Paint concerns - hood repair - Am I being unreasonable?

[SecretService]

Ok so just dropped off my R1T to service to address 2 creases and a dent in the hood that slipped through QC. The body guy there said that he thinks it’s better to just replace the hood as one of the creases he doesn’t know if it can be fixed at all due to location. Then the service guy tells me they have to paint the hood and fenders….

I hit the pause button because wtf. Why do you need to paint my fenders. There is nothing wrong with them. I also have PPF and fresh ceramic coating on them less than a week ago and don’t want to have to pay to have that all redone for no reason. I asked why they need to paint the fenders if they are just replacing it with a brand new hood and he proceeds to tell me the hoods don’t come painted already so each one is done apparently one site?! This seems like a quality nightmare waiting to happen. And supposedly the paint won’t match if they don’t blend it.

Now I’m super concerned I’m wasting money on redoing PPF, ceramic coating on perfectly good fenders and there’s a better than 0% chance my hood and fenders won’t match the rest of my damn truck as well because they are being redone offsite away from the typical paint booth environment in normal Illinois.

Am I over-reacting?

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[cbuckley]

Can you post a pic? To me, it'd depend on how noticeable it is and if it's going to bother you if left as is. Is it pretty obvious with the ppf over it?

 

[Kuro-Rivian]

Just painting the hood will NOT work. They are not going to paint the whole fender. The will feather it into the hood. You gotta do this for a proper paint match or it's gonna look wanky.

 

[SecretService]

Can you post a pic? To me, it'd depend on how noticeable it is and if it's going to bother you if left as is. Is it pretty obvious with the ppf over it?

Really need to see video of the creases. Hard to get them in a picture but pretty easy to see in a video. Unfortunately even a short 10 second video says it’s too large for the server.

 

[ironpig]

Agree with others - you don't want them to just paint the hood and not blend it to the fenders. Paint is different depending on when it's applied and they want to make sure it looks right. If you just paint the hood it "might" be ok but it also might look just slightly different enough that you notice it. Long term, if you love the truck and the paint this is the right thing to do. But it does suck to have to leave it with them for so long and re-apply ppf.

I had a due bill on the paint on the underside of my hood which is a little over sprayed and not perfectly smooth. They wanted to take my truck for 2 weeks and repaint the hood and I said no. Nobody ever sees it and I don't really notice it. But I'm lucky it's the underside and not the rest of the hood.

 

[MountainBikeDude]

Really need to see video of the creases. Hard to get them in a picture but pretty easy to see in a video. Unfortunately even a short 10 second video says it’s too large for the server.

post it to youtube or google, then post the link

 

[harkco]

I had a similar issue with my hood. I was one of the early LA Silver R1Ts that had tiger stripes in the paint. I had the truck wrapped in xpel stealth hoping it would hide the striping. In the end I could still see it. I wanted Rivian to just swap my hood, but they insisted on a respray. They also said the fenders may have to be resprayed as well. I had discussed all of this with my detail guy before and he agreed to re wrap the hood at no charge if the hood ended up needing a respray. Long story short - Rivian contracts with a collision shop in Houston (Metro I believe). I talked with the owner before they painted it and he had apparently already done quite a few R1Ts for Rivian. Metro ended up doing an awesome job. They did not end up needing to respray the fenders either. When I picked it up - I was able to also compare it to a brand new LA Silver R1T on the lot in direct sunlight. I could tell zero difference. The hardest part was having to wait 14 days - at the advice of my detail guy and paint shop - to rewrap the hood. Everything is done now and I am very happy. I can totally empathize with what you are going through - as I was the exact same mind set as you. I just wanted a new hood - but that would have had to be repainted as well. In the end, Rivian made everything right and I am very, very happy. I would say just give them a chance and they will make it right. They are doing their best. The true character of a company is how they treat you during the bad times.

 

[ERguy]

This shouldn't be happening. This is the result of people waiting year's for a vehicle and wanting it so bad without any further delays that they are buying trucks prior even seeing or driving them. Many people are noticing paint defects and other quality control problems at delivery and being forced to take possession prior to any corrective measures.

Although I do not prefer to work with dealerships, at least with a dealer this type of stuff is typically corrected prior to closing the deal.

Rivian is forcing people to A) keep defective trucks with plans to fix them later or B) Refuse delivery and give up their truck all together.

It's crappy. The insane demand for these trucks allows them to get away with this nonsense. Rivian knows they hold all the cards here, and they are basically telling buyers "My way or the highway."

Everybody should have the right to go to. A service center to inspect and drive their Rivians before taking delivery.

If a quality issue needs fixed, it should be taken care of prior to delivery unless the buyer declines and wants their truck despite the defects.

 

[cbuckley]

I had a similar issue with my hood. I was one of the early LA Silver R1Ts that had tiger stripes in the paint. I had the truck wrapped in xpel stealth hoping it would hide the striping. In the end I could still see it. I wanted Rivian to just swap my hood, but they insisted on a respray. They also said the fenders may have to be resprayed as well. I had discussed all of this with my detail guy before and he agreed to re wrap the hood at no charge if the hood ended up needing a respray. Long story short - Rivian contracts with a collision shop in Houston (Metro I believe). I talked with the owner before they painted it and he had apparently already done quite a few R1Ts for Rivian. Metro ended up doing an awesome job. They did not end up needing to respray the fenders either. When I picked it up - I was able to also compare it to a brand new LA Silver R1T on the lot in direct sunlight. I could tell zero difference. The hardest part was having to wait 14 days - at the advice of my detail guy and paint shop - to rewrap the hood. Everything is done now and I am very happy. I can totally empathize with what you are going through - as I was the exact same mind set as you. I just wanted a new hood - but that would have had to be repainted as well. In the end, Rivian made everything right and I am very, very happy. I would say just give them a chance and they will make it right. They are doing their best. The true character of a company is how they treat you during the bad times.

