R2 vs midsize SUV- need by June

[ChitownRivianFan]

I have a teen who's starting summer job and need a car by June. Not sure when our R2's will be delivered so considering other options.

1. Should I lease something for a month (I bet it's more than that) wait for R2
2. Buy an IC car outright? options are Honda Passport or Pilot

2nd most important thing is Cost - Total cost of ownership.

Will Honda Pilot be cheaper or expensive, say if we own it for 5 years vs R2

Thanks

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[Sportstick]

The Pilot is oversized for a teen. The Passport is very highly rated and an excellent vehicle. For total cost of ownership, it should retain value quite well. I’m not sure I would saddle a teen needing to get to a job with the first year’s (months?) production of any new vehicle for the issue of reliability.

 

[Jeremy3292]

Cant do much better than a RAV4 IMO

 

[Simplejack]

Not telling you how to parent but I wouldn’t give a teen a 3.6sec 0-60 mph vehicle. My kid had a jeep learned how to work on it/rotate tires/change oil ect… never had a wreck in 4 yrs of owning it, very easy to drive/park. Agree with above passport or Rav 4 something similar

 

[Sportstick]

Can do much better than a RAV4 IMO

I think you meant "can't" and I would also agree with that choice for a teen.

 

[drivetorun]

TCO is going to be difficult to compare without knowing driving habits (e.g. 5k miles/yr; 20k miles/yr), and probably to a greater extent, insurance rates. I don't know if you can get a quote for insuring a teenage driver with an R2, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were significantly more expensive than a Passport.

A used Model 3 or Y AWD would likely beat both from a TCO standpoint. If you really want to try to get a short-term lease, you could browse leasetrader.com or swapalease.com

 

[Sportstick]

TCO is going to be difficult to compare without knowing driving habits (e.g. 5k miles/yr; 20k miles/yr), and probably to a greater extent, insurance rates. I don't know if you can get a quote for insuring a teenage driver with an R2, but it wouldn't surprise me if it were significantly more expensive than a Passport.

A used Model 3 or Y AWD would likely beat both from a TCO standpoint. If you really want to try to get a short-term lease, you could browse leasetrader.com or swapalease.com

The quality gap from Tesla to Toyota/Honda is significant and again not a great idea for a kid who has other responsibilities to manage…even if they don’t find having a Tesla ethically objectionable.

 

[drivetorun]

The quality gap from Tesla to Toyota/Honda is significant and again not a great idea for a kid who has other responsibilities to manage…even if they don’t find having a Tesla ethically objectionable.

Quality or reliability? Quality...agreed, but I don't think teenagers really care about panel gaps, minor squeaks/rattles, etc. (and they shouldn't if they're getting a "free" car anyway). From a reliability standpoint, I actually haven't known someone in real life who has had any significant issues with their Tesla (and I know my fair share of Tesla owners). Seen stuff written on the internet? Sure, but ultimately, I think you'd be more likely to end up on the side of the road due to a flat tire than any actual mechanical failure...

And the OP asked about TCO, they didn't mention anything about a potential soul tax associated with their car purchase, so I'm not going to go down that path. I certainly get if someone doesn't want to own a Tesla, but a ~$20k used Tesla with <50k miles is a pretty good value when looking at the broader car market, and for a teenager, I'd say it's a pretty safe car to put them in (AWD, low rollover risk, stellar crash test ratings, good voice commands, etc.).

 

[Sportstick]

Here is data vs. anecdotal reports...there are many more reliable choice for a 3 years-in-service vehicle than a Tesla.

 

[drivetorun]

Here is data vs. anecdotal reports...there are many more reliable choice for a 3 years-in-service vehicle than a Tesla.

JD Power's dependability rankings takes into account way more than what most people would consider "reliability". It's any "problem" a consumer has with any number of elements of the vehicle (including poor ergonomics, infotainment glitches -- not failures, etc.). Even having to replace a key fob battery will count as a "problem" against a vehicle.

We can all pick out selective data to prove a point. Here's Consumer Reports' ranking of brands with the lowest maintenance a repair costs over 5 & 10 years. Tesla is supposedly lower than Toyota for 5 years, and then is marginally more expensive over 10. This data would make it hard to believe that Teslas could be drastically more problematic and yet effectively cost nothing more than a Toyota to maintain.

I think it's reasonable to assume that you believe Teslas are rubbish and shouldn't be considered. Point taken. Frankly, I personally wouldn't ever buy another Tesla for a variety of reasons, but fears about reliability isn't one of them (unless we're talking about the Model X...); however, I've continued to recommend them to people depending on their specific use case.

