Clarified: Rivian Service and Towing Policy Changes (10/07/2022)

[Yossarian]

Sounds horrible and is making me re-think whether I want to own a Rivian.
. . . Hmmmmm.

Amen, however if you amend your statement to read ". . . re-think whether I can afford to own a Rivian", I think it may apply to larger group of potential Rivian owners.

Until the Rivian mobile service fleet is expanded, and more service centers put in place, this new (or redefinition of the existing) policy means that many of us will need to budget an additional several thousand dollars for the first several years of ownership. This large increase in the cost of ownership may be merely a financial inconvenience for some, but for many others, this may move Rivian out of the affordable range of affordable vehicles. I'm in the latter group, as I suspect are more than a few others.

I replied in another post that Rivian may simply be taking a page out of the Fed's playbook with this new stance on towing. Where the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates in an attempt to slow down an overheated economy, the new, steep towing charges may a deliberate attempt by Rivian to tamp down demand for a product that they already have too many orders for.

That was an attempt at humor. I see now that this may not be a laughing matter.

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[BourboNole]

Was there ever a written warranty policy that included reference to complementary towing if a mobile repair was not available?

 

[amhawk60]

though I understand rivian's situation this is very concerning to me and has prompted me to rethink if purchasing a R1T is worthwhile particularly with the numerus reports of issues buyers have found at or shortly after delivery. I have a max pack on order and will likely receive delivery next year. I live in the cincinnati area and the closest SC is in Cleveland--a good 4 hour drive. the towing charge is simply not feasible and my time to drive to Cleveland and loss of work/vacation time is untenable.

 

[amhawk60]

Amen, however if you amend your statement to read ". . . re-think whether I can afford to own a Rivian", I think it may apply to larger group of potential Rivian owners.

Until the Rivian mobile service fleet is expanded, and more service centers put in place, this new (or redefinition of the existing) policy means that many of us will need to budget an additional several thousand dollars for the first several years of ownership. This large increase in the cost of ownership may be merely a financial inconvenience for some, but for many others, this may move Rivian out of the affordable range of affordable vehicles. I'm in the latter group, as I suspect are more than a few others.

I replied in another post that Rivian may simply be taking a page out of the Fed's playbook with this new stance on towing. Where the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates in an attempt to slow down an overheated economy, the new, steep towing charges may a deliberate attempt by Rivian to tamp down demand for a product that they already have too many orders for.

That was an attempt at humor. I see now that this may not be a laughing matter.

I agree--Spending 80K on a vehicle is a huge stretch for me but I was willing to roll with it given Rivian's warranty and and service/towing plan pre-October. with the large number of issues being reported by other buyers at delivery a trip to the SC seems almost guaranteed. A tow to a SC over 4 hours away is not feasible for me. rivian should be more flexible about this until more SC's and home service fleet vehicles are online

 

[zipzag]

I agree--Spending 80K on a vehicle is a huge stretch for me but I was willing to roll with it given Rivian's warranty and and service/towing plan pre-October. with the large number of issues being reported by other buyers at delivery a trip to the SC seems almost guaranteed. A tow to a SC over 4 hours away is not feasible for me. rivian should be more flexible about this until more SC's and home service fleet vehicles are online

It's really not a vehicle to buy if its a huge stretch. In the next year or two there are a lot of SUV-type vehicles coming out that will be nice, fun vehicles that can be serviced locally.

But the flip side is the flip potential of a max pack at the old pricing in 2023. There will likely be a period of time when the max pack vehicles sell at a premium of over their $10K additional cost. Most flippers and filler -curious buyers with early orders likely converted to large pack. So I doubt there will be a large influs of mac pack vehicles for sale.

I expect the group that will sell their max pack are people who wanted the vehicle but finally recognize it is not affordable for them.

 

[Dark-Fx]

It's really not a vehicle to buy if its a huge stretch. In the next year or two there are a lot of SUV-type vehicles coming out that will be nice, fun vehicles that can be serviced locally.

