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Finalizing Orders When?

Rivian-WI

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If Rivian needs volunteers to move to the front of the line as early adopters to take deliveries without test drive, sign me up.
I will even camp-out at the factory to be ready and willing when mine rolls out the factory door.
Ok, maybe 'camp' in a nearby hotel.
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sevengroove

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I'm pretty sure that all the information re: warranties, insurance, features etc. will come soon enough. The biggest conundrum in my mind is around test drives, and I'm trying to think through both sides of the story here. Obviously as customers, it is more than reasonable to expect an opportunity to test drive the vehicles before dropping upwards of $75k on one. But from Rivian's point of view, we're in the middle of a pandemic and it's that much harder to organize any such events. Not to mention, test drives are traditionally used to market and sell vehicles - and most of us pre-order holders have already drank the kool aid, so to speak.

I wonder if Rivian might be better served by taking a page out of Tesla's book and offer a 7-day/1000 mile return policy to pre-order holders instead. What are the advantages? 1) They bake in a trial period which doubles as a super-long test drive, so in theory everyone gets to "test drive" their RIvian. Every customer will appreciate the option of backing out, even though the majority will not. 2) They save resources in trying to organize test drives across the country when their focus ought to be on ramping up production.

What do y'all think? Would you forego a test drive if you knew your Rivian came with a 7-day return policy?
 

U100

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The biggest conundrum in my mind is around test drives, and I'm trying to think through both sides of the story here. Obviously as customers, it is more than reasonable to expect an opportunity to test drive the vehicles before dropping upwards of $75k on one. But from Rivian's point of view, we're in the middle of a pandemic and it's that much harder to organize any such events.
Tesla recently opened a service center in my city; I’ve been there twice to test drive their cars - both times I sent them a pic of my drivers license when I made the test drive reservation. When I showed up an advisor gave me a brief tour of the car, handed me a key card and said “have it back in 30 minutes or so”. Rivian needs to follow this plan when they begin opening their sales centers.
 

Lucanjo

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What do y'all think? Would you forego a test drive if you knew your Rivian came with a 7-day return policy?
I would be good with this. The only missing thing for me is to get to see all of the color options.
 

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sevengroove

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Tesla recently opened a service center in my city; I’ve been there twice to test drive their cars - both times I sent them a pic of my drivers license when I made the test drive reservation. When I showed up an advisor gave me a brief tour of the car, handed me a key card and said “have it back in 30 minutes or so”. Rivian needs to follow this plan when they begin opening their sales centers.
I'm sure they can set something like this up as a long term plan, but I don't think they can get this up and running months before deliveries start to satisfy the folks who want test drives before finalizing their orders.
 

azbill

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I will not finalize an order without being able to test drive one, see all the color options in person, and understanding how the UI and displays work. I do not have an LE on order, so by 2022 I should be able see one by then.
 

kanundrum

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Its funny, I have a innate feeling of what car is good on paper with out driving them, My past 5 car choices have been Saab TurboX, Scion FRS, Saab 9-4x, Giulia Quadrifoglio ad Hyundai Ioniq BEV.

Each of of those cars I bought with out test driving or even seeing them prior to purchasing them, I get a gut feeling the Rivian is like those in terms of characteristics of driving in that it will not disappoint simply by what I have seen and read so far. If it's not giving you the fizz then definitely wait for a test drive.
 

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CommodoreAmiga

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What do y'all think? Would you forego a test drive if you knew your Rivian came with a 7-day return policy?
No. It’s a nice gesture — and one I think would be a good idea considering test drives, if offered, are likely to be quite limited. But I still need to see it and touch it before I drop $90k.

How would they handle returns if they offered such a program? I assume the vehicle can’t be sold as “new” again... Would Rivian have to then offer CPO/used vehicles or keep them as press fleet?
 

Trandall

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No. It’s a nice gesture — and one I think would be a good idea considering test drives, if offered, are likely to be quite limited. But I still need to see it and touch it before I drop $90k.

How would they handle returns if they offered such a program? I assume the vehicle can’t be sold as “new” again... Would Rivian have to then offer CPO/used vehicles or keep them as press fleet?
Speaking only for NY here as laws in various states may differ but NY has buyers remorse law where you can return a car within 3 days of either signing contract or taking possession, not exactly sure which. Those cars can still be sold as new with as many as 5000 mi. ? (mile requirement may have changed). My Dad got a Ram pickup this way although it was discounted from the dealer. Sellers (including Tesla) obviously hate this which is why Tesla bans you from buying a like model & trim for a period of time if you return.
This makes me wonder how they will handle the contract of final build and taking possession. What if you finalize your build and 90 days later when it shows up at your door you want to refuse due to some details/ build quality. I would think you are under no obligation until you have possession. Any thoughts?
 

Headingley

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I think it's highly unlikely that Rivian will deliver as scheduled....at least not at full capacity. IMHO too many people have unanswered questions about vehicle specifics that Rivian has not addressed yet. I wonder if they have yet to finalized all aspects of the vehicle, so it seems to me that delivery in 4 months seems like a long shot. In addition there is a global shortage of computer control chips ATM.

I'm quite fine with waiting...and like many won't purchase sight unseen. As an example, I had pre-ordered Model Y as my first EV. However I didn't purchase when offered because I wanted to see some reviews first. The initial reviews were concerning and after considering all options finally cancelled my order. I continued to research EVs and then started to love Rivian and have preordered with them. IMHO its too much money to support a new vehicle without actually seeing/driving or waiting for good reviews of the final product. Patience is difficult but many times is rewarding. My hope is that Rivian really takes their time to get this right.
 

CommodoreAmiga

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I think it's highly unlikely that Rivian will deliver as scheduled....
They've been quite insistent on the "deliveries begin" June 2021 and that all LE's should be delivered in 2021. If they fail to meet that mark then I would view that as a failure and egregious blow to confidence.
 

timf

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They've been quite insistent on the "deliveries begin" June 2021 and that all LE's should be delivered in 2021. If they fail to meet that mark then I would view that as a failure and egregious blow to confidence.
The only problem is a lot of people seem to be treating "deliveries begin in June 2021" as "I expect my delivery in June 2021". It's entirely possible that the first few months only see a few token deliveries to key stakeholders or first day reservation holders, with the bulk of Launch Edition deliveries taking place during Q4 2021. This would still meet the criteria of delivering all Launch Editions in 2021, but would backload them to the final months of the year.

This would be no different than how the Tesla Model S and Model X launches went. I know with Model X although they started deliveries in September 2015, the first regular customers didn't get to finalize their orders until just before then, and those didn't start getting delivered until December. With an order number 10000 in, I didn't configure until December for May delivery, and I have a VIN in the mid-3000s.
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