Brooklyn Service Center coverage area expansion?

[Yossarian]

It appears that the area that the Brooklyn SC covers has been expanded to include Delaware. I've used the question mark and the qualifier "appears" because this is based on what I recently learned regarding delivery.

My delivery address is Wilmington, DE which, until recently at least, meant that my Rivian would be delivered via WDC(VA) or Gaithersburg. In a dialog with my Guide last week however, I was informed that Wilmington addresses will now be tied to Brooklyn. My Guide was unable to offer any details about the change, and it may be that only the sections of DE that are close the PA border have been reassigned to Brooklyn. Regardless, this does not seem to be good news.

The Brooklyn service center covers CT, NJ, eastern PA, parts of MA as well as NY. Everything I read indicates that Brooklyn is already overwhelmed with long and growing wait times. Adding more customers, even from a smaller state like DE, will surely make that bad situation worse. While this is likely a temporary situation, and should change when the NJ service centers come on line, in the interim it is likely to make Rivian service and delivery more problematic.

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[KingTodd]

This sounds like bad news for us.
What would be the reason to do this if the NJ centers were expected to open this year or next?
Why they thought Brooklyn would
Be good for a SC is beyond me.

 

[KBabione]

I'm in Lancaster PA (about 1:30 drive to the northwest of Wilmington DE) and we picked our R1S up in Gaithersburg on August 21st - It couldn't have been easier. We did our test drive at the Brooklyn SC, but I'd say Gaithersburg is the easiest SC for us right now (fingers crossed that we don't need it). So far, so good...

 

[Yossarian]

I'm in Lancaster PA (about 1:30 drive to the northwest of Wilmington DE) and we picked our R1S up in Gaithersburg on August 21st - It couldn't have been easier. We did our test drive at the Brooklyn SC, but I'd say Gaithersburg is the easiest SC for us right now (fingers crossed that we don't need it). So far, so good...

My guide tells me that home delivery is no longer an option, so I will need to pick up at a service center. I actually live in PA, but used a Wilmington address for delivery to avoid having to travel to Brooklyn. While that location is only about 120 miles away, it can easily be a 3 - 4 hour ride in traffic. Gaithersburg is just a bit further, 128 miles, and far easier to get to, but sadly is not an option for either DE or my part of PA. I'm going to change to a MD address to fix that, but will still be tied to Brooklyn for service. Hopefully, mobile service will not go the same route as home delivery.

The change to using Brooklyn must be very recent as my delivery address change to DE was just about three months back.
edit: correct spelling error

 

[fr4c]

I'm really hoping for the NJ service center to be up and running soon. Otherwise it's going to be a bad time for everyone as they ramp up.

 

[technerd]

I'm in Lancaster PA (about 1:30 drive to the northwest of Wilmington DE) and we picked our R1S up in Gaithersburg on August 21st - It couldn't have been easier. We did our test drive at the Brooklyn SC, but I'd say Gaithersburg is the easiest SC for us right now (fingers crossed that we don't need it). So far, so good...

This is good to hear, I'm 30 minutes east of Lancaster and the drive to/from Brooklyn is brutal. Still hoping for NJ to open up before the end of the year, but fingers crossed.

 

[KBabione]

I agree about the drive to/from Brooklyn. We only scheduled our test drive because we were going to be in NYC for the weekend and thought a Friday trip to Brooklyn might be fun, but I don't think we would have gone just to drive an R1.

 

[Guy]

This is good to hear, I'm 30 minutes east of Lancaster and the drive to/from Brooklyn is brutal. Still hoping for NJ to open up before the end of the year, but fingers crossed.

I had hoped one of the two NJ service centers would be open by years end. But with no news on location, permits or construction updates I am not hopefully and expect by end Q1 next year.

 

[Yossarian]

I had hoped one of the two NJ service centers would be open by years end. But with no news on location, permits or construction updates I am not hopefully and expect by end Q1 next year.

I asked my Guide if there was anything that could be shared regarding the NJ service centers and was told that there was no new information. I've heard that there has been progress on the Edison location but that seems to be pretty much just conjecture. Again just conjecture, but the likelihood of a SC opening in NJ before the year's end seems very low. What I'm upset with Rivian about is being told that I will have to use Brooklyn rather than another SC that's an equal distance distance away, but takes far less time, effort and cost to get to. My hope now is that my delivery will be delayed into next year, giving me a better shot at avoiding Brooklyn.

 

[Guy]

I asked my Guide if there was anything that could be shared regarding the NJ service centers and was told that there was no new information. I've heard that there has been progress on the Edison location but that seems to be pretty much just conjecture. Again just conjecture, but the likelihood of a SC opening in NJ before the year's end seems very low. What I'm upset with Rivian about is being told that I will have to use Brooklyn rather than another SC that's an equal distance distance away, but takes far less time, effort and cost to get to. My hope now is that my delivery will be delayed into next year, giving me a better shot at avoiding Brooklyn.