But the flip side is the flip potential of a max pack at the old pricing in 2023. There will likely be a period of time when the max pack vehicles sell at a premium of over their $10K additional cost. Most flippers and filler -curious buyers with early orders likely converted to large pack. So I doubt there will be a large influs of mac pack vehicles for sale.

I expect the group that will sell their max pack are people who wanted the vehicle but finally recognize it is not affordable for them.

Expensive vehicles tend to be expensive to repair.

 

[moosehead]

As a stockholder, this feels like a superb opportunity at forced obsolescence to create an additional income stream through incremental monthly subscription fees.

I kid, I kid.

 

[zipzag]

Expensive vehicles tend to be expensive to repair.

I would never keep the R1T out of warranty. I never kept a Tesla either. I would always keep a reliable ICE pickup, regardless of age. A major engine or transmission repair is trivial compared to a failed battery pack. The cheap battery pack replacements that early Tesla buyers reassured themselves with never happened. I cringe at people buying an old model S for $40K.

 

[amhawk60]

Since my last post was misleading, I am reposting a new thread with more clarity on the topic of no-cost vs fee-based towing services, offered by Rivian. My original post pertaining to the experience I encountered, has been restructured and is available as the second comment in this thread

I was provided this information by Chris, my Rivian Guide (RG), and Zach, a lead Service Advisor (SA), located in Normal, IL. Rivian has been rather flexible on providing no-cost towing services vehicles needing a visit to a Rivian Service Center (SC), which is now a more strict policy.

Effective 10/06/2022, Rivian’s policy for providing no-cost towing services for vehicles has changed to support the following:

• Free flatbed towing services will only be offered for vehicles that are INOPERABLE and need repairs due to warranty-related issues
• No-cost towing is offered to-and-from the SC
• Towing services are typically arranged through trained third-party carriers that are trained on how to properly load, secure and transport Rivian vehicles, but on occasion a Rivian SC will facilitate the tow

Rivian’s advertised towing fees are: $55.00 base fee + $6.50/mile.

Any vehicles that are drivable and DO NOT exhibit a safety concern, are no longer offered a no-cost towing service. The owner may elect to pay the towing fee or drive the vehicle themselves to the SC.

While Rivian acknowledged my comments and is apologetic about vehicles being delivered with issues such as out-of-spec alignments, suspension sagging issues, and wheel balance issues, as being unacceptable, these are all service-related items that a SC will be addressed through a SC visit. These issues are a byproduct of Rivian’s growth in the production process and will be mitigated in the near future. My RG stated that all issues, no matter of size or relevancy, should be shared with Rivian, with as much detail as possible. Feedback will be circulated to the relevant stakeholders.

Rivian is updating their service and warranty agreements to include the change in their policy, which will be published to replace the current version on the website and in the Rivian app. My RG and the lead SA told me that all Guides and SAs are up to speed on the new policy change and can address any additional comments or questions by other owners, directly.

Last, Rivian also acknowledges the lack of convenient SCs and expressed the company’s larger focus for Q4 is to fast-track the opening of planned Service Centers throughout the country and enable a broader access to authorized mobile services – very vague, but I appreciated the feedback. We do need many more SCs and mobile service operators.

With the large number of posts in forums about issues found at or shortly after delivery it seems Rivian is emphasizing rapid delivery of vehicles over quality control. The change in towing policy certainly gives many who live a long distance from a SC hesitation about purchasing myself included. For me, the tow charge would be over $1600 one way to the nearest SC. Might this be feasible option--a buyer has the option to pay a fee whereby Rivian personnel would examine the vehicle in great detail off the line to minimize (or hopefully eliminate) the post delivery issues. Some of the things I have noticed in the forum column are things like wheel balance/alignment issues, misaligned panels, windows not sealed properly, minor defects in paint etc. Thus, theoretically, service calls post-delivery would be markedly reduced, SC would not be backlogged, and customers are happier with the delivered vehicle. I would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for this. If issues are evident after delivery then something can be worked out with Rivian--i.e no towing fee as you paid for the service at the factory or something along that line.

