They took my $500 now what?.... How will this blind date end?

[Haynstyln]

First ever Rivian "buying" experience. Old school person with many car acquisitions under my belt. Never gave a "dealer" earnest money to not hear from them for a few days. They were upfront and clear on delivery expectations 3-6 weeks which I was ok with. However how about the drawing up the lease terms etc while we wait? Perhaps the numbers come in different than what was projected so I can cut my losses and move on to another brand. How about a courtesy call every other day to say hey today we got the local Rivian gang slurpees from your deposit but you're still on our mind? How about not allowing pre-buyers read the negative experiences in forums after-buyers are having . In the olden days, you are at a dealership 3-4 hours in which time they've pulled your credit, played the 4 squared purchase offer game and had a carboned contract ready to sign by then. Will this be the best wait I've ever experienced?

Sponsored

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Rivian is all online. Once your delivery date is set the portal opens up for you and you can get it done in under an hour all from your desk. It is by far the best purchasing experience I’ve ever had. There is NO sitting for 3-4 hours at a dealership wasting my precious time.

 

[mikehmb]

The lease terms should have been up-front based on your config. Rivian doesn't play a bunch of BS games like dealers do, and are pretty transparent re: pricing.

Constant communication, however, is not something you should expect from them.

 

[ndmiller]

The olden days of dozens of same model same make on the lot to choose from and take home today are pretty much gone with vehicles in demand. With Rivian and some others, the deposit is for a car yet to be built or secured in your name. This part is akin to buying a Porsche 718/911, albeit you may wait years to get the one you want instead of weeks for Rivian, but a deposit is required.

Assuming you've done your research and read up on the pros/cons of owning a Rivian the wait should be short and delivery exciting.

If you haven't, I would read up now, so you're not surprised by commonplace Rivian uniqueness (i.e. No Carplay never ever) otherwise you'll be in for some surprises and probably won't get any sympathy from the forum members.

In the meantime, demo a Rivian weekly if you want at your local SC to get a feels of it.

 

[COdogman]

This isn’t the olden days. And to my knowledge Rivian hasn’t stolen anyone’s money

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Look on the bright side, as you wait, no one will try to talk you into buying under carriage protection coating, Scotch Guard® treatment for the interior, or LoJack.

Instead, you've now got all this time to read all of the whiney complaint threads... to keep you awake at night. /s

 

[iQB]

The lease terms should have been up-front based on your config. Rivian doesn't play a bunch of BS games like dealers do, and are pretty transparent re: pricing.

Constant communication, however, is not something you should expect from them.

Not entirely accurate. One week after I took delivery (30 Mar '25), I received an email/phone call from Rivian stating they applied the wrong money factor to my vehicle and need to have me redo my lease contract with an increased payment. Needless to say, I said I'm not doing it since that contract is legally binding. Still waiting on them to complete everything on their end, but this hasn't been a smooth process.

 

[atebit]

Look on the bright side, as you wait, no one will try to talk you into buying under carriage protection coating, Scotch Guard® treatment for the interior, or LoJack.

Instead, you've now got all this time to read all of the whiney complaint threads... to keep you awake at night. /s

 

[mzdds]

You got a deal. It was $1000 for the R1.

 

[voxel]

You got a deal. It was $1000 for the R1.

Refundable.

The $500 is nonrefundable.

 

[malditofman]

Cancel your Rivian and stop the Whine Festival. Please. Go back to the ICE dealership model with its markups and attempts to add on dealer juck not wanted, and back and forth nonsense between the sales rep and the sales manager trying to wear down the customer.

 

[iansriv]

OP-the Rivian purchase process is new and nothing like the old dealership process. I had a great experience because I did my research here and knew what to expect. It also lined up with what I wanted. My last 5 car purchases have been over email and a couple of phone calls. I dont expect a lot of hand holding so, the Rivian experience was a good fit for me.

You might want to do some research here and go into this with eyes wide open. All the best.

 

[HaveBlue]

Maybe the only negative thing is they are pretty insistant about payment up front without having seen your vehicle. You can bring a cashier's check the day of pickup though.

 

[iforbes]

OP comes in hot. Gets a bunch of great responses. Disappears.

Welcome OP!

 

[RandomMcRandomFace]

We’re replacing my other car with another Volvo, refused to go to the dealer until all numbers final (one dealer told me they wouldn’t give me a real quote until I come in because they’ll match any price; I ignored them after that - why would I get offers elsewhere and then go to them?). I think I am in good shape after signing the offer, then I need to sit down the finance guy so he can sell me various protection plans, etc.

$500 is small price to pay to never set foot in a dealer. I assume the OP was in jest?

Sponsored