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JayinNJ

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Ultimately i think Rivian had a choice, easier and faster manufacturing or easier repairability. I think they chose right as they are in the ramping phase, i would think maybe by some time next year they make the adjustments to the panel construction to ease and cheapen the repairability of the vehicles.
Why would a manufacturer ever choose repairability over manufacturability and manufacturing cost? Their goal is always to lower cost and improve margins. No one buys a vehicle with repairability in mind.
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Why would a manufacturer ever choose repairability over manufacturability and manufacturing cost? Their goal is always to lower cost and improve margins. No one buys a vehicle with repairability in mind.
My mistake for not explaining what I meant, I didnt mean in design or anything like that, i meant typically they'll make non full size panels, not sure if patch panels is the correct term. But most manufacturers arent really in a ramping up stage so they are able to dedicate time and resources for stuff like that, since Rivian is concentrating on ramping, they havent probably put any thought into make such panels for easier repairs.
 

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It feels like the overall cost of repair is going up, similar to many things these days. I ran over a pot hole and scratched up a front carbon fibre splitter. Bill is about $8k. It's been three months of waiting on parts. Hope to get car next week. So, this sounds "normal."
 

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No one buys a vehicle with repairability in mind.
I do. That's why I'll spend 2-3 years on a forum reading about the most common issues others are experiencing before making a purchase. Granted, I'm probably the exception, but I want to know what I'm getting myself into, LOL. 🤣
 

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My buddy just paid $7,800 to repair a 2 inch puncture in the bed of his 2019 F250. Had to replace the entire bed repaint as and re Rhino line. Aluminum is a double edged sword
 

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My buddy just paid $7,800 to repair a 2 inch puncture in the bed of his 2019 F250. Had to replace the entire bed repaint as and re Rhino line. Aluminum is a double edged sword
Depending on where the puncture is... could he just have welded on a patch? I mean, it is in the bed, and it is a truck... and scars are macho. :)
 

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I do. That's why I'll spend 2-3 years on a forum reading about the most common issues others are experiencing before making a purchase. Granted, I'm probably the exception, but I want to know what I'm getting myself into, LOL. 🤣
That's mostly reliability, but I get your point. People generally wouldn't be willing to pay more for an easier to repair vehicle.
 

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9/6/22 : 4 months of trying my hardest to protect my vehicle from crazy south florida drivers and in my own driveway is where i end up getting hit. so let's find out how good the Rivian certified collision centers are.



update 9/7/22 : Spoke with State farm (other guys insurance, the at-fault guy) they were very pushy trying to get me to go to one of their collision centers, I said no way, I want a certified Rivian center. I ended up going to Collision Care Xpress, In Pompano Beach, FL. While i was there they were working on 2 other Rivians (this is the Collision center the Rivian Miami SC is using) people were nice and very friendly, told me about 2 weeks wait on the parts and 2-3 weeks repair time, They said more than likely entire driver side will be replaced, not sure from where to where this would be. They said Rivian will go over the photos and will advise on the repair.

update 9/12/22 : So i got the quote from the Collision center, They quoted the repair at $ 21,195.95 , I really dont know much about body work and repairs, but I want to hear peoples opinion on this. They are still awaiting to hear back from State Farm, I assume they negotiate on pricing and then they go from there.

stay tuned for further updates.
Go with the Rivian Authorized Body Shop. Hopefully they know how handle Insurance Co's that don't understand Rivians. My body shop in WA was great at this. working with aluminum body is very different from sheet metal I understand. My body shop got this discussion handled well. Don't be surprised if there's a back log before you get it in. I hope not. Took 2 months to get it in, and 31 days to fix it. The delays were caused by Rivian being very new to this.. Rivian has been very helpful in other areas so I'm not down on them for this. It takes time to work out the bugs. Another noticeable delay was getting the truck calibrated, a ½ hour operation that took 3 business days. Hey they're working on that.. My cost was $6900 for this. They had to repaint the entire side panel that goes from that damage all the way to the top of the doors.

Rivian R1T R1S They hit me in my driveway resulting in $21,195.95 repair bill tempImageHRuxlH
 
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So I got a letter from State farm, of course, they dont agree with the quote. according to them the repair should cost no more than $1,300.00 . I did receive a call from the collision center and they want me to come by tomorrow and speak with the facility manager, i'm assuming its related to the state farm letter. I'll keep everyone updated when i get more details. but i assume this is headed for a long haul.
 