 

[ironpig]

I would never keep the R1T out of warranty. I never kept a Tesla either. I would always keep a reliable ICE pickup, regardless of age. A major engine or transmission repair is trivial compared to a failed battery pack. The cheap battery pack replacements that early Tesla buyers reassured themselves with never happened. I cringe at people buying an old model S for $40K.

I mostly feel the same way as you when it comes to driving these new cars after the warranty expires. I traded in my Model S before the 8 year extended warranty ran out. However, most crucial parts on that car were replaced and honestly it was in really good and reliable shape when I let it go. Also the battery was still at about 90% of it's orginal efficiency after 8 years which is really good. So it might make a great car for another person.

 

[ironpig]

With the large number of posts in forums about issues found at or shortly after delivery it seems Rivian is emphasizing rapid delivery of vehicles over quality control. The change in towing policy certainly gives many who live a long distance from a SC hesitation about purchasing myself included. For me, the tow charge would be over $1600 one way to the nearest SC. Might this be feasible option--a buyer has the option to pay a fee whereby Rivian personnel would examine the vehicle in great detail off the line to minimize (or hopefully eliminate) the post delivery issues. Some of the things I have noticed in the forum column are things like wheel balance/alignment issues, misaligned panels, windows not sealed properly, minor defects in paint etc. Thus, theoretically, service calls post-delivery would be markedly reduced, SC would not be backlogged, and customers are happier with the delivered vehicle. I would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for this. If issues are evident after delivery then something can be worked out with Rivian--i.e no towing fee as you paid for the service at the factory or something along that line.

They are't going to charge you to tow your car if it fails under warranty. But it's also common sense to know that if you buy a car 250 miles from a service center, you are going to be dealing with significant inconvenience when your truck needs work and you are way out of reasonable range for mobile service.

 

[connoisseurr]

With the large number of posts in forums about issues found at or shortly after delivery it seems Rivian is emphasizing rapid delivery of vehicles over quality control. The change in towing policy certainly gives many who live a long distance from a SC hesitation about purchasing myself included. For me, the tow charge would be over $1600 one way to the nearest SC. Might this be feasible option--a buyer has the option to pay a fee whereby Rivian personnel would examine the vehicle in great detail off the line to minimize (or hopefully eliminate) the post delivery issues. Some of the things I have noticed in the forum column are things like wheel balance/alignment issues, misaligned panels, windows not sealed properly, minor defects in paint etc. Thus, theoretically, service calls post-delivery would be markedly reduced, SC would not be backlogged, and customers are happier with the delivered vehicle. I would be willing to pay a reasonable fee for this. If issues are evident after delivery then something can be worked out with Rivian--i.e no towing fee as you paid for the service at the factory or something along that line.

Rivian woke up in Q3 and chose quantity over quality

 

[zipzag]

They are't going to charge you to tow your car if it fails under warranty. But it's also common sense to know that if you buy a car 250 miles from a service center, you are going to be dealing with significant inconvenience when your truck needs work and you are way out of reasonable range for mobile service.

Have they set a mobile service max distance? Iowa starts at either 120 miles from Chicago or 80ish from Kansas City. Basically a full day of labor to do one or two customers.

 

[connoisseurr]

They are't going to charge you to tow your car if it fails under warranty. But it's also common sense to know that if you buy a car 250 miles from a service center, you are going to be dealing with significant inconvenience when your truck needs work and you are way out of reasonable range for mobile service.

Where I felt wronged was the nearest service center (30 minutes, vs 2+ hours) being closed because they're moving to a permanent site (Bethesda/Rockville > Gaithersburg, MD). My guide told me that all warranty work could be worked through Richmond (2+ hours away) and towing would be provided.

Apparently, that is no longer the case

 

[zipzag]

Rivian woke up in Q3 and chose quantity over quality

Quality is likely improving, and the production ramp is slow for a well capitalized company. The expectation of any different is unrealistically optimistic.

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