New email - Option to take delivery outside of service center radius

[Donald Stanfield]

When I bought my truck the closest service center to me was 4 hours away. I did it anyways and here I am over a year later. It was a decision I would do again, but I have an incredibly flexible schedule. If I wanted to go on a week vacation starting tomorrow I could with no notice for example. I don't do things like that very often, but a broken truck is something I could work around.

I also have a wife that doesn't drive much so we could get by with one car if we had to and I have family really close by that have multiple cars so I could borrow one if necessary and during warmer weather I could drive my motorcycle lots of the places I go.

If the Rivian was a super critical vehicle for me I wouldn't have bought it even if the service center was right up the street. I'm glad that's not a thing though because my R1 is the best vehicle I've ever owned. I am looking forward to my wife's new car getting here though. That is gonna be fun to play with.

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[milliemc]

I think it's a concern inasmuch as driving that far for service and leaving it there for a while is a concern. It seems like just about everyone who has a Rivian have had to take it in to a service center at least once, some more than that, and sometimes they keep it for weeks at a time. My guess is the CO Springs SC will not be as overloaded as some of the others seem to be, so they may get any needed work done in a more timely manner. But driving (or possibly having to have it towed) 5 hours back and forth for each service appointment is a concern for me. I know a lot can be done with mobile service, but not everything.

I've been following this forum for nearly 2 years now and my impression is not so much that they are poorly built as they are complicated, new, and still have some kinks that need to be worked out. So it is likely that a SC visit will be needed at least once or twice in the first year of ownership.

As for the $7500 rebate, my understanding is that Rivians currently only qualify for half of that, unless you have the signed binding purchase agreement from when the rules changed. The amount may change in 2024 based on the battery requirements and Rivians sourcing decisions, but any rebate should applicable at time of purchase starting in January.

Thank you so much for your response. That helps.

 

[milliemc]

When I bought my truck the closest service center to me was 4 hours away. I did it anyways and here I am over a year later. It was a decision I would do again, but I have an incredibly flexible schedule. If I wanted to go on a week vacation starting tomorrow I could with no notice for example. I don't do things like that very often, but a broken truck is something I could work around.

I also have a wife that doesn't drive much so we could get by with one car if we had to and I have family really close by that have multiple cars so I could borrow one if necessary and during warmer weather I could drive my motorcycle lots of the places I go.

If the Rivian was a super critical vehicle for me I wouldn't have bought it even if the service center was right up the street. I'm glad that's not a thing though because my R1 is the best vehicle I've ever owned. I am looking forward to my wife's new car getting here though. That is gonna be fun to play with.

Thank you. So you had 4 hours--not too much different.

 

[milliemc]

I just received the above email. We are about 5 hours/300 miles from the new service center in Colorado Springs. I'm tempted to wait till 2024 or 2025 for (hopefully) an announcement that they are putting a service center in NM. A year ago I would have jumped on this, but since then we bought a new 4Runner - so we don't really need an R1S right away, and the reliability issues + distance to service center does concern me a bit. Thoughts?

We live outside of Santa Fe. I decided to switch our delivery address to Colorado Springs just to see what would happen and we have received the go ahead to configure our R1T. Right now we are trying to ferret out the 2024 tax rebate that can be applied to a new purchase. I have sent an e-mail to Customer Service so will see what they say re the tax rebate. I have done 5 hour trips in the past. It's not something I want to do very often--- It's a gamble, for sure.

 

[milliemc]

Hi ________, We are unable to give you a delivery window estimate at this time, because your delivery address is just outside the radius of a nearby Service Center. We know this isn’t the news you wanted to hear, but you do have the option to still take delivery. Rivian is now offering some customers who do not live near a Rivian Service Center the option to purchase and take delivery of their R1S. If you’re interested in taking delivery, please contact us and a Rivian sales specialist will reach out in the coming weeks to discuss configuration options and next steps. ​ ​ If you would prefer to wait, we'll share our plans for 2024 delivery window communications soon. What You Need To Know Due to the distance between you and the nearest Service Center, here are some things to consider:​ ​ ​ 1.​ You may experience extended wait times when scheduling mobile service appointments​ 2.​ If your service appointment requires a Service Center visit, you’ll be expected to arrange transport and pick-up of your vehicle​ 3.​ In cases where you need roadside assistance, you'll be towed to the nearest service center:​ ​ ​ •​ If the vehicle is both drivable and safe to operate, you’ll be expected to bring the vehicle in yourself or cover the costs for towing​ •​ If the vehicle is not drivable or safe to operate due to a warrantable issue, then Rivian will assess the best course of action and potentially cover the tow expense​ •​ Our Service team will work with you directly to review Service Center visits so that you’re aware of who will be responsible for vehicle transportation and associated costs​

So, the way I read this--if the vehicle is not driveable--Rivian will cover the cost of towing. ??

 

[Dark-Fx]

So, the way I read this--if the vehicle is not driveable--Rivian will cover the cost of towing. ??

I believe they might only agree to tow in. Getting it back home might end up being your responsibility still.