 

[DCFC]

I'm assuming the new car is for you and the teen is getting a hand-me down? For you, I'd buy a used beater to hold over until you're called up for a R2. I had a 2016 Mazda CX-5, absolute base model, and I loved that thing. Over 8 years and 95k miles, I had to replace the 12V battery once, I replaced only the rear brake pads at 75k miles (fronts where still good) and did a brake fluid flush, and I had the belts changed at 90k miles. While the belts were getting changed, the techs noticed the hydraulic belt tensioner was leaking, so that also got replaced. Otherwise, just oil changes, the wiper blades once, and washer fluid.

 

[Sportstick]

This may be a helpful comparison for actual costs, but for the use case of a kid trying to get to a job, the concern I would see is time lost, not dollars spent. One may spend less on any EV for relatively less invasive problems than ICE vehicles encounter, but the frequency of having to do something with a Tesla from the JDP dependability study appears to be higher than ideal for this situation. It's doable, but it's also clear much better choices are available if the OP is considering a used yet economical car...Subaru for one example.

 

[drivetorun]

This may be a helpful comparison for actual costs, but for the use case of a kid trying to get to a job, the concern I would see is time lost, not dollars spent.

When I was a teenager, I commuted to work in an '06 Grand Cherokee, which by all objective measures (JD Power, Consumer Reports, anyone with a pulse) was a box of reliability (got to love the DaimlerChrysler days...although, it isn't like FCA or Stellantis have proven to be any better). The only time I was late to work was due to a tire blowout.

At the end of the day, how you treat and maintain your vehicle has an outsized impact on how reliable it is.

 

[funnynardo]

Quality or reliability? Quality...agreed, but I don't think teenagers really care about panel gaps, minor squeaks/rattles, etc. (and they shouldn't if they're getting a "free" car anyway). From a reliability standpoint, I actually haven't known someone in real life who has had any significant issues with their Tesla (and I know my fair share of Tesla owners). Seen stuff written on the internet? Sure, but ultimately, I think you'd be more likely to end up on the side of the road due to a flat tire than any actual mechanical failure...

And the OP asked about TCO, they didn't mention anything about a potential soul tax associated with their car purchase, so I'm not going to go down that path. I certainly get if someone doesn't want to own a Tesla, but a ~$20k used Tesla with <50k miles is a pretty good value when looking at the broader car market, and for a teenager, I'd say it's a pretty safe car to put them in (AWD, low rollover risk, stellar crash test ratings, good voice commands, etc.).

i agree a used model 3 or model y is an amazing value and is very reliable. i have an extremely early 2018 build model 3 with 113k miles and early 2023 model y with 50k miles and both have been super reliable. excluding the tires, i have spent less than 1k on both cars total in maintenance. these are essentially zero maintenance vehicles (no oil changes, etc). all you need are tires, wipers, air filters, and wiper fluid. sure quality issues may be there but for the most part these are just cosmetic (like panel gaps etc). they are still some of the safest vehicles in an accident to be in. also they have depreciated so much that total cost of ownership for the short term will be extremely low. most of the tesla quality and reliability issues stem from model s, model x, and cybertruck, but model 3 and model y are really reliable.

i dont think the jd power study is truly representative of vehicle dependability. each brand will have vehicles with different levels of reliability (toyota for the most part makes very reliable vehicles except for the new sequoia/tundra for example, and i dont see how they would perform worse than most of the gm brands). consumer reports is probably a better source for reliability information especially since they break down the categories where each vehicle fails (minor engine issues, major issues, etc).

also both the pilot and passport are not very efficient. costs can add up pretty quickly with fuel and maintenance depending on how much they are driven. also not sure how common short term leases are. even if available, im sure it would be far more expensive than just buying a used car and selling it once the r2 arrives.

 

[CharonPDX]

I have a teen who's starting summer job and need a car by June. Not sure when our R2's will be delivered so considering other options.

1. Should I lease something for a month (I bet it's more than that) wait for R2
2. Buy an IC car outright? options are Honda Passport or Pilot

2nd most important thing is Cost - Total cost of ownership.

Will Honda Pilot be cheaper or expensive, say if we own it for 5 years vs R2

Thanks

Unless you put in your preorder before the R2 reveal event even started (the page went live about a minute before the event started) and live in an area they're doing the earliest deliveries, there is zero chance your'e getting an R2 in June.

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