Sponsored

Rich Rebuilds picks up his R1T and goes to confront the dealer who tried to rip him off…

lefkonj

Well-Known Member
First Name
Jeff
Joined
Feb 6, 2021
Threads
19
Messages
649
Reaction score
999
Location
New Jersey
Vehicles
A7/Q3 R1S ordered
Clubs
 
Once I saw the route he was taking knew he would have problems. I would never take that path down south. I95 all the way, plenty of charging up and down that path. I actually would't take that way with a ICE vehicle as it is just out of the way and slower roads.
Sponsored

 

NY_Rob

Well-Known Member
First Name
Rob
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Threads
18
Messages
3,664
Reaction score
5,065
Location
long island
Vehicles
2021 Model 3 LR AWD, 2017 BMW i3 REX, 2023 R1T
Occupation
IT
Wow, I've never actually watched any of his videos before. I made it 1:30 into this before I bailed. Youtube is just insufferable :facepalm:
I give you credit, I baled at under 60 seconds.. because that's how long it took me to skim through to the end. Seeing noting interesting, I moved on without watching.
 

GHuff

Well-Known Member
First Name
John
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Threads
3
Messages
180
Reaction score
246
Location
Tyler
Vehicles
Tesla
Clubs
 
Everyone here commenting on the dude's personality and how bad the video is...but also completely ignoring the real world issues of charging. Most people buying an EV are newbs and this video shows a very accurate real-world experience of traveling long distances with an EV. It SUCKS (right now).
You can hate on the dude and video quality and bad jokes all you want, but don't just ignore the actual legit complaints he has and issues he exposes.

Rivian route planning sucks. Chargers don't work and are slow or expensive. There's charging deserts. Bad jokes don't make those facts any less true.
He isn't an expert at charging an EV and you can't expect the common person to be either. Having to use 3rd party apps on your smart phone with cell service to not get stranded is pretty ridiculous to me. That's the real issue here. Rivian native software and route planning needs to be MUCH better.

I thought the video was 30 minutes too long. I enjoyed his humor and him talking through his experience. This confirmed my decision to avoid road trips in my Rivian as much as I can.
 

kylealden

Well-Known Member
First Name
Kyle
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Threads
20
Messages
1,393
Reaction score
4,254
Location
Seattle
Vehicles
Rivian R1T LE, Tesla Model Y, Zero DSR/X, '69 CJ5
Occupation
Product Management
Everyone here commenting on the dude's personality and how bad the video is...but also completely ignoring the real world issues of charging. Most people buying an EV are newbs and this video shows a very accurate real-world experience of traveling long distances with an EV. It SUCKS (right now).
FWIW there are very few people on this forum who will defend the state of DCFC. It's clearly not in a great place and heading towards a worse one as more EVs hit the road.

I'm optimistic that we'll be in a much better place in a couple years due to both economic imperatives (huge demand) and federal stimulus, but we're heading towards a period of maximum tension as infrastructure build out ramps up well behind the pace of EV adoption. There are many, many, many threads on this topic across this forum and others.

I thought the video was 30 minutes too long. I enjoyed his humor and him talking through his experience. This confirmed my decision to avoid road trips in my Rivian as much as I can.
This is a shame. Despite the above, the Rivian is an outstanding road tripper with a little planning. FWIW, my process is to trust but verify - let the Rivian nav suggest a route, but if I don't see multiple chargers in the area, double check that there are working stations via PlugShare. That second step sucks but keeps you out of trouble for unfamiliar areas.

On a longer trip in unfamiliar territory, I might hit up ABRP to make sure I'm planning the most efficient route and to scout out a backup plan just in case. But I have to do this in the Tesla, too.

It's reasonable if you don't have the appetite for this, in which case a couple years of infrastructure progress should smooth things over.
 

Sponsored

kizamybute'

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 17, 2021
Threads
80
Messages
1,173
Reaction score
1,991
Location
Los Angeles
Vehicles
This one, that one and the other one.
Clubs
 
This dealer (who has nothing to do with Rivian, they were just flipping the truck) was misrepresenting the vehicle as a “Max Pack” R1T. They weren’t trying to get market value, they were (intentionally or not) misleading potential customers and pricing the vehicle as something it’s not.
Pretty sure it was more a case of the non-Rivian dealer having no clue of what a "Max Pack" is. That's part of the problem with buying a new / used vehicle like this from a non-direct Rivian source. They have no clue what they have. Again, as I noted, dealers can certainly be shady, to put it mildly, but my betting money on this scenario would be that it was just a mistake rather than an intentional mislead. Probably figured out that they had the largest pack currently offered and assumed that meant it was the max pack.

Any buyer purchasing a car from a second-hand dealer not directly associated manufacturer of that particular vehicle should be well prepared to do their own research and be well-informed of what they are buying as the second-hand dealer very likely knows less about that vehicle than the buyer does.

Rivian's a re still a hot ticket item and they likely were receiving verbal offers above their original asking price. It wasn't actually sold yet, so they likely decided to raise the price based on the offers that were coming in. Again, demonstrating that they likely didn't know what they really had.

