Transferring ownership - my experience buying a preowned Rivian

[82Sapper]

I had been nervous reading some prior experiences on transferring ownership when buying a preowned Rivian and wanted to share my experience which could not have been any easier.

I already had an an account on Rivian as I do have an active preorder for a truck, but I have gotten a little tired of waiting and a great preowned R1T came available at a reputable dealership near me that I jumped on. Previous owners name was still in the truck which I needed to swap out for mine, but because I was buying from a preowned dealer I would have no way of getting in touch with them.

I simply initiated a chat with an agent on Rivian.com who asked for the VIN and then told me that the Guide who originally delivered that truck would email me and process the transfer. Within about 10 minutes I had a email from that guide asking for a copy of the bill of sale and copy of my drivers license, which I emailed to him. He said it would take 3-5 days to process the transfer however when I went out to the truck about 3 hours later the screen said "Welcome" and it was it, it was now in my name. Like I said it could not have been an easier process.

Sponsored

 

[COdogman]

Thanks for sharing that. Sounds like they have tried to improve that process!

 

[05soxfan]

The nightmare is on the other end. Previous owners info is still in vehicle. Yes you can clear Nav, log out of Alexa, delete garage door, etc, but your name still remains. Rivian supposedly requires a service center visit prior to trading in the vehicle to completely clear all info. They'll gladly set an appointment several weeks in the future. Tesla offers a factory reset option in their UI. I wonder why does Rivian make it so difficult?

 

[82Sapper]

No perhaps I didn't make it clear in my post. The prior owner was completely (everything) deleted from the vehicle and it was like I was setting up the truck as new at initial delivery. All keys, iPhone key, cards, fob, were all transferred to me under my ownership and show in my Rivian account. It's like the previous owner never existed.

 

[astonius]

Well, I'm glad you had a better experience. I seem to have the worst luck when it comes to Rivian making policy changes.

 

[05soxfan]

"Previous owners name was still in the truck"

That's the problem from the other side. That should not be there and should be able to be cleared prior to trade in without Rivian Service center appointment.

I'm happy they obliged you in the process and wish you best of luck.

 

[DamonR1T]

I had been nervous reading some prior experiences on transferring ownership when buying a preowned Rivian and wanted to share my experience which could not have been any easier.

I already had an an account on Rivian as I do have an active preorder for a truck, but I have gotten a little tired of waiting and a great preowned R1T came available at a reputable dealership near me that I jumped on. Previous owners name was still in the truck which I needed to swap out for mine, but because I was buying from a preowned dealer I would have no way of getting in touch with them.

I simply initiated a chat with an agent on Rivian.com who asked for the VIN and then told me that the Guide who originally delivered that truck would email me and process the transfer. Within about 10 minutes I had a email from that guide asking for a copy of the bill of sale and copy of my drivers license, which I emailed to him. He said it would take 3-5 days to process the transfer however when I went out to the truck about 3 hours later the screen said "Welcome" and it was it, it was now in my name. Like I said it could not have been an easier process.

I had a very similar experience. When my guide told me it would be up to 5 days to process, I was frustrated, but by the next morning, it was complete. I did have some issues with settings for the seats, steering wheel, and windows, but a quick trip to the service center resolved all of these issues. I assumed they were related to the ownership transfer at first, but later realized it was just a coincidence.

 

[utahraptor]

I had a similar experience. By the next morning, truck was in my name. I do wish we had a "factory reset" option like Tesla, but manually clearing the old owners data only took two minutes.

 

[Stickboy46]

I'm bumping this just to say this process is still kinda broke. I'm at over a week now waiting to be able to delete the previous owner from the truck and set myself up in it. The guide basically keeps just saying wait longer. 5 days was the initial estimate which is frankly 4 days too long. But now we are already past the 5 days.

 

[ominouscoving3]

Took delivery of R1S over 1 week ago, and had a co registrant who now has relinquished all ownership right to me. When we took delivery Rivian said they would "put in the ticket to make it happen." Subsequently, I have reached out to Rivian service twice but I have received no activity to actuate this change. Super frustrating for an ancillary issue which should be simple to resolve.

