Rivian Can’t Take your trade-in if they have to give you money back.

[A RivianLessorLessee]

I’m me would think… I fought for this really hard and even cancelled the order. They called an explained they just don’t have the capabilities that a typical dealership has and yes it sounds as ridiculous as it is. I reordered after refinancing my paid off vehicle to get some of the cash out.

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[Sempervirens]

68k seems great BTW.

 

[xscotta]

Hmmm, this will be a bigger issue when the R2 arrives and folks want to downsize.

...unless you are maybe buying two R2s

 

[ThirteenElectrics]

A new for profit business fighting to stay in business to fight another day. The priority is to make money, be profitable, and be financially sustainable. If they have to “pay” you, and everyone else like you, to lease a new car how would they be financially sustainable? How is this a shock? Any other brand’s dealership would have refused. Yes, sell it on your own.

Any other brand's dealership is only going to offer you what they can get for the trade at auction a few days later. The fact that Rivian is offering more than other dealerships, but won't pay cash, means that they're actually offering more than the trade is worth at auction or in the R1 pre-owned shop.

This sounds like financial chicanery where they are using inflated trade-in values as a demand lever, taking a loss on the trade behind the scenes. This is another type of discount on the car, but it allows them to prop up the (fictitious) MSRP. They need to do this for any lines of credit against their inventory as well as to not to upset lease residuals.

So, demand isn't very strong at the moment and the OP caught them.

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