To drive 12 hours, if he really did, just to confront them, seems like a waste of time that will have no positive impact. He already bought a different truck. The dealer will still sell the truck they have. Maybe the confrontation will make them a little more informed, but since it's probably the only Rivian they'll sell, it will have no last impact. Again, didn't watch the last 35+ minutes of the video, but those are just the common sense results I can see coming from it. Are they really going to care that this guy showed up to complain about a car he didn't buy? If it were me, I'd probably be laughing at the guy for feeling the need to drive 12 hours just to tell me off about something that he lost NOTHING on.
 

zipzag

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 15, 2021
Threads
12
Messages
1,023
Reaction score
914
Location
Chicago
Vehicles
Model Y
I am a fan of Rich and so I watched the whole thing. Probably not the best use of my 51 minutes but too late now.

He doesn't make this point explicitly, but he should've. The Rivian route planning algorithm and charging location database led him into that charging desert in Delaware.

This is Rivian's fault. My guess is he's used to Tesla's routing and charging reliability so he just trusted what the truck told him to do. Big mistake.

But for a naive non-Tesla EV roadtripper, this was completely representative of their experience and needs to be fixed by Rivian and network operators as well. Better reliability at stations and better data (including charger status) in the nav. The fact that the nav led him to a station that had been down for days is common and inexcusable. Checking every stop manually on Plugshare sucks.

For anyone at Rivian reading this, please buy ABRP and incorporate its routing and charging network integrations (or subscribe to this data from Plugshare) to avoid stranding people in charging deserts.
With Rich's prior Tesla experience he did likely intentionally drive himself into trouble. But as you say his situation is possible for newer EV drivers.

His poor charging experience charging off the interstate is realistic IMO. Max Pack FTW (some day).
 

Dark-Fx

Well-Known Member
First Name
Brian
Joined
Jul 15, 2020
Threads
96
Messages
9,362
Reaction score
17,756
Location
Michigan
Vehicles
Polestar 2, R1T, R1S, Livewire One, Fisker Ocean
Occupation
Engineering
Clubs
 
Wow, I've never actually watched any of his videos before. I made it 1:30 into this before I bailed. Youtube is just insufferable :facepalm:
90 seconds to learn an important lesson seems like time well spent ;)
 

MichaelD

Well-Known Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2022
Threads
5
Messages
179
Reaction score
324
Location
LA
Vehicles
Sprinter 4x4 camper van (170)
This confirmed my decision to avoid road trips in my Rivian as much as I can.
You can do a lot better than Rich did. Just use ABRP as your primary charging route planner, and set the R1 to one charger after another in that list. Easy.

Is it Tesla-level easy? No. But its manageable and worth it. These are great road trip vehicles. It would be a shame to miss it.
 

Tejkalra

Well-Known Member
First Name
Tejinder
Joined
Oct 14, 2022
Threads
0
Messages
85
Reaction score
55
Location
Ca
Vehicles
R1T
Well he has a point about charging network. But again route planing is the key. I know if your are desperate and have to have to take that route. Then you r in pickle for sure. But if I have to do that I will try my best to plan my route and avoid any dead zone. If have to go through dead zone will definitely consider alternative vehical for that purpose. Also I will use plug share instead of relying on r1t plan. It's doable. Not that easy. But not that hard either the way he is charging and is plan to take that route.
 

Sponsored

mabowden

Well-Known Member
Joined
May 3, 2022
Threads
13
Messages
1,115
Reaction score
1,508
Location
Socal
Vehicles
2022 Rivian R1T, 2021 Kia Seltos SX
Occupation
Toby Flenderson
I really like Rich's content. Maybe I'm in the minority, with him (he would think this joke is funny).

That being said I think he could have avoided all the hassle but didn't to show people what they might be in store for if they aren't technical around charging routes (don't use things like ABRP..)

This particular video wasn't very good at all, but 90% of his content is great. I think it's very funny and easy to watch. Just skip through all the promotional stuff...
 

CotoR1TDude

Active Member
First Name
Derrick
Joined
Nov 27, 2022
Threads
5
Messages
41
Reaction score
24
Location
Trabuco Canyon
Vehicles
R1T
Occupation
Information Technology
Clubs
 
wasting time in an airport hotel at CDG (laid over) and actually watched the whole video. Never heard of this guy, but he was very entertaining. I’m on the west coast with a Tesla. His comments about how easy the Tesla is so true. I have no concerns about long trips in California with my Y. But after watching this I can’t say that I’m not a bit nervous going back to the public network with my R1T. I had a BMW prior to the Y and I experienced the same issues - Stations not working, short charges to get the next better, faster charges., etc. I’m assuming the network in California is more dense and better than it was a few years back (and certainly where he was) and I will be fine. I charge at work and home mostly, but I do want to overland in the sierras, Death Valley, central coast and Anza-Borrego. Again, very entertaining to watch.
Sponsored

 
 




Top