I understand and share your dislike of having to go to Brooklyn. I picked up my truck in early September. There are a couple of minor panel alignment Items which I submitted a ticket so it would be recorded soon after delivery. I have a mid December appointment but I will push that out until the NJ centers open. They are coming via mobile service in two weeks time to fit the spare wheel so that is good news.

 

[ads75]

When I had mobile service in August, the tech told me they should be opening a NJ site by the end of 2023 (I think Trenton, I think he said Edison had to be physically built).

I picked up in Brooklyn in November. I scheduled an appointment around 9-9:30 am on a Saturday. Not really much traffic getting there, I was about 30 minutes early. There was some traffic leaving (mainly coming off the Williamsburg Bridge), and some exits I wanted to take were closed (due to NYC Marathon the next day). I’m think the trip home took about 30 minutes longer than the trip there because some of the traffic on the Williamsburg Bridge. Going through Staten Island may be easier/quicker, but I was using Waze. All in all an early trip to and from Brooklyn wasn’t awful, but I still may prefer Maryland. I also think Brooklyn has about $60 more in toll charges.

 

[CTRedCanyon]

They're building a SC in Shelton CT "opening in 2024" as well, according to customer service. I hear construction has not started yet but it's in the works, they own the property etc.

That should help alleviate a lot of pressure from CT, RI and Western MA.

 

[Yossarian]

Bumping this to add some new info.

It appears that Rivian has expanded the territory covered by the Brooklyn SC for new vehicle delivery, though not necessarily service. I was informed last week that my delivery address, presently Wilmington, DE, would now be tied to Brooklyn for delivery, rather than the MD service center because "Brooklyn can hold many more vehicles than [the] Gaithersburg, MD service center." I was unable to get any information on the New Jersey SC's, any of which would be a far better solution for me, and for many folks in eastern PA and everyone in NJ, than is Brooklyn.

On a related issue, I assumed that because Rivian assigned me to the Brooklyn SC, that I was required to use that location. The recent response from my guide on my delivery question seemed to indicate that Rivian owners can use any SC for service however, stating that "you would have the ability to work with any service center of your choosing for your post-delivery needs." I'm actually almost exactly the same distance from either Brooklyn or Gaithersburg, but would be closer to any of the planned NJ service locations. With luck, one of them will open at about the same time as my delivery, which I now expect to be early 2024.

Edit: correct grammar mistake

 

[USMCGRUNT]

Bumping this to add some new info.

It appears that Rivian has expanded the territory covered by the Brooklyn SC for new vehicle delivery, though not necessarily service. I was informed last week that my delivery address, presently Wilmington, DE, would now be tied to Brooklyn for delivery, rather than the MD service center because "Brooklyn can hold many more vehicles than [the] Gaithersburg, MD service center." I was unable to get any information on the New Jersey SC's, any of which would be a far better solution for me, and for many folks in eastern PA and everyone in NJ, than is Brooklyn.

On a related issue, I assumed that because Rivian assigned me to the Brooklyn SC, that I was required to use that location. The recent response from my guide on my delivery question seemed to indicate that Rivian owners can use any SC for service however, stating that "you would have the ability to work with any service center of your choosing for your post-delivery needs." I'm actually almost exactly the same distance from either Brooklyn or Gaithersburg, but would be closer to any of the planned NJ service locations. With luck, one of them will open at about the same time as my delivery, which I now expect to be early 2024.

Edit: correct grammar mistake

Has there been any update on the Trenton SC? I am also in PA, and already having buyers remorse before my R1T delivery on the 12th...

I am just concerned with all these "issues" that are posted and need to go to a SC. As my primary vehicle that I depend on daily (currently Tacoma), I do not have the time to be going to Brooklyn several times a year. I saw one guy with (13) SC calls in a year...

 

[Yossarian]

Has there been any update on the Trenton SC? I am also in PA, and already having buyers remorse before my R1T delivery on the 12th...

I am just concerned with all these "issues" that are posted and need to go to a SC. As my primary vehicle that I depend on daily (currently Tacoma), I do not have the time to be going to Brooklyn several times a year. I saw one guy with (13) SC calls in a year...

No update on Trenton that I've been able to find, but my guide says that owners can use any SC. For me that likely means Gaithersburg, MD, still 120+ mile drive but faster and much easier to get to. My delivery is pushed off until at least early spring of next year, so fingers are still crossed that one of the three NJ service centers, preferably Trenton, is open. Someone posted about a Rivian outpost in Mahwah, but I wasn't able to get any info on that. Mahwah is definitely not mentioned anywhere on the Rivian website, so that's a pretty curious development if true.

As far as service calls go, your R1T is a much later build, with fewer potential problems. From what I can see, Rivian has been making good progress on the quality front and the later builds don't seem to have as many issues as earlier production vehicles. No guarantee of course, but the odds are at least tilting in your favor with a late 2023 build.

Best of luck with your R1T - and your Brooklyn (I assume) pick-up. Let us know how things go and post some photos.

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