 

[milliemc]

This is a response to an e-mail I sent to Rivian re. the problems we are having here in NM in ordering an R1T. We reserved last July and have been told we would not be able to get one as we don't have any Service Centers here in NM. Tesla has two--both on Pueblo Indian land. Rivian might want to consider that approach--or a collaboration with Tesla that would allow Rivian to share space to service Rivian's vehicles. ????
******************************************************

Hi Millie,

I hope you're having an excellent week so far. My apologies for the delay in response; we've been a bit busier than usual.

I understand where you're coming from, and I sincerely apologize for any dissatisfaction with the process at which we're able to fulfill deliveries. At the time of this update, we cannot confidently provide an Estimated Delivery Window for all customers who may be impacted by the current capacity we are able to handle at active Service Centers, and with state policies prohibiting us from adding new locations in certain areas. We are working to expand the reach of our service abilities through the addition of new Service Centers and expanding the reach of our mobile service . We are actively working to expand our reach of service for vehicles that are already on the road, and for those that are planned to be delivered in the area.

As you've seen from previous updates from us, current state-level dealer protection laws prohibit us from opening a Rivian Service Center in your state. Without an accessible Rivian Service Center, we are unable to provide you with the ownership experience you deserve and that we demand. We ask that you write to [email protected] sharing your name, address and a sentence explaining your support for allowing direct service in your state.

While we always recommend you take delivery in the same location as your primary address, should you update your address to an area where we're able to fulfill deliveries, this would be factored into the July delivery window refresh. Most states will require you take delivery in the same state you register your vehicle in. We’ll do everything we can to accommodate your delivery requests as long as they are within local regulations. If Vehicle pickup from the factory is an option closer to your delivery, we will reach out to you with that update.

I know this situation is not ideal, but we're doing all we can to provide you with additional updates related to your order and delivery timing. Once we're able to extend an invite to configure, this will also allow us to provide you with a delivery window estimate specific to your order.

Please let me know if you have any remaining questions or concerns. I'm more than happy to help in anyway that I can. Have a wonderful weekend, and take care.

Your fellow adventurer,
Abigail
Weekdays: 7 AM-8 PM (CST)
Weekends: 8 AM-5:30 PM (CST)
*****************
I did write to the policy site, as requested.

 

[Stickboy46]

I'm bumping this just to say this process is still kinda broke. I'm at over a week now waiting to be able to delete the previous owner from the truck and set myself up in it. The guide basically keeps just saying wait longer. 5 days was the initial estimate which is frankly 4 days too long. But now we are already past the 5 days.

As an update .. it appeared in my account this morning. Apparently just needed to whine on the internet to make it work.

 

[Kacey3]

I had been nervous reading some prior experiences on transferring ownership when buying a preowned Rivian and wanted to share my experience which could not have been any easier.

I already had an an account on Rivian as I do have an active preorder for a truck, but I have gotten a little tired of waiting and a great preowned R1T came available at a reputable dealership near me that I jumped on. Previous owners name was still in the truck which I needed to swap out for mine, but because I was buying from a preowned dealer I would have no way of getting in touch with them.

I simply initiated a chat with an agent on Rivian.com who asked for the VIN and then told me that the Guide who originally delivered that truck would email me and process the transfer. Within about 10 minutes I had a email from that guide asking for a copy of the bill of sale and copy of my drivers license, which I emailed to him. He said it would take 3-5 days to process the transfer however when I went out to the truck about 3 hours later the screen said "Welcome" and it was it, it was now in my name. Like I said it could not have been an easier process.

This was nearly an identical experience to mine. Put in a reservation in July 2022, found a local used model at a reputable used Tesla dealership in January 2023. Purchased the R1T in February 2023 and had it transferred to me in less than 48 hours, even after they gave me the estimate of "about a week."

So happy with my "new to me" R1T.

Sponsored