painful!

You also might want to search this site for opinions on the Sevice Center (SC) in your area. I've only interacted with two SCs: Richmond, VA and St. Louis, MO and my experiences have all been extremely positive. But there are many posts on this site from people using other SCs that were downright nightmarish! (The usual caveats about the accuracy of information on the internet apply.) I don't know if a bunch of poor experiences by other people at your closest SC should be a deal-killer, but you might as well go into this with your eyes open!

 

[DayTripping]

I would really like to know when it was built. The last thing you want is the truck sitting around with an almost dead main battery or kept at a very high charge level either. That is always my concern with the demos that are fairly old. You have no way of know how it was maintained. Often the demos aren't at a very good price either. This one seems pretty fairly priced for a change.

 

[Mellowyellow]

My brother in law bought a low mileage demo and has a similar great experience. Saved a ton of money. A potential downside is if you’re looking to get rid of it in a few years, it will be worth less because technically it’s a 2023 or 2022, etc. If you’re looking to keep it for a long time, it doesn’t matter. And the warranty is fantastic!

 

[Ngkgb]

I would really like to know when it was built. The last thing you want is the truck sitting around with an almost dead main battery or kept at a very high charge level either. That is always my concern with the demos that are fairly old. You have no way of know how it was maintained. Often the demos aren't at a very good price either. This one seems pretty fairly priced for a change.

That’s a great point. With only 129 miles it’s likely it was sitting for long periods.

 

[Laserboy1054]

I would really like to know when it was built.

The demo site lists the VINs of the vehicles, so you should be able to work that out. I believe someone posted a VIN decoder somewhere on this site.

 

[Campmohave]

I have a Demo 2022 R1T that I bought July 2024, had 80 miles or so on it. Have about 23,000 miles on it now.

I am from SoCal.

I’ll attach my purchase invoice below.

So far I have been very happy with it. Like you mentioned, it’s great to have the warranty start at purchase. Like someone else mentioned, if you plan to sell it in a year or two, the model year being older will take a hit.

One interesting thing, I purchased it from the Normal Factory location, and they shipped it here. So if you see one at Normal, they could probably do the same.


Referral Code if you don’t have one yet: JOSHUA11254211

 

[dradam]

Sounds like a great deal. At 129 miles it could not have done more than a handful of demo drives. My only question would be why?

 

[Patrick87]

I purchased my demo R1T one year ago. Absolutely no regrets. Mine has been problem free and I've put 12k miles on mine so far.

Compared to a brand new G2 tri-motor, these Gen 1 quad demos are a bargain, IMO. Mine even qualified for the $3,750 federal tax incentive.

I rented a car to make the ~6.5 hour drive to pick mine up. I dropped the rental car off at the Enterprise near the Richmond, VA service center and someone from the service center came and picked me up. I drove the truck home after signing the last 5-6 pieces of paperwork and getting the "tutorial" on how everything works.

If memory serves, mine was advertised with 150 miles or something. It was actually only 27 miles when I picked it up, so even less than expected. So it had sat around the showroom or a parking lot for a year or two, apparently.

The truck had one small scratch on it (maybe 3/16" long) on the passenger-rear quarter panel that looked like someone tried to fix with a paint pen. Other than that, it looked brand new.

If you haven't already, this is a very long thread with A LOT of great information on the demo vehicles:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/demo-rivians-now-for-sale.24871/

Best of luck!

 

[Laserboy1054]

I purchased my demo R1T one year ago. Absolutely no regrets. Mine has been problem free and I've put 12k miles on mine so far. Compared to a brand new G2 tri-motor, these Gen 1 quad demos are a bargain, IMO. Mine even qualified for the $3,750 federal tax incentive. I rented a car to make the ~6.5 hour drive to pick mine up. I dropped the rental car off at the Enterprise near the Richmond, VA service center and someone from the service center came and picked me up. I drove the truck home after signing the last 5-6 pieces of paperwork and getting the "tutorial" on how everything works. If memory serves, mine was advertised with 150 miles or something. It was actually only 27 miles when I picked it up, so even less than expected. So it had sat around the showroom or a parking lot for a year or two, apparently. The truck had one small scratch on it (maybe 3/16" long) on the passenger-rear quarter panel that looked like someone tried to fix with a paint pen. Other than that, it looked brand new. If you haven't already, this is a very long thread with A LOT of great information on the demo vehicles: https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/demo-rivians-now-for-sale.24871/ Best of luck!

Mine even qualified for the $3,750 federal tax incentive.

I rented a car to make the ~6.5 hour drive to pick mine up. I dropped the rental car off at the Enterprise near the Richmond, VA service center and someone from the service center came and picked me up.

Very nearly identical to my experience (substitute a Southwest flight for the Enterprise rental)--the folks at the Richmond service center did a fine job in all respects. Whether this will be mirrored by the SC near you is an open question. Also, I don't know if the tax incentives have changed, but a quick text message to the service center should get that answered.

 

[Ngkgb]

I purchased my demo R1T one year ago. Absolutely no regrets. Mine has been problem free and I've put 12k miles on mine so far.

Compared to a brand new G2 tri-motor, these Gen 1 quad demos are a bargain, IMO. Mine even qualified for the $3,750 federal tax incentive.

I rented a car to make the ~6.5 hour drive to pick mine up. I dropped the rental car off at the Enterprise near the Richmond, VA service center and someone from the service center came and picked me up. I drove the truck home after signing the last 5-6 pieces of paperwork and getting the "tutorial" on how everything works.

If memory serves, mine was advertised with 150 miles or something. It was actually only 27 miles when I picked it up, so even less than expected. So it had sat around the showroom or a parking lot for a year or two, apparently.

The truck had one small scratch on it (maybe 3/16" long) on the passenger-rear quarter panel that looked like someone tried to fix with a paint pen. Other than that, it looked brand new.

If you haven't already, this is a very long thread with A LOT of great information on the demo vehicles:

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/threads/demo-rivians-now-for-sale.24871/

Best of luck!

Thanks for letting me know about your experience. How did yours qualify for the 3750?

 

[MidnightRivian]

Low mileage demo vehicles at pre-order pricing with full warranty over used all day long.

Rivian will take care of any major concerns for you under warranty.

expect some wear and tear if you buy vehicles with 3,000+ miles.

The fresh demo vehicles with less than 1000 miles at fair or good price is a solid deal in my book.

No matter if I buy new or used, I would make sure Rivian takes care of the customer campaigns such as 12 V battery, heavier steering wheel, AC noise and knuckle fasteners.

If you notice any issues with the suspension over the next 5 years / 60,000 miles, such as clunks, tock, ting, squeak, or anything else, Rivian will get you squared away with new generation dampeners

 

[Laserboy1054]

Thanks for letting me know about your experience. How did yours qualify for the 3750?

Another advantage of the demo vehicles is that they register as new vehicles. And the discount drives the price below the $80k limit. So they often wind up qualifying for the tax incentive. Mine certainly did! Big caveat: I have no idea how the rules might have shifted, so don't rely on year-old experience on this! But a quick text to your "guide" (I don't think they do guides anymore--your salescritter, whatever they're called) should resolve the question.

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