 

[ciderarchitect]

When I bought my truck the closest service center to me was 4 hours away. I did it anyways and here I am over a year later. It was a decision I would do again, but I have an incredibly flexible schedule. If I wanted to go on a week vacation starting tomorrow I could with no notice for example. I don't do things like that very often, but a broken truck is something I could work around.

I also have a wife that doesn't drive much so we could get by with one car if we had to and I have family really close by that have multiple cars so I could borrow one if necessary and during warmer weather I could drive my motorcycle lots of the places I go.

If the Rivian was a super critical vehicle for me I wouldn't have bought it even if the service center was right up the street. I'm glad that's not a thing though because my R1 is the best vehicle I've ever owned. I am looking forward to my wife's new car getting here though. That is gonna be fun to play with.

My situation is similar to Donald’s where I’m five hours from a service center and probably shouldn’t have forced the issue in March to get my truck, but I have had no real issues and no regrets. It’s a gamble to get a Rivian when you are nowhere near a service center, but not a stupid gamble. These are great vehicles and worth a bit of risk, IMO.

 

[RoadRunner]

Thanks all for your input and perspectives. For now I'm going to wait but it is tempting for sure.

 

[jimmyb2]

It seems like just about everyone who has a Rivian have had to take it in to a service center at least once, some more than that, and sometimes they keep it for weeks at a time.

I respectfully disagree with that statement. Do you have any data to back it up?

I don’t know the exact number of people using this forum, but there are 756 pages of members listed with about 20 per page which would indicate about 15,120 registered users. Many users don’t even have their Rivian yet (same as you). Yes, there are other forums, but many users are the same as on this one.

I seriously doubt every user of this forum who does have their Rivian has required service on it. I haven’t, for one.

Additionally, Rivian has delivered somewhere around 60,000 - 70,000 R1 vehicles (maybe more - unable to find exact number). Information on the number of vehicles serviced after purchase is also not available to me, but I seriously doubt “… just about everyone …” of them has needed service. I would guess maybe 15% of them required service.

It’s fine for you to believe whatever you like, but putting out that kind of statement in the forum without any data to back it up could leave non-owners with a really bad (and undeserved) impression of R1 vehicles.

 

[RoadRunner]

I respectfully disagree with that statement. Do you have any data to back it up?

I don’t know the exact number of people using this forum, but there are 756 pages of members listed with about 20 per page which would indicate about 15,120 registered users. Many users don’t even have their Rivian yet (same as you). Yes, there are other forums, but many users are the same as on this one.

I seriously doubt every user of this forum who does have their Rivian has required service on it. I haven’t, for one.

Additionally, Rivian has delivered somewhere around 60,000 - 70,000 R1 vehicles (maybe more - unable to find exact number). Information on the number of vehicles serviced after purchase is also not available to me, but I seriously doubt “… just about everyone …” of them has needed service. I would guess maybe 15% of them required service.

It’s fine for you to believe whatever you like, but putting out that kind of statement in the forum without any data to back it up could leave non-owners with a really bad (and undeserved) impression of R1 vehicles.

No, I don't have any data to back that up, just an impression based on reading this forum for the last two years. I could be completely wrong, and would love that to be the case. Unfortunately the data isn't public, so I'm just guessing based on quite a few posts from people who absolutely love their Rivian but have had to take it in for service at some point.

Thanks for your input...I'd love to hear from more people who have had their Rivian for a year or more with no need for any service center visits.

I would expect any completely new vehicle would be likely to require at least one visit to the dealer/service center in the first year for a recall or other issue, so this is not meant to be a knock on Rivian at all. Just par for the course with a complicated, advanced, and completely new vehicle from a new manufacturer.

 

[RoadRunner]

OK, so I just posted a poll asking for # of service center visits in the first year of ownership.

Then I found two previous polls which were done on this forum. One indicates that about 21% of owners required NO service center visits in the first 6 months, the other indicates 26% of owners required NO service center visits in the first 4 months of 2023 (approximately).

Based on this small sample size it looks like roughly 75-80% of R1 vehicles have needed at least one service center visit in the first 6 months, and presumably that figure would be higher when looking at the entire first year of ownership.

Please take the new poll if you have had your Rivian for a year or more, and feel free to comment in that thread on your experience even if you've had it less than a year. Thanks!

 

[RoadRunner]

Update: a couple days ago I got a call from Rivian, which I didn't answer. Shortly afterwards I got the below email. Sounds like they are really trying to hit their numbers for the year.

I responded asking when/where there will be a SC opening in NM and have not heard anything back yet. Still planning on waiting for now.

Thank you for your continued commitment to Rivian! We can't wait to get you behind the wheel.

I wanted to reach out with an opportunity to get into your Rivian R1 as soon as the end of this year! As you know your delivery address is outside of the radius of your closest Service Center in Colorado, however we are looking for community members who are ready and willing to come in and take delivery!

We have a few R1’s available at your service center that I'm happy to chat about configurations and possibly pick from to get you on the expedited track to ownership!

Do you want to hop on a call and discuss your options? I will be more than happy to review the available vehicles in your area or help answer any questions you may have.

Looking forward to hearing back from you!

Your fellow adventurer,​

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XXXXXX​

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