That's who was going to fix my paint. I had terrible holographic defects on my hood that were very obvious in the sunlight against my black pain. Fortunately, they were able to remedy the defects in Houston without having to repaint.

 

[mgc0216]

Rivian is forcing people to A) keep defective trucks with plans to fix them later or B) Refuse delivery and give up their truck all together.

No they aren't. If you refuse delivery you don't lose your place in line, you just wait for the next opportunity (which is what would happen on a dealer's lot if you didn't want the car that was sitting there).

Everybody should have the right to go to. A service center to inspect and drive their Rivians before taking delivery.

Everybody has this right already. When the truck is delivered or picked up, you can, shockingly, not accept it. Rivian isn't forcing anything on anyone. The buyer is the one who ultimately decides if they want the truck or not.

The issue is many buyers aren't noticing these things until they get their trucks home (and, yes, Rivian should catch these things before they get to the delivery stage). But, in no circumstance is Rivian saying "take this truck or you go to the very end of the line".

 

[DaveA]

Ok so just dropped off my R1T to service to address 2 creases and a dent in the hood that slipped through QC. The body guy there said that he thinks it’s better to just replace the hood as one of the creases he doesn’t know if it can be fixed at all due to location. Then the service guy tells me they have to paint the hood and fenders….

I hit the pause button because wtf. Why do you need to paint my fenders. There is nothing wrong with them. I also have PPF and fresh ceramic coating on them less than a week ago and don’t want to have to pay to have that all redone for no reason. I asked why they need to paint the fenders if they are just replacing it with a brand new hood and he proceeds to tell me the hoods don’t come painted already so each one is done apparently one site?! This seems like a quality nightmare waiting to happen. And supposedly the paint won’t match if they don’t blend it.

Now I’m super concerned I’m wasting money on redoing PPF, ceramic coating on perfectly good fenders and there’s a better than 0% chance my hood and fenders won’t match the rest of my damn truck as well because they are being redone offsite away from the typical paint booth environment in normal Illinois.

Am I over-reacting?

Unless it looks like this, you are….?. I’d probably have taken a few creases.

 

[ERguy]

No they aren't. If you refuse delivery you don't lose your place in line, you just wait for the next opportunity (which is what would happen on a dealer's lot if you didn't want the car that was sitting there).

That's absolutely not what happens with a dealer when you order a vehicle. Dealers typically catch QC issues from the factory or slight damage during transport and fix it before ever telling the customer their vehicle is ready for delivery. Rivian, ina drastically different process, schedules delivery dates prior to the service center fully verifying it is ready which contributes to all this nonsense. Some people are scheduling delivery even bore the service center has received the truck.

The dealer's typically fix any defects ASAP and then you take possession without even knowing something needed corrected.

Nobody is forced to give up their Ford, Chevy, etc if it needs paint correction upon arrival to the lot. Rivian does this... But not legacy auto makers.

Where did you get that idea?

The issue is many buyers aren't noticing these things until they get their trucks home (and, yes, Rivian should catch these things before they get to the delivery stage). But, in no circumstance is Rivian saying "take this truck or you go to the very end of the line".

The buyers aren't catching it because they typically don't get to inspect the truck until it is delivered at their house... Which was my point. The traditional buying process involves the buyer inspecting the vehicle, and even driving it, before signing, financing, securing insurance, etc. The Rivian process requires all that be done without any formal inspection or test drive.

I never said Rivian would make you go to the back of the line. People have reported here they were told by guides if they refused the truck at delivery they had no idea when they would be able to get another truck. It's not like it's a matter of choosing a different one the following day, so it would take some serious time most likely.

This is way different than how it's typically handled when a buyer sees paint damage on specially ordered vehicle upon delivery at a dealership. The dealer would get it fixed ASAP and then call the customer to come pick it up.

None of this "take it or leave it" garbage.

 

[mgc0216]

So much nonsense snipped. . . .

Have you actually taken delivery of a truck or are you just making stuff up to suit your hyperbolic narrative?

 

[ERguy]

Have you actually taken delivery of a truck or are you just making stuff up to suit your hyperbolic narrative?

I've taken delivery of multiple special order vehicles from dealerships over the last few years, so I speak from experience about them fixing stuff prior to delivery as opposed to afterward most of the time.

I haven't taken delivery of a Rivian... All I had to do was read these forums to see people reporting that Rivian forced them to accept delivery with damage or wait for another truck to come along eventually.

 

[Zoidz]

What they told you is correct regarding painting the fenders with the hood. It's a best practice to feather into existing areas when repainting one panel. I suppose you might ask them to not do it - if you sign a waiver releasing them from any responsibility for how it looks.

How it will compare to the factory paint booth? If done correctly, it will look BETTER than the factory paint booth, lol.

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