Service Center Visit Expectations For Sitting and/or Driving an R1T?

[babyrocket]

I have a March 2020 preorder for an R1T and I'm holding out for the max pack as I'll use it primarily for long distance RV towing. I've only seen a couple of Rivians on the road where I live, and there have been no test drives available in my area of the country. But I have to be in Las Vegas next week on business so I plan to visit the Rivian Service Center there.

Is it reasonable to expect that they would let me get in one and check it out? Any chance they would let me drive one?

Thanks -

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[R1T-USN]

I’m in southwest Florida and the new Miami SC is open.
My plan is to drive over next week, 2 hr drive, and see how it goes. My main goal is to see paint color in person.

Anything other than that , short of being totally rejected, will be icing on the cake or a free snack and water as they boot me out….

 

[electruck]

Kind of like my younger days on the dating scene... expect nothing but hope to get lucky!

 

[COdogman]

I think the chances are very good of seeing several and possibly even getting a walk through with a friendly Rivian employee. Whether you get to drive one would depend on how busy they are. I know in Denver, which is a very busy but well staffed service center I was told they can do drop in drives but it just depends on what else is going on that day. Can’t say what might happen in LV.

 

[ccmun]

I’m in southwest Florida and the new Miami SC is open.
My plan is to drive over next week, 2 hr drive, and see how it goes. My main goal is to see paint color in person.

Anything other than that , short of being totally rejected, will be icing on the cake or a free snack and water as they boot me out….

Good luck! I have been there twice for service. There is no door bell and they keep the door locked You have to go the left side of the building and bang on the glass window to get someone’s attention. It’s a beautiful shop though. The floors and lifts are spotless and there is a nice lounge.
The times I was there, they had about 6-10 vehicles of all colors inside and outside.

 

[ads75]

Keep in mind it is coming up on the end of a quarter, so employees will probably be busy prepping vehicles for delivery. So don't get too disappointed if no one can help out too much. Service Centers aren't the same as the Venice Hub. I've read mixed things on people just showing up to look around, sometimes they can, sometimes they can't. Its whats preventing me from driving 2.5 hours each way to nail down a color.

 

[pc500]

You're better to go to the venice hub. I flew the Cessna into Santa Monica airport and walked over a few months back. Test Drives are officially by reservation, but walks ups have occasionally been accommodated. Having a pre order helps.

 

[ads75]

You're better to go to the venice hub. I flew the Cessna into Santa Monica airport and walked over a few months back. Test Drives are officially by reservation, but walks ups have occasionally been accommodated. Having a pre order helps.

Venice Hub isn’t convenient to most people. OP states he will be near a service center, it’s the closest thing most of us have.

 

[gunslinger201]

I think each SC experience will be different, but keep in mind - these are service centers, not dealerships. 99% of the R1T/S's you see there are customer cars, there either to be worked on or getting ready for delivery. I would be shocked if employees let a walkup crawl through a customer's truck, let alone drive one...
That said, they will usually have a couple of loaners that may or may not be there. And inevitably there are a few employees who own their own trucks, so that could be a good avenue.
I would say that if you go, keep your expectations low.

 

[R1T-USN]

Well, for the record I don’t plan to crawl into vehicles, I’m aware these are customer vehicles. Just to explore is my intent. I might get lucky see a combo I’m thinking of RC/OC RB/OC CY/OC CY/OC

Also, a resale R1T is located in Palm Beach - LG/FE 2,200 miles. I might pop over and see it as well since I’ll be on the east coast - road trips are fun!

If I could get the LG/FE for a around build price, I might jump - to build in the visualizer configured is about 98k.

Then - I’d swap my reservation for R1S.

 

[Attesan997]

Good luck! I have been there twice for service. There is no door bell and they keep the door locked You have to go the left side of the building and bang on the glass window to get someone’s attention. It’s a beautiful shop though. The floors and lifts are spotless and there is a nice lounge.
The times I was there, they had about 6-10 vehicles of all colors inside and outside.

Brooklyn has a digital door bell that someone eventually answers. It's a bit strange they don't have a better intake area. For a delivery entrance this is all fine but I had to call the service number to have them call the actual service center I was standing in front of to let me in.

 

[ccmun]

Brooklyn has a digital door bell that someone eventually answers. It's a bit strange they don't have a better intake area. For a delivery entrance this is all fine but I had to call the service number to have them call the actual service center I was standing in front of to let me in.

And why are the SC’s not directly accessible by phone? Smh. I get they don’t want the added expense of a receptionis at each SC, but its 2021, they can route the calls to multiple people at the SC and designate a couple of people to answer at any give time….geez. Thats not so hard to do. I hope Rivian does not copy Tesla’s disdain for customer engagement.

 

[Attesan997]

And why are the SC’s not directly accessible by phone? Smh. I get they don’t want the added expense of a receptionis at each SC, but its 2021, they can route the calls to multiple people at the SC and designate a couple of people to answer at any give time….geez. Thats not so hard to do. I hope Rivian does not copy Tesla’s disdain for customer engagement.

The individual I spoke with seemed to think it was only a matter of time before it changed so that direct contact with the service center was possible. Who knows maybe he was just saying something he thought I wanted to hear but it didn't seem like adding this extra layer was doing him any favors.

 

[Doug]

We are also holding out for the Max pack. We stopped at the service center in MN unannounced and were able to sit in an employee's truck and were shown all the features. We did not get to drive it but was good to see all the colors of the 6-8 trucks that were there. We had not seen any in the wild yet just pictures, so it was worth it to us. Next time we are hoping to see a R1S or a Forest Green R1T which is what we ordered but was not there the day we stopped.

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