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so went to my meeting with who i thought was the facility manager, but turns out he's the company CEO. He wanted to go back over the damage to see if it is repairable instead. We talked for a while and i got some better explanation on this panel. As some have stated it is steel, not aluminum, but there are two issues with this area. one, is that it is attached to an aluminum sub-structure, and because of this, it is attached with panel bond and rivets. and if sub-structure is damaged, both need to be replaced. two, is that because of the size and body lines of the back, it is hard to reform and make look like new. He did say that Rivians preference on this is the panel replacement. Also on a side note, was informed that bed rails are weather sealed and because of this Rivian considers them one time use items. So to sum it up, they are going to try and fix the panel to the sum of $14,000 instead of $21,000. if the repair does not look like factory, they then will replace the entire panel. and the last bit of news he gave me is that state farm does not like to pay and this is going to be a long haul.
 

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so went to my meeting with who i thought was the facility manager, but turns out he's the company CEO. He wanted to go back over the damage to see if it is repairable instead. We talked for a while and i got some better explanation on this panel. As some have stated it is steel, not aluminum, but there are two issues with this area. one, is that it is attached to an aluminum sub-structure, and because of this, it is attached with panel bond and rivets. and if sub-structure is damaged, both need to be replaced. two, is that because of the size and body lines of the back, it is hard to reform and make look like new. He did say that Rivians preference on this is the panel replacement. Also on a side note, was informed that bed rails are weather sealed and because of this Rivian considers them one time use items. So to sum it up, they are going to try and fix the panel to the sum of $14,000 instead of $21,000. if the repair does not look like factory, they then will replace the entire panel. and the last bit of news he gave me is that state farm does not like to pay and this is going to be a long haul.
I am very surprised to hear that the bedrails are weather sealed as I recently had an instance of ants that appeared to be trying to build a nest behind my rear quarter panel between the bed and the frame. We had a period of extended rain and ants were looking for dry places and determined that my truck was an ideal location. I saw them mostly crawling into and out of the lip of the plastic piece on top of the bed rail and along the tonneau cover channel. A few bait traps took care of the problem, but I have a hard time believing that this would have happened if those are indeed weather sealed.
 
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I am very surprised to hear that the bedrails are weather sealed as I recently had an instance of ants that appeared to be trying to build a nest behind my rear quarter panel between the bed and the frame. We had a period of extended rain and ants were looking for dry places and determined that my truck was an ideal location. I saw them mostly crawling into and out of the lip of the plastic piece on top of the bed rail and along the tonneau cover channel. A few bait traps took care of the problem, but I have a hard time believing that this would have happened if those are indeed weather sealed.
I thought the same as you, and i too have seen instances of ants loving to crawl all over my truck in these areas. but he and their rivian specialist both told me the same, one told me as i was waiting for the other to come from another building he was at.
 

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Oh Damn. Hopefully, all involved are safe and your insurance comes through, bud. :)

When I hear people like Munroe go on about stamping single piece body panels, rivets vs bolts, reducing parts by introducing complex single part components in the name reducing manufacturing costs and complexities I cringe for this very reason.

Not only will it impact repairability, but it will also drive-up costs and insurance premiums for owners.

For a fender bender like this an entire side body panel must be replaced costing almost one-fourth of the cost of the vehicle, instead of a 'smaller body panel'. Which will be costly, driving up insurance costs for accidents and eventually insurance premiums.
 

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Unfortunately I have the nearly exact same dent (same area, not as bad or deep) from a drunk driver who was trying to do a three point turn. I have not had it repaired yet, but the Rivian Authorized place here in So Cal, European Motor Cars (crazy nice, well organized facility. Can eat off the floors its that clean. Lots of high end cars) is saying some similar things. $7500 to repair but could be more, upwards of $14-15k if they cant get that rear quarter panel area back to factory spec, and need to replace the rear quarter panel, which would entail ordering the rear section piece of that panel from Rivian (they're doing one now with way worse damage then mine to side area and said the part came in a week) then had to take the gear tunnel apart, cut the side around that tunnel door and will be welding a new side panel piece on, which is extensive work. Hoping that will not be needed. Additionally, I am going after the other party for a Diminished Value Claim as the R1T is not worth nearly what it was 4 weeks ago with 650 miles on it in pristine condition.
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