They hit me in my driveway resulting in $21,195.95 repair bill

[camaroz1985]

Miracle worker…

That is truly impressive, but not apples to oranges as that was steel vs aluminum on the R1T.

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[Michaewh]

Looks like insurance rates will be going up...

 

[DrMario]

So Dr. Mario got the same job already done for 4k? Did they replace the whole panel? Sounds like you are being taken for a ride, the shop probably has no idea how to estimate labor on this?

Oh no, not the same job. Mine was not that severe. The point I was trying to make was the price difference between the two estimates.

 

[DrMario]

That is truly impressive, but not apples to oranges as that was steel vs aluminum on the R1T.

The panel damaged shown on the R1T on this thread is steel.

 

[camaroz1985]

The panel damaged shown on the R1T on this thread is steel.

My mistake, I thought someone said the full bed side was aluminum.

 

[DrMario]

Definitely get a PDR quote as long as there are no mechanical issues

I tried this when I had my minor collision. Problem is, it is a new vehicle so I doubt they'll know how to take it apart to get to it. I don't think Rivian will walk a third party through it. Also, if in the process something breaks, good luck getting parts from Rivian especially is it is a body shop not approved by them.

 

[slider2828]

Yeah pulling aluminum is nearly impossible.... The WHOLE side since its one piece will need to be replaced, with hinges and door gaps and dear god hopefully no need to refit roof, but it looks like it goes pretty far up there that entire piece. Terrible repair engineering but probably for strength and rigidity. Steel usually you cut and weld back, but aluminum, you either bond or tig, and tig is mostly by hand that i've seen.... Not easy.... 20k.... with probably 150 to 200 dollar rates, sound pretty in ballpark.....

 

[AsianPersuasian]

There are aluminum body shops but not as easy compared to steel. From what I understand, the aluminum has to be heated to 400 F and requires different tools.

 

[AsianPersuasian]

Lots of videos on youtube where body shops are heating the aluminum and pushing it out

 

[_evtrk]

So Dr. Mario got the same job already done for 4k? Did they replace the whole panel? Sounds like you are being taken for a ride, the shop probably has no idea how to estimate labor on this?

its not my insurance paying for it, so price doesnt matter to me, also it is the collision center that my local Service center uses so i rather it be expensive and done right rather than being cheap and who knows how it comes out, also they have already done this repair multiple times on R1's. I appreciate your suggestion though.

 

[_evtrk]

There are aluminum body shops but not as easy compared to steel. From what I understand, the aluminum has to be heated to 400 F and requires different tools.

my understanding is the work is easier but just as time consuming and there's no guarantee that it comes out perfect, so they rather replace panels when parts are aluminum, it also depends on the composition of the aluminum.

 

[Arky]

its not my insurance paying for it, so price doesnt matter to me, also it is the collision center that my local Service center uses so i rather it be expensive and done right rather than being cheap and who knows how it comes out, also they have already done this repair multiple times on R1's. I appreciate your suggestion though.

You don't care about the price but it does create the situation where the opposing insurance isn't going to be too happy about it and they're going to fight you.

If I drove a glass car and someone hit it, it will be completely destroyed and it would be their fault, but any reasonable person would say driving a car made out of glass is an exceptionally stupid decision that someone else shouldn't be liable for. $21K for a panel dent is very hard to defend and someone could claim you chose to drive a particularly fragile vehicle.

 

[CommodoreAmiga]

If I drove a glass car and someone hit it, it will be completely destroyed and it would be their fault, but any reasonable person would say driving a car made out of glass is an exceptionally stupid decision that someone else shouldn't be liable for.

I disagree. By that logic someone could also say riding a bicycle is "exceptionally stupid" and a car driver shouldn't be liable for injury to the cyclist since any "reasonable person" would agree that a bicycle stands no change against an automobile in a collision.

That simply isn't how it works.

 

[_evtrk]

The panel damaged shown on the R1T on this thread is steel.

I've read a lot of mixed responses on the material used in this area of the vehicle all over forums, some say steel, some aluminum. I was told this panel is an aluminum alloy, which is probably why it has magnetic attraction, but i really dont know anything about this stuff.

 

[SFsoundguy]

You don't care about the price but it does create the situation where the opposing insurance isn't going to be too happy about it and they're going to fight you.

If I drove a glass car and someone hit it, it will be completely destroyed and it would be their fault, but any reasonable person would say driving a car made out of glass is an exceptionally stupid decision that someone else shouldn't be liable for. $21K for a panel dent is very hard to defend and someone could claim you chose to drive a particularly fragile vehicle.

Funny but no one drives a glass car. The majority of new cars manufactured in these days are made of steel AND aluminum. All insurance companies should already have the additional cost associated with work for these metals in their system. In the end the insurance company will fight because thats what they do you just have to fight back and in this case since he's not at fault its just pedantic's

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